I've been interested in European Medieval history for a while and have recently freed up time to follow this passion. I had started by reading more casual/fictitious books such as "Daily Life in Medieval Times" by Gies and "The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England" by Mortimer.
More recently I have been working through various recommendations (e.g. The AskHistorians master book list) which have included books such as "The Civilization of the Middle Ages" by Cantor and Cambridge's "The New Cambridge Medieval History".
While all these books have been fantastic, I have felt a lack of visual learning. Withouth seeming too crude, I have yearned for a more cutout almost pictorial/diagram/thesaurusial that I could use as a reference point when reading. Inclusive of images such as this but with more infomation and spanning a larger array of Medieval society (homes, objects, human geography). The only ones I have been able to find thus far are aimed at children/the very casually interested.
I'm not sure what i'm looking for exists, but any recommendations or a point in the right direction would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
I would veer away from Cantor, FYI. While that volume is not bad, it's become quite dates.
I would try looking at archaeological journals, honestly. Something like, Medieval Archaeology. A lot of books that fit your framework might veer into picture books. While that's fine and dandy if that's what you want, but if you're looking at scholarly level stuff, try journals. You might also ping flaired members who do "medieval archaeology," like /u/textandtrowel. S/he might be able to help you out with that sort of stuff.
I really like the "Oxford Illustrated" books. Although the Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe (which I have not seen) has mixed reviews, the Vikings volume is fun. Cambridge also has an illustrated series, which might be a good place to start. They've got two volumes on the Middle Ages, and the volume on the Islamic World includes an excellent chapter by Patricia Crone on early Islam.
These all give fairly basic narratives, sometimes a bit dated, but they're a great place to start. They'll give you the framework of who's who and what's what in elite society, which makes it easier to understand the broader social and cultural trends that many historians are more interested in, if you decide to dig deeper. Their bibliographies and footnotes are generally top notch, as befits these university presses. They also tend to be richly illustrated with key pieces of material culture that historians and archaeologists like to refer to, so you can start getting a textured feel for what these societies were about.
Beyond that, I'd recommend looking at museum stores. I spent a lot of time in the museums of Denmark and Sweden this summer, and they all hosted a good array of solid scholarship and publicly accessible texts. Since museums are all about things, many books they sell are full of great pictures. Museums also put out volumes when they host an exhibition, such as the beautiful Vikings volume put out by the Smithsonian. Check out what the national museums are selling online, and you'll probably be able to find a few great reads.
If you're looking for something more specific, or for more particular aspects of medieval culture, consult the flaired users list and ping anyone who verges on your interests. (Per reddit programming, you can only tag three in a post, or else no one will get the ping.) If you're into reenactment and looking for particular objects, the British Archaeological Reports are an excellent resource, with precise illustrations and contextual information. They're not for the faint of heart, however, and anticipate an audience already well steeped in history and archaeology.
Before you buy (warns an avid collector of books), check at your local library. If you're a tax-paying citizen, you likely have access to the books referenced above. Even if they don't show up in your card catalog, most libraries support interlibrary loan services, or they can direct you to libraries that can help. If you've got university affiliation, or if you've already graduated from a university, university library staffs are especially helpful to students and alumni alike—and often to the wider community as well. Happy hunting!
