The Duke and the Peasant: Life in the Middle Ages (Adventures in Art (Prestel))
Grade 5 Up.  It's a delight to see the 12 calendar pages from the most beautiful Book of Hours of the late medieval period reproduced as full-page pictures in this slim volume. In each of the meticulously rendered scenes of castles, courtiers, and well-tilled fields there are a multitude of authentic details about the Middle Ages. Opposite each of the pictures is the name of the month with the first letter decorated in the style of medieval illumination, and a paragraph of commentary by Sister Wendy Beckett. Her remarks are both descriptive, pointing out details to be noted and appreciated, and conversational. Her chatty observations are informal and personal, like her entertaining TV programs on art history. In her view the medieval world is full of fortunate people. The peasants live in harmony with one another and the earth they plow and plant while the aristocrats, though richly dressed and dwelling in the Duke's magnificent castles, are bound by rules and held to behavior suitable to their rank. Sister Wendy's benign view of medieval life fittingly reflects the artists' efforts to show the domains of their patron, the Duc de Berry, to be well-ordered and prosperous. This is a lovely book to pore over, rich in its art, providing a rosy window through which to see a fascinating period of history.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.