The Byzantines: Culture and Daily Life in the Middle Ages

Give the Byzantines: Culture and Daily Life in the Middle Ages

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

This overview covers the everyday culture, livelihoods, and daily life of farmers, artisans, and merchants, monks, and nuns—those rural and urban social classes that constituted more than three-quarters of the population of the Byzantine Empire. Koder writes, among other things, about nutrition, agriculture and livestock, hunting and fishing, housing and households, as well as career opportunities in medieval Byzantium and surprises with interesting details: the average life expectancy was almost 40 years, and people over 50 were already referred to as elderly. 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, and baldness was considered a disease and unsightly. With this wealth of detail, Johannes Koder creates a lively overview 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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