Good Masters! Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village

Schlitz, L. A. (2007). Good masters, sweet ladies: voices from a medieval village. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

This is a collection of miniature plays featuring characters from a Medieval Manor and surrounding village during 1225. The cast of characters include the sons, daughters or apprentices of the local Lord, doctor, tanner, merchant and many more. In between some of the mini-plays are a few pages that explain the reasoning behind customs that seem particular in today’s society. The illustrations are ink drawings that definitely have an “old world” tone and give the reader an extra glimpse into medieval life. The notes section in the back of the book give an illustration of each character and small definitions or explanations of outdated words and phrases used in the plays.

This collection of plays is geared towards middle school and older students. These monologues would be extremely useful in a social studies or history class as part of their study of medieval times. The central character in every story is approximately the same age as the target audience. Through all of the various characters, students get a real glimpse of what it would be like to live so long ago. This book was written by a librarian and her students to fill a need in teaching medieval history.