Book Review!

Wow! With reviewer responses like that, and so comprehensive and well-organised a contents, I can't image it will be long before I see this cited. I hadn't realised you were producing something so likely to become a standard work! Congratulations.

Thank you, Jonathan!

I have your book already at home and I am very looking forward to reading it during my one week vacation in Greece

I hope you have a wonderful vacation in Greece (and I'm proud that my book is going on vacation as a relaxing read)! By the way, I bought my very first spindle in Greece...

Hm. Had a short look at your book. Comprehensive collection, but unfortunatly you often simply overtook the content of earlier works, and did not compare it to pictoral sources. And several terms are simply wrong. For instance you state, that the legwear was attached to the "schecke", which is quite obiously not true. Also several datings are not correct, for instance the stendal an lubbeck textile armour. Same for the terms here; those are no "schecke".
Unfortunatly this creates wrong images in the mind of readers without deeper knowledge. Hopefully nobody creates clothing basing upon those things.
A little more exchange before writing the book would had been a good idea. This way, I unfortunatly cannot recommend it.

Jens, I am sorry to hear that you do not like my book. However, taking more than just a short look would have led you to an explanation both about the use of older literature and about the terminology used in the book. Since there is no standardised terminology for medieval clothing, the use of any term by any author means a choice, and the choices in the book were not thoughtlessly made.

Regarding any incorrect dating, your criticism would be much more constructive if you did state the literature giving alternative or newer datings instead of just a general complaint - unless constructive criticism is not what you intended to give. And since you are implying that you have access to newer literature and newer research results on most or all of the pieces in the book, and consider the book as superficial and not interesting for somebody with deeper knowledge or even as misleading, I suggest that you write a better book about the topic yourself - and I will happily buy it once it is published.

Hi Katrin,

I'm not sure if I would say I did not like it. I think it has lots of potential, but unnessesarily spent a lot of it. And I cannot recommend it to people starting in that field.
I'm absolutly clear about the fact the when it comes to medieval clothes, naming is difficult. However, there is a common terminology, and completly ignoring that should really have good reasons, and I miss those.

About the dating and errors: well, I have a suggestion. I'll check the article you mentioned in a different internet plattform, and will take a very long look at your book. And after that, we can meet and talk about it. There are several people spending quite a lot of time on that topic, who do meet on a frequent basis here where you live, in erlangen.
There we can talk about it. Maybe all can stimulations from such a meeting.

Which is actually what I wished that it would have happened earlier- before you wrote the book. I don't plan to do so, and I don't think it is necessary for adressing critism to something.
After all, it's not just a book. It's your thesis.