Aristocratic Life in Medieval France

A rich field for the discussion of upper-class ideals.

Baldwin, a noted medieval historian, makes a strong case by showing the relevance of the romances to understanding aristocratic life. As a result he brings to life the cherished aristocratic values of arms and romantic love.

Baldwin is without doubt one of the leading historians of medieval France: he knows the period and place about which he writes intimately. He has written a thorough, informative book that clearly presents scholarship from historical and literary fields to a broad audience.

Baldwin's basic purpose is to examine aristocratic life and culture as portrayed in four early-13th-century romances. Jean Renart and Gerbert de Montreuil each authored two works that Baldwin examines in depth and with sensitivity to literary and artistic as well as historical themes... his judgments are solid, his learning extensive.

For having patiently and intriguingly reconstructed many important aspects of one slice of medieval life all friends and scholars of the Middle Ages owe Professor Baldwin a considerable debt.

Professor Baldwin's microscopic examination of the romances provides a refreshingly alternative set of voices to the clerical, Latin sources from which the history of medieval France in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries has largely been written... His commanding knowledge of the full range of written sources for the period will make this work a starting point for future historical discussion of noble concerns in the opening decades of the thirteenth century.

The author investigates the romances of two minor trouvères, Jean Renart and Gerbert de Montreuil, in order to explore the lives and habits of French nobles... The thoroughness and completeness with which Baldwin engages those works of fiction to tell him what their audience was doing, indeed thinking, is quite remarkable.

This is an important and thoughtful work from a scholar steeped in his sources, and it adds new depths to our appreciation of medieval society.

Scholars of both literature and history will appreciate Baldwin's study—and will be inspired to read historical documents and literary works from a new perspective.