Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Schlitz, L.A. (2007). Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices
from a medieval village. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Set in 1255, this collection of short
monologues and dialogues by Laura Schlitz were written to be read aloud and
give young readers a glimpse into what life was like in medieval times. From the lowest classes of runaways and
beggars, to the upper echelons of lords and knights, each tale is told from a different
point of view, sometimes interweaving, giving us a glimpse into the trials and
tribulations of life on a manor. From
Taggot, the blacksmith’s daughter, who fears she is to “big, ugly, and shy” to
marry, to Otho, the miller’s son, who is taught by his father to cheat the
customers, to Jacob and Petronella, a Jewish boy and a Christian girl who discover they are
not really any different form each other, this book is filled with a wide variety of voices and
personalities that readers will easily relate to despite the difference of centuries. Through the reading we learn that while a few
young people were born into lives of fortune, most others faced extreme poverty
and hardships. This often poetically
written story, exposes readers to the lifestyles, caste systems, professions
and vocabulary typical of the time period.
Sidebar notes and a few pages of informational background are sprinkled
in throughout, where Schlitz adds clarification to new and unfamiliar
concepts. Far from a boring history
book, young readers will be not only informed, but entertained as they
experience life in the middle ages through the eyes of young people just like
them.
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