Exploring the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a period of history that has fascinated many. It is well known for its knights, saints, holy wars, rebellions and superstitions. In addition to these things, the era was a period of great change, socially, culturally, politically, economically and technologically. The contributions below will introduce you to some of the changes that were taking place and help you get a sense of what life was like during this tumultuous period.
Historical Background
The Axe and the Oath: Ordinary Life in the Middle Ages, by Robert Fossier
In presenting a picture of daily life in the Middle Ages as it was experienced by ordinary people, Fossier vividly describes how they confronted life, from birth to death, including childhood, marriage, work, sex, food, illness, religion and the natural world.
The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe, by Michael Pye
Saints, spies, pirates, philosophers, artists and intellectuals all criss-crossed the grey North Sea in the so-called "dark ages." Pye reveals the cultural transformation sparked during this era: the ideas, technology, science, law and moral codes that helped create our modern world.
A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom, by Mark Gregory Pegg
Drawing in part on thousands of testimonies collected by inquisitors in the years 1235 to 1245, Pegg has produced a swift-moving, gripping narrative of the horrific Albigensian crusade, which began in 1208 at the behest of Pope Innocent III in an attempt to rid Europe of heretics, promising salvation for the killing of other Christians.
Biographies
A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain, by Marc Morris
Morris examines afresh the forces that drove Edward througout his relentless career: his character, his Christian faith and his sense of England's destiny--a sense shaped in particular by the tales of King Arthur.
Joan of Arc: A History, by Helen Castor
Instead of Joan the icon, Castor gives us a living, breathing young woman, a roaring girl fighting the English and taking sides in a bloody civil war that was tearing apart fifteenth-century France. Here is a portrait of a nineteen-year-old peasant who hears voices from God; a teenager transformed into a warrior, leading an army to victory in an age that believed women should not fight.
Heloise & Abelard: A New Biography, by James Burge
A few years ago a young scholar identified 113 new letters between Heloise and Abelard. Lost for almost nine hundred years, these fresh missives provide an intriguing snapshot of the couple's cladenstine passion that is erotic, poignant, and at times even funny. Burge is the first to combine these new discoveries with the latest scholarship, resulting in a more complete biography of the two.
Historical Novels
The Purple Shroud, by Stella Duffy
This novel chronicles Theodora at the height of her power, bringing the ancient world alive in an epic saga. Theodora and Justinian have been crowned Emperor and Empress in the 6th century, but many problems face them: divisions among Christians, unsecure imperial borders, worries about ambitious generals, and the conflict between the Blues and the Greens, which spills out into violence and the destruction of many of the landmarks in Constantinople.
Pope Joan: A Novel, by Donna Woolfolk Cross
Drawing on a ancient story about the first female Pope, Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. Joan rebels against medieval strictures forbidding women to learn and ends up taking on her brother's identity to enter a monastery. She distinguishes herself as a great scholar and healer, and eventually comes to Rome where she triumphs over the odds and attains the highest office in Christendom.
The Last Kingdom: A Novel, by Bernard Cornwell
This is the exciting--yet little known--story of the making of England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the years in which King Alfred the Great, his son and grandson defeated the Danish Vikings who had invaded and occupied three of England's four kingdoms. This thrilling adventure depicts a time when law and order were ripped violently apart and England was nearly destroyed.
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