Is poison still poisonous when expired

Read for class Thorough and interesting I enjoyed the way the author compares his particular microhistory to preconceived ideas of medieval life particularly the lives of women 1442604778 Great introduction to microhistory as a historical approach The narrative features were easy to follow which made this speculative event almost impossibly contestable 1442604778 Fascinating read if you are a student of history For those not totally into history either skip the first chapter or go back to it later The author is very open about the choices he is making given the evidence given. Bednarski a poisoned past That said not a page turner but well worth a read 1442604778 Give this a whirl It s great 1442604778 Loved it Read this for my class and it was a great telling of the life and case 1442604778 This is the story of Margarida de Portu a fourteenth century French medieval woman accused of poisoning her husband to death As Bednarski points out the story is important not so much for what it tells us about Margarida but for how it illuminates a past world Through the depositions and accusations made in court the reader learns much about medieval women female agency kin networks solidarity sex sickness medicine and law Unlike most histories this book does not remove the author from the analysis Rather it lays bare the working methods of the historian Throughout his tale Bednarski skillfully weaves a second narrative about how historians do history highlighting the rewards and pitfalls of working with primary sources The book opens with a chapter on microhistory as a genre and explains its strengths weaknesses and inherent risks Next is a narrative of Margarida s criminal trial followed by chapters on the civil suits and appeal and Margarida s eventual fate The book features a rough copy of a court notary a notorial act and a sample of a criminal inquest record in the original Latin A timeline of Margarida s life list of characters and two family trees provide useful information on key people in the story A map of late medieval Manosque is also provided A Poisoned Past The Life and Times of Margarida de Portu a Fourteenth Century Accused Poisoner Thinking Historically I really enjoyed this book I m planning to use it in teaching undergraduate classes but I think it would also make an interesting and engaging read for the general reader interested in women s history medieval history the history of magic and or the practice of what historians do the process of finding working with and interpreting evidence My initial thought was that I might use it in a history of medieval medicine but I think I m going to use it in a medieval survey as it provides very useful methodological grounding It might also work in a course on the history of magic 1442604778 Using extant medieval Latin legal documents the author recreates a story of Margarida de Portu a woman living in the medieval town of Manosque in southeastern France who was accused of murdering her husband In this book the author attempts to restore the medical skills gender relations and even the relationship between the hospital cavalry and the local government in medieval Provence in a small way Overall this is an excellent work of microhistory especially in its historical sources 1442604778 16 15 1442604778 Despite the title A Poisoned Past The Life and Times of Margarida de Portu a Fourteenth Century Accused Poisoner is low on melodrama but very satisfying as an introduction to the study of microhistory Steven Bednarski uses surviving records from a town in late medieval southern France to recreate to recreate the criminal trial of one Margardia de Portu a sixteen year old who was accused of the murder of her husband One of the pleasures of Bednarski s approach is his methodological transparency he is open to the reader about the problems of source survival the fact that the Latin is sometimes frustrating and opaque when was the last time you saw a medievalist admit to wrestling with the language of the sources the painstaking and time consuming demands of archival research the fact that pre existing interests shape how a historian frames their sources a legal historian will approach this trial differently than would a historian of gender or medicine etc I ll definitely be using this book in future courses 1442604778 Na pierwszy rzut oka jest to mikrohistoryczna opowie o kobiecie z prowansalskiej miejscowo ci Manosque kt ra pod koniec XIV wieku zosta a oskar ona o otrucie swojego m a Bednarski na podstawie zachowanych r de odtwarza przebieg jej procesu walk s dow przeciwko szwagrowi kt ry zreszt wni s przeciwko niej oskar enie i jej dalsze losy Nie ogranicza si jednak do suchego przedstawienia fakt w i zrekonstruowania historii Margaridy de Portu Pokazuje r wnie elementy jej ycia codziennego relacji z innymi lud mi systemu prawnego w kt rym przysz o jej toczy spory pozycji kobiet znaczenia zwi zk w rodzinnych etc Przez pryzmat historii Margaridy czytelnik poznaje wiat i czasy w kt rych y a. Poisoned pen book news To jednak tylko jedna p aszczyzna tej ksi ki Zamys em autora by o r wnie miejscami ma si wra enie e przede wszystkim przedstawienie mikrohistorycznego podej cia do bada oraz pracy historyka Ca y pierwszy rozdzia po wi cony mikrohistorii jej r d om najbardziej znanym przyk adom np Montaillou Emmanuela Le Roy Ladurie go czy Powr t Martina Guerre a Natalie Zemon Davis korzy ciom jakie wynikaj z zastosowania tej metody ale r wnie i krytyce oraz niebezpiecze stwom jakie si z ni wi chocia by z przyk adaniem wsp czesnych miar do dawnych czas w W dalszej cz ci ksi ki autor pokazuje na przyk adzie opowie ci o Margaridzie prac historyka Przedstawia ogrom pracy jaki musia w o y w badanie r de ponad 1600 dokument w z kt rych jedynie u amek dotyczy bezpo rednio omawianej sprawy trudno ci jakie si z tym wi za y b dy i nadinterpretacje jakie m g pope ni Pokazuje r wnie jak bardzo ostateczny kszta t tej historii zwi zany jest z podej ciem kt re obj Po wi ca kolejne rozdzia y na rozwini cie historii Margaridy ale tak e na pokazanie jej w innych uj ciach historii prawa historii politycznej i innych Podkre la przy tym fakt e bez wzgl du na przyj te podej cie b dzie to wci jedynie rekonstrukcja przesz o ci bez gwarancji e tak rzeczywi cie by o. Poisoned pen book news Przede wszystkim podziwiam ogrom pracy jaki Bednarski w o y w badania i opracowanie tej ksi ki Godnymi szacunku s jednocze nie szczero i otwarto autora nie boi si przyzna e jakie zagadnienie sprawi o mu trudno albo e jego obraz nie b dzie idealny A szkoda e ksi ki nie przet umaczono na polski bo by aby wietn pomoc na zaj ciach z metodologii historii ale r wnie dla ka dego kto chcia by na konkretnym przyk adzie dowiedzie si o mikrohistorii i pracy historyka Je eli kogo interesuj te tematy zdecydowanie polecam 1442604778