The Year 1000 by Robert Lacey & Danny Danziger

I've been getting a bit behind with my project to record - however briefly - the books I read so this is no more than a quick note. In lieu of a review, here are a few things you might not know about life in England in the year 1000.

• Anglo-Saxons in the year 1000 were as tall as their counterparts today.
• Women could own, manage, bequeath and inherit land and property.
• Surnames were not yet in use.
• Times of famine were not uncommon and put severe strains on the social system, to the extent that infanticide was not classed as a crime in such times.
• The silver penny was the standard unit of currency. Coins were only legal tender for a few years before they had to be returned to one of many local mints for recycling on a nine-for-ten basis, the 10% tax helping towards the cost of maintaining the system and the integrity of the coinage.
• Roughly 10% of England's population was living in towns - meaning there was a sufficient agricultural surplus to support them, and sufficient wealth generated in the towns to buy life's necessities.
• Although July was the month of hay-making it was also the time of greatest hardship in the countryside, as food crops planted in the spring were not yet ready to harvest. This time of year has been dubbed "the hungry gap".
• Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, runner beans, potatoes, and tomatoes were unkown, as were sugar, tea, coffee, and chocolate.

I like this book. It's easy to read - "accessible" I think the publishers would say - but obviously well-researched with plenty of references and a full bibliography. It's ideal for a journey - read a few chapters, put it down, pick it up again half an hour later, read another chapter or two. You get the idea. So it gets the thumbs up from me.

Design, text and graphics by Tony Turton.
Copyright © 2008 Tony Turton
First published 22 April 2008