From bestselling author Danny Danziger and medieval expert John
Gillingham comes a vivid look at the signing of the Magna Carta and how
this event illuminates one of the most compelling and romantic periods
in history.
Surveying a broad landscape through a narrow lens, 1215 sweeps readers
back eight centuries in an absorbing portrait of life during a time of
global upheaval, the ripples of which can still be felt today. At the
center of this fascinating period is the document that has become the
root of modern freedom: the Magna Carta. It was a time of political
revolution and domestic change that saw the Crusades, Richard the
Lionheart, King John, and--in legend--Robin Hood all make their marks on
history.
The events leading up to King John's setting his seal to the famous
document at Runnymede in June 1215 form this rich and riveting narrative
that vividly describes everyday life from castle to countryside, from
school to church, and from hunting in the forest to trial by ordeal. For
instance, women wore no underwear (though men did), the average
temperatures were actually higher than they are now, and the austere
kitchen at Westminster Abbey allowed each monk two pounds of meat and a
gallon of ale per day. Broad in scope and rich in detail, 1215
ingeniously illuminates what may have been the most important year of
our history.
