Medieval People

"Medieval People" by Eileen Power is a historical book written in the 1920s that tells about the lives of average people during the Middle Ages instead of just focusing on kings and battles. Power wants to show what life was really like for different groups of people during that time by sharing stories and details from their everyday experiences. At the beginning of the book, Power explains why it's important to study social history, arguing that it makes history feel more real and human. She thinks that normal history books often ignore the lives of everyday people. Power starts off by talking about how she plans to show the past through individual stories, like the story of Bodo, a Frankish peasant, to help readers understand the details of medieval life. By focusing on the lives of regular people, Power hopes to make history more relatable.