Hello,
I was wondering if someone could recommend books or sites from which to get books, about the medieval period.
I'm looking for books relating to medieval life, politics & religion, medieval warfare (training, composition of armies, organization of armies, knights), battles, castles (such as building them, defending them, besieging them) the titles, such as baron, count, etc. and what exactly that entails (such as the land area which they ruled directly, the composition of those lands: villages, towns, cities).
I'm also looking for books about the various kingdoms/empires of that period and other historical events, such as the Muslim conquest of Iberia and their advancement into France, the Reconquista, the various kingdoms, such as the barbarian kingdoms, that replaced the Western Roman Empire.
Basically, i'm looking for books from the fall of the Western Roman Empire/the start of the Medieval Period to the Renaissance.
Thank you.
Edit: I am looking for books to read for pleasure.
I know that the time period and subjects are wide and varied, but at the moment, i can't say i have a good idea about specific time periods/subjects that i would want to delve further into. I will have a better idea, once i read some books.
I suggest the following:
Medieval Warfare Source Book, by David Nicolle. These two volumes are a masterful summary of medieval warfare in Europe, the Middle East and the Eurasian Steppes between 400 and 1400 AD, with a substantial summary of Asian warfare as well. It covers every aspect of medieval warfare: recruitment, organisation, strategy, tactics, equipment, fortifications, siege techniques, pay, training, logistics, arms manufacture and trade, etc. While works specific to a particular subject, period or region will still provide much more detailed and nuanced information, Nicolle's Source Book provides an adequate introduction of a massive subject to the first time reader.
The Middle Ages: Everyday Life in Medieval Europe, by Jeffrey L. Singman. Originally published as a textbook for undergrad students, this has now been republished for a general audience. In spite of its textbook origins, the book is an easy read and is filled with pictures and tables of wages and prices to give you a sense of what life looked like and how much things cost in relative terms. Focusing on four different areas (village life, garrison life, town life and monastic life), it provides the best look at general life in the middle ages (specifically 13th century England, but a lot can be applied to North-Western Europe in general) that I've been able to find. With that said, Joseph and Frances Gies do still have some useful and complementary material in their Life in a Medieval... series, and Paul B. Newman's Daily Life in the Middle Ages, Growing Up in the Middle Ages and Travel And Trade In The Middle Ages offer a lot more useful information on the practical side of daily life.
Might I suggest the reading list?
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/europe#wiki_middle_ages
And although it's not on the list, I really enjoyed this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Travellers-Guide-Medieval-England/dp/1845950992
Hi there, those interested in recommending things to OP! While you might have a title to share, this is still a thread on AskHistorians, and we still want the replies here to be to an /r/AskHistorians standard - presumably OP would have asked at /r/history or /r/askreddit if they wanted non-specialist opinion. So give us some indication why the thing you're recommending is valuable, trustworthy or applicable! Posts that provide no context for why you're recommending a particular podcast/book/novel/documentary/etc, and which aren't backed up by a historian-level knowledge on the accuracy and stance of the piece, will be removed.
Can we have some specifications?
What is asked in OP is actually quite wide areas of researches: From ca. 500 to 1500, and politics, religion, warfare......almost literary everything about Medieval Europe. To set priorities for each field of research as well as area (France, Iberian Peninsula, barbarian kingdoms......) would be very helpful both for those who wish to recommend some books as well as for OP her/himself to obtain more answers. Needless to say, the living circumstances of CE ca. 600 in Ireland would be almost totally different from those of CE ca. 1400 in Northern Italian cities.
Also, what kind of books is OP looking for? Very detailed academic work (for studying or checking the historical investigation for her/his historical novel on work), or just reading for fun? The selection of the recommended books can be varied in accordance with such purpose.