whatever your other contributors have said. I FELT THAT THIS WAS JUST THE 'RIGHTS' TIME AS THE UK VISITS FURTHER CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND WE PREPARE FOR A NEW GOVERNMENTĪnd, yes. For instance, women wore no underwear (though men did), the average temperatures were actually higher than they are now, the austere kitchen at Westminster Abbey allowed each monk two pounds of meat and a gallon of ale per day, and it was possible to travel from Windsor to the Hampshire coast without once leaving the forest.īroad in scope and rich in detail, 1215 ingeniously illuminates what may have been the most important year of our history. The events leading up to King John's setting his seal to the famous document at Runnymede in June 1215 form this rich and riveting narrative that vividly describes everyday life from castle to countryside, from school to church, and from hunting in the forest to trial by ordeal. But it was also a time of political revolution and domestic change that saw the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart, King John, and - in legend - Robin Hood all make their marks on history.

government and legal system, and nearly eight hundred years later, two of Magna Carta's sixty-three clauses are still a ringing expression of freedom for mankind. The Great Charter would become the foundation of the U.S. Never before had royal authority been challenged so fundamentally.

delightful.' - Times Literary Supplement 'The authors entertain and inform with pertinent reflection.Life in the castles and the violent streets of London, the lure of the crusades and the dominant theme of rural life are all examined with panache.' - Oxford Times ' superb account of the year of Magna Carta.fascinating descritpions of life at the time, and of the surrounding world.Surveying a broad landscape through a narrow lens, 1215 sweeps readers back eight centuries in an absorbing portrait of life during a time of global upheaval, the ripples of which can still be felt today.Īt the center of this fascinating period is the document that has become the root of modern freedom: the Magna Carta. Even more enjoyable than the account of the Magna Carta itself is the depiction of how we were, who we were and how many we were in the crucial year of 1215.' - Antonia Fraser, Mail on Sunday 'Danziger and Gillingham have the knack of walking us right into history and making us feel at home.this is a hugely enjoyable window into medieval life.' - Independent 'Danziger and Gillingham write clearly and accessibly to bring their slice of history to life.(they) admirably remind us of the chaotic soil in which the first glimmerings of British political freedom took root.' - Simon Jenkins, The Sunday Times 'The disquisitions on education, medicine and agriculture are informative. 'A fascinating, readable digest of social history which has bestseller written all over it.' - Frank McLynn, Non-fiction read of the week, Sunday 'Entertaining and informative.

1215 by Danny Danziger