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Accessible book about life in medieval Britain?

29 replies

wavingfuriously · 06/01/2025 22:19

Interesting book about medieval life in uk needed please. Really bored by dry old intellectual tomes... something to being the era alive!

Thank you

OP posts:
aliasname · 06/01/2025 22:22

Fiction or non-fiction?

Theaspidistraiswilting · 06/01/2025 22:22

The shardlake series - medieval whodunnits and very well researched but most importantly very readable!

rainzen · 06/01/2025 22:23

The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England

RhinestoneCowgirl · 06/01/2025 22:25

I'd also recommend the Time Travellers Guide, I really enjoyed it. Non-fiction.

DidntHaveTheLatin · 06/01/2025 22:26

David Mitchell's most recent one, Unruly, is apparently very good, although admittedly kings and queens of England through the ages rather than just the medieval era.

crackofdoom · 06/01/2025 22:26

The Pillars of the Earth trilogy by Ken Follett. Very accessible, and really brings the period alive. For some reason one scene that sticks in my mind is the Lammas loaf competition, where everyone in the village has a go at making bread with flour from the harvest grain.

SprigatitoYouAndIKnow · 06/01/2025 22:30

I love the last Kingdom books. They do get a bit repetitive as there are a lot of battles, so stick to the first ones if it's too long.

crumpet · 06/01/2025 22:33

What timeframes? Although it’s a children’s book the Woolpack by Cynthia Harnett is a quick read, and set earlier than the Tudor Shardlakes (which I also recommend).

The Dorothy Dunnett Niccolo series is also very good.

aliasname · 06/01/2025 22:34

rainzen · 06/01/2025 22:23

The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England

I was about to suggest that, but wasn’t sure if the OP wanted fiction or not which is why I asked 💁

rainzen · 06/01/2025 22:34

crackofdoom · 06/01/2025 22:26

The Pillars of the Earth trilogy by Ken Follett. Very accessible, and really brings the period alive. For some reason one scene that sticks in my mind is the Lammas loaf competition, where everyone in the village has a go at making bread with flour from the harvest grain.

Loved that trilogy.

MisoSalmonForLunch · 06/01/2025 22:34

Another vote for the Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England. I loved it.

wavingfuriously · 06/01/2025 22:36

aliasname · 06/01/2025 22:22

Fiction or non-fiction?

NON FICTION please

OP posts:
deeplybaffled · 06/01/2025 22:36

Brother Cadfael books are great if you are looking for fiction?

Latenightreader · 06/01/2025 22:38

Saw the thread title and immediately thought of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England - they are terrific and really accessible.

wavingfuriously · 06/01/2025 22:55

Thanks everyone 👍 time travellers defo on my list !

OP posts:
Dappy777 · 07/01/2025 22:51

Terry Jones: Medieval Lives. It's exactly what you're looking for.

QueSyrahSyrah · 07/01/2025 22:52

rainzen · 06/01/2025 22:23

The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England

Came to suggest this!

Dolamroth · 08/01/2025 14:20

QueSyrahSyrah · 07/01/2025 22:52

Came to suggest this!

Me too! It's really good OP, tells you where to stay, what to eat and what job you could do. Tells you all about the culture, eg humour, literature, theatre. It is really fun!

ThatOpalSquid · 08/01/2025 14:23

We’re talking 1000 year time span, so do you have a particular era in which you’re more interested in? I’m currently The Wolf Age by Tore Skeie, is very readable for a non-historian. Winters in the World by Eleanor Parker is also interesting and follows the Anglo Saxon year.

ThatOpalSquid · 08/01/2025 14:24

Latenightreader · 06/01/2025 22:38

Saw the thread title and immediately thought of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England - they are terrific and really accessible.

The only caveat about this book is that is very male-centric IMO.

Mingenious · 08/01/2025 14:25

Medieval Horizons by Ian Mortimer is good too.

SprigatitoYouAndIKnow · 08/01/2025 19:10

ThatOpalSquid · 08/01/2025 14:24

The only caveat about this book is that is very male-centric IMO.

Trouble is, the men were the ones doing the writing at the time. You generally have a choice of them documenting the kingly matters and wars, or religion.

I would LOVE to know more about family make up, breastfeeding, infant sleep, recipes, herbal medicines etc. All the things that the monks didn't think were important to document. We then lost a lot of oral history when everyone moved to the cities in the industrial revolution and broke up the female bonds. Such a loss. Hopefully some will invent a time machine / window soon to find out.

LovelessRutting · 08/01/2025 19:14

I’m also enjoying David Mitchell’s Unruly. It’s non-fiction but very funny.

EveryoneKnowsJuanita · 08/01/2025 19:20

SprigatitoYouAndIKnow · 08/01/2025 19:10

Trouble is, the men were the ones doing the writing at the time. You generally have a choice of them documenting the kingly matters and wars, or religion.

I would LOVE to know more about family make up, breastfeeding, infant sleep, recipes, herbal medicines etc. All the things that the monks didn't think were important to document. We then lost a lot of oral history when everyone moved to the cities in the industrial revolution and broke up the female bonds. Such a loss. Hopefully some will invent a time machine / window soon to find out.

Femina by Janina Ramirez covers some of these topics - albeit from a particular viewpoint. Women that were “written out” so archaeology is the only way to tell their story

Prof Roberta Gilchrist’s books are academic but very well written ( and therefore really accessible) on women in the monastic context

Comff · 08/01/2025 19:23

SprigatitoYouAndIKnow · 08/01/2025 19:10

Trouble is, the men were the ones doing the writing at the time. You generally have a choice of them documenting the kingly matters and wars, or religion.

I would LOVE to know more about family make up, breastfeeding, infant sleep, recipes, herbal medicines etc. All the things that the monks didn't think were important to document. We then lost a lot of oral history when everyone moved to the cities in the industrial revolution and broke up the female bonds. Such a loss. Hopefully some will invent a time machine / window soon to find out.

Medieval Woman is the story of one year of every day life centered from the point of view of one woman. Each Chapter is a new month. Highly recommend.