Barbara Hanawalt is an excellent historian and very powerful writer. Her use of primary source texts integrated right into the book work wonderfully and support her argument(s) well. She very clearly argues that nuclear families were important and that the Middle Ages weren't Dark in terms of care for others. She gives reasons for accidental deaths, tries to figure out why things happened and doesn't just blow them off as people who didn't care about anything. The style of writing encompasses so much yet it is a book that anyone can read, enjoy, follow, and understand. Ties that Bound tries to undo any misinterpretations of the past lives of peasants and brings them alive into a society where they were integrated in life. Women are shown as being very important to their families, as were men. Hanawalt's argument that nuclear family duties and roles haven't really changed is very clear.

Recommended: Yes