Rating: 
Summary: A socio-religious narrative of a medieval S. France town
Review: Emmanuel LeRoy Ladurie's book, Montaillou is an informative look at a medieval village in Southern France. Its writing style is similar to Bibbey in its ability to place the reader inside a historical period and see it from the perspective of the people involved. It is an objective, though intimate look at the hypocrisy of clergy and the excesses to which they were involved. Stake-burning and the debauching of virgins were an ever-present threat, as well as cuckholded husbands terrified to reveal the priests responsible. A smooth, flowing narrative, it is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval European society, and captures the attention of the reader from start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: I Defend 'Montaillou'!
Review: Having read many of the reviews of 'Montaillou' at Amazon.com, I feel compelled to put fingers to keyboard in defence of this marvellous book. I have read both the original French version AND this most recent translation, and feel that the flavour, color, atsmosphere and historical accuracy lose NOTHING in translation. As to the footnotes, etc - 'Montaillou' is, first and foremost, an ACADEMIC book. It is not a 'light read', and if Le Roy Ladurie is sometimes a little pedantic with his footnotes and cross-references, it is because he is an academic whose chief aim is to adhere as closly as possible to the historical data he is working with. I think that potential readers might be a little 'put off' by some of the critisisms of the Amazon reviewers, yet if they approach 'Montaillou' with the knowledge that it IS an academic work and not a 'novel', then they won't be disappointed. In saying this, 'Montaillou' would work WONDERFULLY as a novel - all the elements are already in place for a beautifully rich and romantic tale of the Middle Ages - but until 'Montaillou - The Novel' is written, we must content ourselves with this sound, insightful and ultimately fulfilling ACADEMIC book.
Rating:
Summary: I Defend 'Montaillou'!
Review: Having read many of the reviews of 'Montaillou' at Amazon.com, I feel compelled to put fingers to keyboard in defence of this marvellous book. I have read both the original French version AND this most recent translation, and feel that the flavour, color, atsmosphere and historical accuracy lose NOTHING in translation. As to the footnotes, etc - 'Montaillou' is, first and foremost, an ACADEMIC book. It is not a 'light read', and if Le Roy Ladurie is sometimes a little pedantic with his footnotes and cross-references, it is because he is an academic whose chief aim is to adhere as closly as possible to the historical data he is working with. I think that potential readers might be a little 'put off' by some of the critisisms of the Amazon reviewers, yet if they approach 'Montaillou' with the knowledge that it IS an academic work and not a 'novel', then they won't be disappointed. In saying this, 'Montaillou' would work WONDERFULLY as a novel - all the elements are already in place for a beautifully rich and romantic tale of the Middle Ages - but until 'Montaillou - The Novel' is written, we must content ourselves with this sound, insightful and ultimately fulfilling ACADEMIC book.
Rating: 
Summary: An indepth ethnographic study; this is not vacation reading
Review: I was attracted to this book because of it's placement in the 1300s. I am not a student of this era, but I'm generally interested in a wide variety of cultural subjects, so the intro appealed to me. This book is for the serious reader only. It is not a breeze to read. This is a book with footnotes, and lots of 'em. I found it very interesting. It reminds me of a book that it read last year "A Midwife's Tale", not to be confused with Oprah's book "Midwife's Tale". "A Midwife's Tale" is also an ethnographic study, of a time in early American history. It too has lots of footnotes. It was made into a PBS program by the same name which really brought the book to life. "Montaillou" would benefit from such a treatment. The general public will not read "Montaillou". It's "footnote" format would be daunting for all but more serious readers, but the book could reach many more people if it were done in film format with professional commentary. I give this book 3 stars. Information is 5 stars. Readability is 3 stars. Interest for the general reader in this format is 2 stars. A film would be wonderful, and would probably reach a much wider audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Important and a good read
Review: In my historiography classes this book has been lauded and used as an example of a new form of history-writing: a complete discription of a village and all it's aspects: religion, sex, food, families, houses etc.
It is definitely not a boring book about one particular subject but covers wide aspects of the Pyrennee Village of Montaillou. Besides being interesting to read it also might open your eyes about certain ideas we might have had about religion and society in the 14th century. We read now that everyone slept with everyone, including the priest, the greatest fornicator of them all. Homosexuality is normal and people cried a lot sooner than now. Read it and be amazed about 14th century France, it's different than you always though
Rating: 
Summary: A Mediocre Translation of a Flawed Book
Review: LeRoy Ladurie's original study (in French) based on inquisitorial records, while marred by numerous mistranslations, misunderstandings and misuse of the sources, nevertheless, had a somewhat magisterial quality about it. It is charming and well-written. In the hands of an expert, aware of its limitations, Montaillou has some value; to the layperson: beware. The translation, moreover, is truly bizzare. Part I is translated fully; Part II severly abridged. There was no rhyme or reason for this. It is far better to read the French original. If you're a novice or don't read French, avoid this book.
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Summary: Down and Dirty
Review: Montaillou was a little village up in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the Middle Ages. The Cathar heresy took root there, so the Church sent in an inquisitor who was an unusually thorough records-keeper (it seems he had ambitions), and his detailed interviews have all been saved. From them, Ladurie brings the village back to life, and it's a dirty, rollicking place. Nothing I've read except "Canterbury Tales" gets you closer to the medieval mind, which turns out, of course, to be endearingly like our own.
Rating:
Summary: Readable, Entertaining Scholarship
Review: The year is 1300, and the village of Montaillou in the south of France is full of heretics. One brave man, Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers, embarks on a brave Inquisition to get rid of them. For years, he interviews everyone in the village and keeps meticulous notes. The everyday gossip, scandal and concerns of the common medieval man are documented here in a detail unsurpassed in any other primary source. In this book, French Historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie studies these documents and presents an incredible portrait of everyday life: 'love and marriage, gestures and emotions, conversations and gossip, clans and factions, crime and violence, concepts of time and space, attitudes to the past, animals, magic and folklore, death and beliefs about the other world.' An astounding book sitting on the border between history and anthropology. And as expected, the French have been fall-down funny for centuries. [HistoryHouse.com]
Rating:
Summary: Disgustingly Good...
Review: This book was a very good look at the early Church. In school I was always taught that the first Christain group to rebel againt the Catholics, was Martin Luther's people. Just another thing public school messes up. It was amazing to learn there were "heretical groups" almost 300 years before Luther. I also surprised my English professor when I told her there were Inquisitions before the famous Spanish one. The most disguting part though, was the "cure for lust" It was better for the priests to have intercourse with boys on dung heaps than to sleep with women. It's interesting to know that, while these were Cathars and not Catholics, this type of homosexual pedaphilia is nothing new to religion. Definitely a book well worth reading to get another look at the insanity of the Middle Ages.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding case studies of commoners' lives.
Review: This is definitely academic reading. Concerning itself chiefly with a cluster of tiny villages in the extreme south of France, the book takes details of villagers' confessions to the Inquisition to show what life was like for them. I found it to be very well-written, lucid, and not difficult to digest. Ladurie (Amazon misspells his name continually as "Ladruie" -- either that or the book cover misspells it) extrapolates some amazing things from these confessions. Ideas of time and space, how villagers thought of the home and the family, concepts of sexuality and social status.. there's a lot here, extensively footnooted and extensively supported. As someone's said, this is definitely not light reading. Ladurie spends quite a bit of time talking about religion, which is logical considering that Inquisition files are his source material. I did not detect a bias against either Catholicism or Catharism. Since his focus isn't actually religion, however, but an allover view of life in a remote, isolated 14th-century French/Spanish village, I wouldn't consider this specifically a resource for the study of Catharism. It is, however, an excellent resource for understanding people in a remote, isolated 14th-century French/Spanish village.
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