Medieval History Books of Note

There's a general thread on books in the Ancient History Group. I think it's time for one in this group.

I'll start by recommending Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome. I haven't had time to write a full review but will get to that eventually.

This book provides something of an overview/synthesis of the evolution of Medieval Culture from 400-1000. It's generally focused on Western Europe but does have some information on the Balkans and Islam. What Wickham does is look at various social structures - frex, landholding - and track how each evolved, in different areas, over the time period.

I wouldn't recomment it to anyone as his or her first book on the period because it's not really a narrative history, though some of that's included. For a more narrative history try Matthew Innes' An Introduction to Early Medieval Europe which is much more of a chronological narrative. Wickham is more of a "tie it all together" sort of book for someone who's read some on the Merovingians, some on the Carolingians, some on the Lombards, etc and is interested in how society evolved - not who fought what battle when.

Here's the bad: No footnotes and no bibliography. The book does have a list of sources by page in the back so you can find the sources but it's a lot harder to get there than if it had footnotes.

But the overall quality is so good that I'll still recommend it, even with this major flaw.

Been building up my wishlist before Kalamazoo. In the latest Boydell and Brewer catalog I came across two that interest me:

A History of the Early Medieval Siege - The description is for the two-volume set, including A History of the Late Medieval Siege but I'm mainly interested in the 1st one:

Sieges were the predominant form of warfare across the medieval world and siege methods and technology developed alongside improvements in defence. This book goes back to the original sources to present a comprehensive view of the whole subject, tracing links across continents and analysing the relationship with changes in the design of town and castle defences, and linking contemporary historical accounts with archaeological studies. It considers the most important questions raised by siege warfare: who designed, built and operated siege equipment? How did medieval commanders gain their knowledge? What were the roles of theoretical texts and the developing science of siege warfare? How did nomadic peoples acquire siege skills? Were castles and town walls built purely of a military purpose, or did they play a symbolic role also?

The first volume begins in 450 AD with the replacement of the western Roman empire by barbarian successor states, but also examines the development of the Byzantine Empire, the Muslim Caliphate and its successors, and the links with China, through to the early thirteenth century. The second continues with the Mongol conquests in Asia and Europe and the thirteenth-century apogee of pre-gunpowder siege warfare, before examining the slow impact of guns and the cumulatively massive changes in attack and defence of the fifteenth century.

Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe

The practice of anchoritism - religious enclosure which was frequently solitary and voluntarily embraced, very often in a permanent capacity - was widespread in many areas of Europe throughout the middle ages. Originating in the desert withdrawal of the earliest Christians and prefiguring even the monastic life, anchoritism developed into an elite vocation which was popular amongst both men and women. Within this reclusive vocation, the anchorite would withdraw, either alone or with others like her or him, to a small cell or building, very frequently attached to a church or other religious institution, where she or he would - theoretically at least - remain locked up until death. In the later period it was a vocation which was particularly associated with pious laywomen who appear to have opted for this extreme way of life in their thousands throughout western Europe, often as an alternative to marriage or remarriage, allowing them, instead, to undertake the role of 'living saint' within the community.

This volume brings together for the first time in English much of the most important European scholarship on the subject to date. Tracing the vocation's origins from the Egyptian deserts of early Christian activity through to its multiple expressions in western Europe, it also identifies some of those regions - Wales and Scotland, for example - where the phenomenon doesnot appear to have been as widespread. As such, the volume provides an invaluable resource for those interested in the theories and practices of medieval anchoritism in particular, and the development of medieval religiosity more widely.

I do not usually read much about the medieval period but recently I happened read what I am told is one of the classics of European medieval history: 'Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings' (1950). I enjoyed it and found it to be intriguing. She lived a very full life.

I could be interested in Anchorite Traditions of Medieval Europe, but I can't find it on LibraryThing or Barny Noble's website.

Robert

Probably because I spelled it wrong - it's Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe.

Guess I better change it in the original - no wonder it didn't touchstone!

Thank you. It's only $84.64 at BN.COM; I put it on my waiting-for-the-paperback wishlist

Robert

I'm going to look for it at the B&B booth at Kalamazoo. Conf discount!!!

Good luck. I hope you get 75% off.

Robert

There are a few new Boydell & Brewer books that I have my eye on for Kalamazoo. Not the two you mentioned, cemanuel, though those do look interesting. You're more into the early medieval stuff than I am, so hopefully we won't be battling over any display copies.

I always get a few of theirs. Those two are both pretty steep but 40% off can help quite a bit. I haven't decided on my budget yet either but unless something comes up before then I should be able to do my part to help the economy.

One more to add, even though I don't have a clue what's in it because, well, I think it's funny.

Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog. It's not touchstoning so here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Geoffrey-Chaucer-Hath-Blog-Medieval/dp/0230105076/ref=sr_1...

Supposedly it'll be at the Palgrave exhibit at K'zoo - and there are rumors of a party at Congress.

Now I know why Geoffrey hasn't posted anything since January.

Wow, that looks pretty interesting. And the paperback is priced right. If I see it in Kzoo, I'm buying it.

Same here - and if not there, it's easily in my price range. Gonna have to look for the "After-Partye Concerninge My Booke" which is being talked about.

I remember reading Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings long before I got into serious medieval study and quite enjoying it. I've since heard there are more scholarly studies of Eleanor, but, as said, I did enjoy it.

Oxford has just published the The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages: 4 Volumes.A bit expensive but I will try to acquire it by the northern spring.
It is rougly the same price in the United Kingdom and the United States.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictionary-Middle-Ages-Volumes/dp/0198662629/ref...

Thanks Barton - one more for the wish list. It's a little cheaper at B&N but still pretty steep.

This one isn't exactly new but for me, it's newly available.

Lay Intellectuals in the Carolingian World will be out in paperback in September. This has been in the top ten of my, "I want it but it costs too much look for a bargain," list since it came out.

http://www.amazon.com/Intellectuals-Carolingian-World-Patrick-Wormald/dp/0521174...

If you liked that one then you will absolutely love this one,

Companion to the Early Middle Ages by Pauline Stafford .

https://www.amazon.ca/Companion-Early-Middle-Ages-c-500-1100/dp/140510628X/ref=s...

Looks good though it's mostly Britain which isn't my focus.

Though Carolingian Connections by Joanna Story's been in the same top ten list for a while.

http://www.amazon.com/Carolingian-Connections-Anglo-Saxon-England-Medieval/dp/07...

This thread revival is reminding me that I don't think I've posted about the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, even though it was over a month ago now. I bought Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog there, along with much else, and I did leaf through the Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages, but didn't buy it because I had already spent far too much there. My paper went well, and I had a great time overall, just like last year.

Here are the 30 books I got in Leeds:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dkathman&tag=july+2010+leeds

And the 15 I got in London:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dkathman&tag=july%2B2010%2Blondon

Somehow I managed to get all these home on the plane.

Another one, courtesy of The Medieval Review.

Medievalisms in the Postcolonial World: The Idea of "the Middle Ages" Outside Europe edited by Kathleen Davis and Nadia Altschul, John Hopkins Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0801893209.

This is more of a historiography than a history, but it sounds important. The line from The Medieval Review which hooked me, from Carol Symes of the University of Illinois (she's no slouch) is where one of the questions discussed is whether:

". . . the idea of "the medieval" functions as "a spatiotemporal baseline" (1)--whether conceived (for example) as the birthplace of modern European nations and institutions, or as the black hole of barbarism from which they have successfully escaped."

Seems to be a prevalent theme in a lot of the discussions I find myself involved in.

That book looks intriguing. Where can I get hold of a copy without breaking the piggy bank?

My primary interest is on the History of Ideas, and I tend to read more historiography, comparative history, and reconsiderations of traditional historical narratives than “The History of…” books nowadays. The question on ‘the function of the idea of the medieval’ is a fascinating one. What’s your take on the ‘meaning’ of the ‘Middle Ages’?

What’s your take on the ‘meaning’ of the ‘Middle Ages’?

Today? Depends who you are. Personally, I don't take much "meaning" from it. It was a period which had some characteristics which are by no means as unique as people once thought. I characterize it, for me, as the period with a single, dominant religious entity in Western Europe - the most singular aspect of it that I can think of. It's why I date it from early 4th century to 1517.

The original meaning, as conceived by 15th and 16th century folks and popularized in the 17th century was that it was a Middle period between the enlightened Roman Society and the enlightened society in which the creators and popularizers of the concept lived.

I find that somewhat humorous as the Romans used to feed people to animals, alive, for sport and it wasn't until the very late Medieval period that witch burning began in earnest - and had its heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries. To give just 2 examples.

Not that the Medievals were better - they enjoyed their executions as a public spectacle too, among other things. It's just that I don't find them particularly worse, even compared with people living today.

As for the book price, it's under $50 at Barnes & Noble. That doesn't strike me as too bad for a book of close to 500 pages. I haven't checked bookstores though - may be even cheaper.

Depends who you are
I’m only me.

I’m afraid I did not make myself clear. I was wondering what you thought of the idea of the Middle Ages as a ‘spatiotemporal baseline’—whether that time period is more accurately viewed as a beginning (‘birthplace of the modern’) or as a ‘black hole of barbarism.’

I don’t much believe in these kinds of either/or questions, and I’m fairly well-convinced that ‘Dark Ages’ is a misnomer. ‘Birthplace of the modern’ seems to overstate things a bit, but I do think that the Medieval period was more influential than the classical period in the formation of modern political, social, economic and cultural forms. Much of that influence—direct and indirect—follows from the establishment of the continent-wide religious institution that you mention.

I tend to have several books going at a time. Right now I’m working my way through The Rise of Early Modern Science, and in the cue I have Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries and The Arts of Intimacy on the making of Medieval Castilian culture. fwiw

>20 cemanuel: The title is offputting to me. It makes me think that it might a post modern critique filled with jargon. Tell me it ain't so!

There are two books out which aren't exactly new, but are newly affordable since they're out in paperback.

Lay Intellectuals in the Carolingian World and Literacy in Lombard Italy are both being released in paperback. I have a lot of wishlisted books that fit in the category of, "Too rich - hope for a pb." Sometimes that works out. Both were listed at a hundred or better. Now they're less than 40.

Lay Intellectuals was turned into a pb very quickly - originally published in 2008. Lombard Literacy is more normal - the hardcover first came out in 2003.

EDIT: Just realized I mentioned Lay Intellectuals in an earlier post. I'll leave it anyway since the release date is 9/30. Guess I better buy it!

Just received an Amazon.com e-mail notification. They're finally getting my interests right.

I've heard Warren Brown give papers at some conferences I've been at - the latest was last spring at Kalamazoo where he gave one on Carolingian conflict/disputes and formula evidence.

He has a new book, Violence in Medieval Europe. Not sure I'll run out and get it right away but it's affordable and it should make a decent overview. Looks like he's trying to synthesize current research. I'm sure he won't leave it at that but will offer his own interpretation.

The amazon page has a summary: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1405811641/ref=pe_5050_17165070_snp_dp

This one could be interesting. A recent Medieval theme has been about the portrayal of religious figures as sexless - female saints are talked about as being "manly" in their thoughts and movements while male saints are given high, soft voices and delicate movements and gestures.

Dark Age Bodies: Gender and Monastic Practice in the Early Medieval West by Lynda Coon.

Amazon.com Product Description:
"In Dark Age Bodies Lynda L. Coon reconstructs the gender ideology of monastic masculinity through an investigation of early medieval readings of the body. Focusing on the Carolingian era, Coon evaluates the ritual and liturgical performances of monastic bodies within the imaginative landscapes of same-sex ascetic communities in northern Europe. She demonstrates how the priestly body plays a significant role in shaping major aspects of Carolingian history, such as the revival of classicism, movements for clerical reform, and church-state relations. In the political realm, Carolingian churchmen consistently exploited monastic constructions of gender to assert the power of the monastery. Stressing the superior qualities of priestly virility, clerical elites forged a model of gender that sought to feminize lay male bodies through a variety of textual, ritual, and spatial means.

Focusing on three central themes—the body, architecture, and ritual practice—the book draws from a variety of visual and textual materials, including poetry, grammar manuals, rhetorical treatises, biblical exegesis, monastic regulations, hagiographies, illuminated manuscripts, building plans, and cloister design. Interdisciplinary in scope, Dark Age Bodies brings together scholarship in architectural history and cultural anthropology with recent works in religion, classics, and gender to present a significant reconsideration of Carolingian culture."

I heard her speak at Kalamazoo this year and she seemed to know her stuff - of course knowing your stuff for a 20-minute talk is one thing, knowing it for a 400-page book is another. Nice that the price is reasonable.

Of course, knowing your stuff for a 20-minute talk may mean taking a tiny bit of what would, given a chance, barely fit into a 400-page book 8-).

I'm re-reading Steven Runciman's The Sicilian Vespers just now (prodded by those who think I should add to my Montfort series a book about Simon's son Guy -- gad, the thought of another ten years of research is exhausting to contemplate for even a moment.) I'm struck, as before, by Runciman's clarity and ability to convey all the facets of a complex war, and all the implications of that conflict on the development of papal power versus the power of kings. A superb, and perhaps essential work for an understanding of Europe's political evolution.

to #29: I was so impressed by Runciman's writing that I went on to his first Crusade book 8-)

Runciman was such a gifted linguist that i feel like a moron just reading about the languages he could read and speak, i struggle with a bit of french and greek! I enjoy anything he wrote.

Just ordered Galla Placidia: The Last Roman Empress, a new book with a dual hardcover and paperback release from Oxford University Press. It won't touchstone but here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Galla-Placidia-Roman-Empress-Antiquity/dp/0195379136/

We'll see how it is. The price was reasonable anyway, even if I'd change the title a bit.