Text 5- Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Written by Laura Amy Schlitz, a school librarian, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!Voices from the Medieval Village, is a unique collection of monologue and dialogue poems that would be a perfect addition to  an elementary Social Studies curriculum. This book of miniature plays was inspired by the students of Schlitz's school who were studying the Middle Ages and were really getting into it; they were building catapults and miniature castles.  Schlitz wanting to extend the students learning created characters for the students to act out, such as Taggot the Blacksmith's Daughter; Pask the Runaway; and Jack the Half-wit.



The book is set in a medieval manor in England; the year is 1255. Although the characters are all children from ages 9-15, they vary in class and life situations. Some are nobility such as Isobel the Lord's daughter, others are very poor like Giles the beggar, all have their lives in some way interwoven with those around them.

In eighty-one pages, Schlitz addresses difficult issues in life, and issues that would have effected the lives of children that lived in the thirteenth century.

My father died last winter-

also the chickens. Choked themselves-

thrased and turned sick, after all the trouble I had

plucking their grass and cleaning their muck

and not one egg.

On the side margins of each page, there are captions that explain what the words and expressions used mean. For example, when people said choked in the thirteenth century they were referring to  "gapes" an illness caused by roundworms blocking the trachea so that animals would choke to death. Throughout the book there are also pages dedicated to explaining customs and events that happened during this time. Students will find short yet descriptive information  on: medieval pilgrimages, The Crusades, Jews in medieval society, and even one on the practice of falconry. All pages are accompanied with lively colorful cartoon-like illustrations.

This book is a great resource to ignite students as they study the Middle Ages. It is written so that 20 students get speaking parts in a play. I love how it is fun but not fluffy. It allows children to see what life was like for the rich and for the poor; for Jews and for Christians. A great conversation can follow the study of this unit of race and class in equalities. Teachers may want to ask: What are some themes here (in the Middle Ages) that we still see today? Have there been any improvements?

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village makes a unit on the Middle Ages come to life.