The Byzantines: Culture and Daily Life in the Middle Ages

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The Byzantines: Culture and Daily Life in the Middle Ages
By Johannes Koder

This overview work deals with the everyday culture, livelihoods and daily life of farmers and craftsmen and merchants, monks and nuns – those rural and urban social classes that made up more than three-quarters of the population of the Byzantine Empire. Koder writes, among other things, about nutrition, farming and animal husbandry, hunting and fishing, housing and home, as well as career opportunities in medieval Byzantium and surprises with interesting details: the average life expectancy was almost forty years, and people over 50 were already referred to as senior citizens. For the majority of the population, bread and porridge formed the basis of the daily diet. In addition to food, taverns served wine and a cheap mixture of wine vinegar and water. A simple house consisted of a hall that also served as a bedroom and kitchen. Medical care was considered expensive and often useless, baldness was considered a disease and something ugly. with this wealth of detail, johannes koder creates a lively picture of everyday byzantine culture in the middle ages, a culture that sometimes shows surprising parallels with the present day.

The author :

Johannes Koder is Professor Emeritus of Byzantine Studies at the University of Vienna.

- 290 Pages
- 23 B/W illustrations
- 22 Color Illustrations
- Hardcover
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