100 Best Medieval Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

George R. R. Martin and Jeffrey Jones

5.0

Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hai

Recommended by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin. [source]

2

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer, Nevill Coghill

5.0

The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the

Recommended by Marion Turner.

Marion Turner

Each individual tale can be interpreted in so many ways—Chaucer really opens up possibilities of multiple interpretations. Even when he seems to give you a clear moral, that moral is never effective or convincing. He’s always saying: ‘Find your own moral; find your own meaning.’ [source]

3

The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)

Ken Follett

4.9

Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey and Theresa Evanoff.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Nobody who reads it—nobody who reads it—looks at a church or a cathedral the same. I made me think about my own life differently, reading that book, the experience of reading that book. What a treasure. [source]

Theresa Evanoff

One of my favourite non-business book is “Pillars of the Earth”, by Ken Follett. I have read this many times over the years, and still enjoy eit ach time. I love how the characters are all very complex, strategic, and how the story weaves together on so many levels. [source]

4

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

George R. R. Martin

4.8

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing

Recommended by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin. [source]

5

The Name of the Rose

Umberto Eco, William Weaver

4.7

The year is 1327. Benedictines in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor

Recommended by Vanora Bennett.

Vanora Bennett

I read this a few years ago and it was one of those books you always remember because it creates a whole new way of thinking. I had no idea at the time that the medieval mindset was any different to the modern one. It is about the adventure of a Franciscan friar and his novice in medieval Italy and it is part murder mystery, part game with semiotics and medieval knowledge. At university I read lots of French books referring to this medieval period where all knowledge was supposed to be classified, and re-classified and super-classified, and it became sort of idiotic, this academic approach that these monks had. Yet there was something amazing about this belief that you could classify knowledge. It’s also very good storytelling, but the part I remember was the sort of library filled with knowledge and these games, which teased you with knowing things and not knowing things. It’s just this very complex mindset that’s really different from our own and because I knew nothing about it, it was just terribly exciting to be taken off into this world. [source]

6

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century

Ian Mortimer

4.7

Imagine you could get into a time machine and travel back to the 14th century. This text sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking the reader to the Middle Ages, and showing everything from the horrors of leprosy and war to the ridiculous excesses of roasted larks and haute couture.

7

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

George R. R. Martin

4.7

An alternate cover for this isbn can be found here.

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and

Recommended by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin. [source]

8

Beowulf

Seamus Heaney

4.7

Beowulf is a major epic of Anglo-Saxon literature, probably composed between the first half of the seventh century and the end of the first millennium. The poem was inspired by the oral tradition Anglo-Saxon and Germanic transcribed a verse epic, recounting the exploits of Beowulf hero who gave his name to the poem, on which are grafted chretiens additions.

9

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Anonymous, Burton Raffel, et al.

4.7

Written by an anonymous 14th-century poet, this epic poem is recognized as an equal of Chaucer's masterworks and of the great Old English poems, including "Beowulf." This edition includes a Preface by Raffel and a new Introduction. Revised reissue.

10

The Once and Future King

T. H. White, Neil Gaiman

4.6

T.H White′s masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Here all five volumes that make up the story are published in one volume, as White himself always wished. Exquisite comedy offsets the tragedy of Arthur′s personal doom as White brings to life the major British epic of all time with brilliance, grandeur, warmth and charm.

Recommended by Atul Butte, Ben Shapiro, Lev Grossman, and 1 others.

Atul Butte

@ZachWeiner The Once and Future King. Awesome book, can't forget the lessons 35 years later. [source]

Ben Shapiro

The best fantasy book of all time. [source]

Lev Grossman

TH White’s The Once and Future King. White is less famous than Lewis and Tolkien, but he was a better writer, at least as far as style goes, and his book is a true masterpiece in its own right – a thoroughly modern re-imagining of the great English epic, the story of King Arthur. Like Tolkien, White takes an ancient, mythic landscape and scales it down to human size (or perhaps he scales us up). But White’s world is more brightly lit than Tolkien’s – he dispenses with all those Wagnerian storm clouds. White’s England is all streaming banners and sun-splashed meadows and shining walls, and he lingers longer over his characters, making them more complex and flawed and divided against themselves. The first part alone, “The Sword in the Stone”, about Arthur’s early years and his education by Merlin, may be the best story of a childhood ever committed to paper. [source]

11

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

George R. R. Martin

4.6

Crows will fight over a dead man's flesh, and kill each other for his eyes.

Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life.

The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's

Recommended by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin. [source]

12

World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)

Ken Follett

4.6

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary

13

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

George R. R. Martin

4.5

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks

Recommended by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin. [source]

14

Inferno

Dante Alighieri

4.5

This work is designed as an introduction to Dante's Inferno. With this in mind, Longfellow's poetic translation has been juxtaposed side by side with a prose version -- the poem for enjoying the poetry without the interruption of footnotes; the prose for delving more deeply into various aspects of the work.

Most of the footnotes are taken from various translations and commentaries (listed below), s

Recommended by Chris Walsh and Nick Havely.

Chris Walsh

The Inferno is the classic moment of people not wanting to talk about cowardice. [source]

Nick Havely

It is a close and reliable translation, with the original text on the facing page, and it also has excellent notes. [source]

15

The Bride (Lairds' Fiancées, #1)

Julie Garwood

4.5

From New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood, whose novels have enchanted millions of readers worldwide, comes a breathtakingly romantic novel about a mismatched young wife and husband who, despite their differences in background and temperament, fall inexorably in love. The Bride sweeps readers back to the savage beauty of medieval Scotland....

By the king's edict, Alec Kincaid, mighties

Cover unavailable

16

A Kingdom of Dreams (Westmoreland, #1)

Judith McNaught

4.5

Abducted from her convent school, headstrong Scottish beauty Jennifer Merrick does not easily surrender to Royce Westmoreland, Duke of Claymore. Known as "The Wolf"; his very name strikes terror in the hearts of his enemies. But proud Jennifer will have nothing to do with the fierce English warrior who holds her captive, this handsome rogue who taunts her with his blazing arrogance. Boldly she cha

17

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

Barbara W. Tuchman

4.5

The 14th century gives us back two contradictory images: a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague. Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived.

18

The Secret (Highlands' Lairds, #1)

Julie Garwood

4.5

Judith Hampton was as beautiful as she was proud, as purposeful as she was loyal. The dear Scottish friend of her childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another, private reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean. Nothing prepared her for the sight of the Scottish

19

Le Morte D'Arthur

Sir Thomas Malory

4.5

Le Morte d'Arthur" is Sir Thomas Malory's compilation of English talesand stories translated from the French about the legendary King Arthur and his kingdom of Camelot. It tells of Arthur's ascent to the throne following his removal of the sword from the stone, his choosing of his most valorous knights to serve as his Knights of the Round Table, his receiptof the enchanted sword Excalibur from the

Cover unavailable

20

Honor's Splendour

Julie Garwood

4.5

This classic medieval romance from New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood is a fan favorite—a beautiful lady needs rescue from a knight in shining armor, and gets an alpha warrior instead.

In the feuding English court, gentle Lady Madelyne suffered the cruel whims of her ruthless brother, Baron Louddon. Then, in vengeance for a bitter crime, Baron Duncan of Wexton—the Wolf—unleashed his wa

21

The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1)

Bernard Cornwell

4.4

This is the 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.

The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begi

22

The Prize

Julie Garwood

4.4

Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

In the resplendence of William the Conqueror's London court, the lovely Saxon captive Lady Nicholaa was forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chose Royce, a baron warrior whose fierce demeanor could not conceal his chivalrous and tender heart. A resourceful, rebellious and utterly naive, Nicholaa vowed to

23

Katherine

Anya Seton, Philippa Gregory

4.4

This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant 14th century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black P

Recommended by Alison Weir.

Alison Weir

This is one of my all-time favourite historical novels; it’s absolutely inspirational. Every sentence is a joy. It was written in 1954 and is, of course, of its time – bodice rippers came later. But it’s written with such integrity, and I see it as a benchmark for historical novels. Anya Seton was an American author and she spent four years in Britain researching this novel. Given the sources available to her at the time, it’s brilliant. It has inspired so many people. In 2003 the BBC did a poll, ‘The Big Read’, of all-time favourite books, and Katherine came in the top 100. It’s never been out of print. [source]

24

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

4.4

"Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third." T. S. Eliot

"Ciardi has given us a credible, passionate persona of the poet, stripped of the customary gauds of rhetoric and false decoration, strong and noble in utterance." Dudley Fitts

"A sensitive and perceptive translation;a spectacular achievement." Archibald MacLeish

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works o

Recommended by A N Wilson.

A N Wilson

I don’t think there’s anything in world literature to compare with the last few cantos of the Paradiso as a Christian statement. [source]

25

The Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio, G. H. McWilliam

4.4

The Decameron (c.1351) is an entertaining series of one hundred stories written in the wake of the Black Death. The stories are told in a country villa outside the city of Florence by ten young noble men and women who are seeking to escape the ravages of the plague. Boccaccio's skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in these vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots th

Recommended by Jenny Davidson and Marion Turner.

Jenny Davidson

The premise of the book is that a group of young noblemen and -women, people of great privilege who have been able to flee the plague-ridden city, are telling each other stories to while away their time together in the luxurious villa to which they’ve retreated. The description of the plague in the frame narrative is very vivid and quite horrifying; it sets a dark tone. [source]

Marion Turner

The Decameron specifically is a story about ten people who decide to escape the plague by going to a lovely country house with their servants. They tell stories there: ten stories a day for ten days, so there are 100 stories. The stories tend to be very, very funny. A lot of them are very rude. [source]

26

A Morbid Taste for Bones (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #1)

Ellis Peters

4.4

Ellis Peters' introduction to the murderous medieval world of Brother Cadfael...
A Morbid Taste for Bones

In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rusti

27

Ransom (Highlands' Lairds, #2)

Julie Garwood

4.4

Overflowing with all of the majesty and intrigue of medieval glory days, this magnificent New York Times bestseller is a page-turner of passion and loyalty, justice and honor. Beloved storyteller Julie Garwood steps back to the silver-shrouded Highlands of her classic tale The Secret--and hails the return of two unforgettable warriors: Ramsey Sinclair and Brodick Buchanan. In the dark days after t

28

Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel, #1)

Connie Willis

4.3

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a c

29

Here Be Dragons (Welsh Princes, #1)

Sharon Kay Penman

4.3

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. Bu

30

The Hobbit

J. R. R. Tolkien

4.3

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilb

Recommended by Richard Branson, Cressida Cowell, Lev Grossman, and 5 others.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Cressida Cowell

The Hobbit is such a richly imagined fantasy that, especially as a child, you can live in it. It is so completely immersive. [source]

Lev Grossman

First up, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by JRR Tolkien. But you knew I was going to say that. This one book, which was published in 1937, defined so many variables for the fantasy tradition that are still in place today. Tolkien’s extraordinary achievement was to recover the epic landscapes of Anglo-Saxon myth, bring them back to life, and then to take us through them on foot, so we could see the details up close, at human scale. The Hobbit is both mythic and relatable at the same time – The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik recently called it “an arranged marriage between the Elder Edda and The Wind in the Willows”, and I think that’s entirely fair. Though I would give more credit to the bass register of Tolkien’s imagination, its abyssal depths. Mole never delved as deep as the Mines of Moria. [source]

31

Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death, #1)

Ariana Franklin

4.3

A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction. In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews sacrifice Christian children in blasphemous ceremonies. To save them from the rioting mob, the king places th

32

The Wedding (Lairds' Fiancées, #2)

Julie Garwood

4.3

It's a classic plot: a marriage of convenience that lays the groundwork for true love.

1119. Journeying from England to Scotland to wed a highlander, Lady Brenna had resigned herself to the arranged match. But when a band of fierce, painted warriors captured her en route, she fearlessly met their demand to marry their leader -- the quick-tempered laird Connor MacAlister. She couldn't know that her

33

The Wolf and the Dove

Kathleen E Woodiwiss

4.3

The Wolf
Noble Aislinn grieves as the Iron Wolf and his minions storm through her beloved Darkenwald. And she burns with malice for the handsome Norman savage who would enslave her. . .even as she aches to know the rapture of the conqueror's kiss.

The Dove
For the first time ever, mighty Wulfgar has been vanquished — and by a bold and beautiful princess of Saxon blood. He must have the chaste, sensuo

34

The Mists of Avalon (Avalon, #1)

Marion Zimmer Bradley, Davina Porter, et al

4.3

Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. A spellbinding novel, an extraordinary literary achievement, THE MISTS OF AVALON will stay with you for a long time to come....

Cover unavailable

35

The Lais of Marie de France

Marie de France, Glyn S. Burgess, Keith Busby

4.3

This is a prose translation of the lais or poems attributed to Marie de France. Little is known of her but she was probably the Abbess of the abbey at Shaftesbury in the late 12th century, illegitimate daughter of Geoffrey Plantagenet and hence the half-sister of Henry II of England. It was to a king, and probably Henry II, that she dedicated these poems of adventure and love which were retellings

36

The Song of Roland

Dorothy L. Sayers

4.3

On 15 August 778, Charlemagne’s army was returning from a successful expedition against Saracen Spain when its rearguard was ambushed in a remote Pyrenean pass. Out of this skirmish arose a stirring tale of war, which was recorded in the oldest extant epic poem in French. The Song of Roland, written by an unknown poet, tells of Charlemagne’s warrior nephew, Lord of the Breton Marches, who valiantl

37

When Christ and His Saints Slept (Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1)

Sharon Kay Penman

4.3

A.D. 1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and bitter struggle, all of England bled and burned.

Sharon Kay Penman's magnificent fifth novel summons to life a specta

38

Untamed (Medieval, #1)

Elizabeth Lowell

4.3

A hero of the crusades, Dominic le Sabre has returned to Scotland in glory and triumph to claim his reward: the beautiful Saxon bride awarded to him as conqueror king. But Lady Margaret of Blackthorne cannot yield to the bold Norman invader.

The beloved daughter of a sacred tribe of Celtic mystics, she fears an ancient curse that could bring further turmoil to her battle-scarred land...and sorrow t

39

Saving Grace

Julie Garwood

4.3

When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, already she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry and selected a bridegroom for her—it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish war

40

The Sunne in Splendour

Sharon Kay Penman

4.3

A glorious novel of the controversial Richard III - a monarch betrayed in life by his allies and betrayed in death by history.

In this beautifully rendered modern classic, Sharon Kay Penman redeems Richard III - vilified as the bitter, twisted, scheming hunchback who murdered his nephews, the princes in the Tower - from his maligned place in history with a dazzling combination of research and story

41

The Prose Edda

Snorri Sturluson, Jesse L. Byock

4.2

'What was the beginning, or how did things start? What was there before?'

The Prose Edda is the most renowned of all works of Scandinavian literature and our most extensive source for Norse mythology. Written in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, it tells ancient stories of the Norse creation epic and recounts the battles that follow as gods, giants, dwarves and elves struggle f

42

One Corpse Too Many (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #2)

Ellis Peters

4.2

In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden into a battlefield of passions, deceptions, and death. Not far from the safety of the abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders loyal to the empress to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make

Cover unavailable

43

Arthurian Romances

Chretien de Troyes

4.2

Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly manner, Chrétien de Troyes fashioned a new form of medieval Romance. The Knight of the Cart is the first telling of the adulterous relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's Queen Guinevere, and in The Knight with the Lion Yvain neglects his bride in his quest for greater glory. Erec

44

Ivanhoe

Sir Walter Scott, Graham Tulloch

4.2

For this novel, Scott moved far away from the setting of his own turbulent time. He went back to the late 12th century, and to England rather than the Scottish settings of all his previous novels. He connected his writing Ivanhoe with his concerns about contemporary events.
Scott drew together the apparently opposing themes of historical reality and chivalric romance, social realism and high advent

Cover unavailable

45

Never Seduce a Scot (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs, #1)

Maya Banks

4.2

Eveline Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level, intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival cl

46

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

Robin LaFevers

4.2

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and

47

In Bed with a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy, #1)

Maya Banks

4.2

Maya Banks' beguiling new trilogy features three unforgettable brothers risking everything to save their clan and their legacy—and to surrender their hearts to love.

Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mai

48

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)

John Flanagan

4.2

They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of

Cover unavailable

49

The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England

Dan Jones

4.2

The first Plantagenet king inherited a blood-soaked kingdom from the Normans and transformed it into an empire stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic history, Dan Jones vividly resurrects this fierce and seductive royal dynasty and its mythic world.

We meet the captivating Eleanor of Aquitaine, twice queen and the most famous woman in Christendom; her son, Richard the Lionh

50

Agincourt

Bernard CORNWELL

4.2

Agincourt is one of the epic battles of history. It was fought by two badly matched armies that met in atrocious conditions on St Crispin's Day 1415, and resulted in an extraordinary victory that was celebrated in England long before Shakespeare immortalised it in Henry V. It has always been held to be the triumph of the longbow against the armoured knight, and of the common man against the feudal

51

A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age

William Manchester

4.2

From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth - the dense explosion o

Recommended by Dave Elitch and Robert Stephens.

Dave Elitch

Dave Elitch recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

Robert Stephens

@benedictevans Book looks fascinating. Check out “A World Lit Only By Fire” https://t.co/cWuTsCAHaT [source]

Cover unavailable

52

The Mabinogion

Anonymous, Jeffrey Gantz

4.2

The Mabinogion (Welsh pronunciation: mabɪˈnɔɡjɔn) is a collection of 11 prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs and early medieval historical traditions. While some details may hark back to older Iron Age traditions, each of the tales is the product of a developed medieval Welsh narrative tradition, bot

53

Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)

Kristin Cashore

4.2

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth

54

The Saga of the Volsungs

Jesse L. Byock, Anonymous

4.2

Based on Viking Age poems, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend and sheer human drama. At its heart are the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer who acquires magical knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet it is also set in a very human world, incorporating strands from the oral narratives of the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun and other warriors fought on th

55

The Archer's Tale (The Grail Quest, #1)

Bernard Cornwell

4.2

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, now available in paperback—the first book in the Grail Series--a spellbinding tale of a young man, a fearless archer, who sets out wanting to avenge his family's honor and winds up on a quest for the Holy Grail.

At dawn on Easter morning 1343, a marauding band of French raiders arrives by boat to ambush the coastal English village of Hookton

56

Gentle Warrior

Julie Garwood

4.2

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Ransom comes an exquisite tender tale of love, adventure and passion!

In feudal England, Elizabeth Montwright barely escaped the massacre that destroyed her family and exiled her from her ancestral castle. Bent on revenge, she rode again through the fortress gates, disguised as a peasant...to seek aid from

Cover unavailable

57

Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life (World Leaders Past & Present)

Alison Weir

4.2

In this beautifully written biography, Alison Weir paints a vibrant portrait of a truly exceptional woman and provides new insights into her intimate world.

Renowned in her time for being the most beautiful woman in Europe, the wife of two kings and mother of three, Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the great heroines of the Middle Ages. At a time when women were regarded as little more than chattel

Recommended by Nancy Goldstone.

Nancy Goldstone

This is one of Alison Weir’s best books. I think she has managed to teach history to more people than Oxford University, because her books are so well written and easy to follow. She is especially good at taking time to explain the world that she writes about, so the reader gets a real feel for what it was like to live in the middle ages. Her books emphasise the colour and pageantry of that era – what everyone wore, what their jewels were like. I love that kind of book. [source]

58

The Greatest Knight (William Marshal, #2)

Elizabeth Chadwick

4.2

A medieval historical novel about William Marshal, probably the greatest knight of the Middle Ages. This is the story of how he rose through the dangerous world of Angevin politics to become one of the most powerful magnates of the realm and eventually regent of England.

59

Prisoner of My Desire

Johanna Lindsey

4.2

CAPTIVE OF LOVE

Spirited Rowena Belleme must produce an heir--or incur the dangerous wrath of a ruthless stepbrother, who stands to forfeit his ill-gotten wealth. And the magnificent Warrick deChaville is the perfect choice to sire her child--though it means imprisoning the handsome knight...and forcing him to bend to her amorous whims.

SLAVE OF PASSION

Vowing to resist but betrayed by his own virili

60

Born in Sin (Brotherhood of the Sword #3/MacAllister, #2)

Kinley MacGregor

4.1

Stunning Caledonia MacNeely fights an unfamiliar shiver when she is offered in marriage to the infamous ′Lord Sin′. Though Callie fears this mysterious knight - less for the dark whispers that damn him than for the burning desire he invokes - she is under order of the English King. And with the fate of her troubled clan hanging in the balance, she has little recourse.

61

Company of Liars

Karen Maitland

4.1

In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama.

The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.

Ea

62

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes

Jackson Crawford

4.1

She sees, coming up a second time,
Earth from the ocean, eternally green;
the waterfalls plunge, an eagle soars above them,
over the mountain hunting fish.'

After the terrible conflagration of Ragnarok, the earth rises serenely again from the ocean, and life is renewed. The Poetic Edda begins with The Seeress's Prophecy which recounts the creation of the world, and looks forward to its destruction

63

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1)

Tamora Pierce

4.1

From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight.

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on

64

Monk's Hood (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #3)

Ellis Peter

4.1

Silver Dagger Award Winner: In this medieval mystery, Brother Cadfael faces suspicion when one of his herbal ingredients is used to kill a man.

Christmas 1138. Gervase Bonel is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he suddenly takes ill. Luckily, the abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man’s bedside

65

The Black Lyon (Montgomery/Taggert, #1)

Jude Deveraux

4.1

Darkly handsome and rich beyond imagining, the bold English conqueror was called Lyon for his-lion like fierceness. He had no match among enemies, or women ... until he met Lyonene, the green-eyed beauty whose fiery spirit matched his own. Through a whirlwind romance and stormy marriage, she endured every peril to be by his side... until jealousy and vicious lies drove her across the Irish Sea and

66

Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Bede, D. H. Farmer, Ronald Latham, Leo Sherley-Price

4.1

Starting with the invasion of Julius Caesar in the fifth century, Bede recorded the history of the English up to his own day in 731 A.D. A scholarly monk working in the north-east of England, Bede wrote the five books of his history in Latin. The Ecclesiastical History is his most famous work, and this edition provides the authoritative Colgrave translation, as well as a new translation of the Gre

Recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch.

Diarmaid MacCulloch

Bede is writing about 130 years after the English had first experienced Christianity. [source]

Cover unavailable

67

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo

J.R.R. Tolkien

4.1

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values.

Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal

68

The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Stories, #2)

Bernard Cornwell

4.1

The second installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit television series.

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 g

69

Saint Peter's Fair (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #4)

Ellis Peter

4.1

In the twelfth century, merchants gather at a summertime fair—but when one of them is found dead in a river, a crime-solving monk must step in.

St. Peter’s Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war racking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much-needed gaiety to the town of Shrewsbury—u

70

The Nibelungenlied

Anonymous

4.1

Written by an unknown author in the twelfth century, this powerful tale of murder and revenge reaches back to the earliest epochs of German antiquity, transforming centuries-old legend into a masterpiece of chivalric drama. Siegfried, a great prince of the Netherlands, wins the hand of the beautiful princess Kriemhild of Burgundy, by aiding her brother Gunther in his struggle to seduce a powerful

71

Never Love a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy, #3)

Maya Banks

4.1

In a tale of strong ties and true love, Maya Banks' trilogy comes to its conclusion, as the youngest McCabe brother uses sword and seduction to save his clan - and seal his heart.

Caelen McCabe’s young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now, putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother’s jilted bride and salvage the uneasy alliance between two clans. While b

72

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

Sarah J. Maa

4.1

This is a previously published edition of ISBN13: 9781599906959.

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins a

73

The Virgin in the Ice (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #6)

Ellis Peter

4.1

Winter, 1139. Brother Cadfael's tranquil life in the monastery gardens at Shrewsbury is once again interrupted by violent, mysterious happenings. Raging civil war has sent many refugees north from Worcester, among them two orphans of a great family and a nun. But they seem to have disappeared somewhere in the wild winter landscape of frost and snow, and Cadfael sets out to find them. September pub

74

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)

Christopher Paolini

4.1

One boy...
One dragon...
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust in

75

Pope Joan

Donna Woolfolk Cross

4.1

A world-wide bestseller, major motion picture and upcoming "Director's Cut" TV mini-series exclusively for the U.S!

For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die–Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints

76

Catherine, Called Birdy

Karen Cushman

4.1

"Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life."

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man--any rich man, no matter how awful.

But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all.

Unfortunately, he is also

77

The Book of the City of Ladies

Christine de Pizan, Rosalind Brown-Grant

4.1

A fascinating insight into the debates and controversies about the position of women in medieval culture, written by France's first professional woman of letters

The pioneering Book of the City of Ladies begins when, feeling frustrated and miserable after reading a male writer's tirade against women, Christine de Pizan has a dreamlike vision where three virtues—Reason, Rectitude and Justice—appear

Recommended by Belinda Jack.

Belinda Jack

Yes, I think she was. It was hard to pick out the key books in the history of women readers because there are such a vast number. But I wanted to pick them from different periods. Christine de Pizan was one of the earliest women authors to challenge the misogyny of the day. She identified all sorts of differences between the way girls and boys and men and women were treated, and felt that any inferiority that one could legitimately allocate to women was really a function of their lack of education. [source]

78

Troilus and Criseyde

Geoffrey Chaucer, Stephen Barney

4.1

This Norton Critical Edition of Chaucer’s masterpiece is based on Stephen Barney’s acclaimed text and is accompanied by a translation of its major source, Boccaccio’s Filostrato.

The editor’s lucid introduction, marginal glosses, and explanatory annotations make Troilus and Criseyde easily accessible to students with no prior knowledge of Chaucer or Middle English. Also included is Robert Henryson’

Recommended by Jenni Nuttall.

Jenni Nuttall

This edition contains the source—the springboard from which Chaucer is writing, Boccaccio—on facing pages in an English translation of the Italian. I like it because you can see where Chaucer is translating word by word. But there are also these wonderful moments where you get blank space on one side, and you realize Chaucer is expanding and inventing. [source]

79

The Consolation of Philosophy

Ancius Boethius and Victor Watts

4.1

Boethius was an eminent public figure under the Gothic emperor Theodoric, and an exceptional Greek scholar. When he became involved in a conspiracy and was imprisoned in Pavia, it was to the Greek philosophers that he turned. THE CONSOLATION was written in the period leading up to his brutal execution. It is a dialogue of alternating prose and verse between the ailing prisoner and his 'nurse' Phil

80

The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur (The Warlord Chronicles, #1)

Bernard Cornwell

4.1

Uther, the High King, has died, leaving the infant Mordred as his only heir. His uncle, the loyal and gifted warlord Arthur, now rules as caretaker for a country which has fallen into chaos - threats emerge from within the British kingdoms while vicious Saxon armies stand ready to invade. As he struggles to unite Britain and hold back the enemy at the gates, Arthur is embroiled in a doomed romance

81

The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien, Dramatization, Ian Holm

4.1

A full-cast dramatization
approx. 4 hours
4 cassettes
J.R.R. Tolkien's
The Fellowship of the Ring
Order the audiobook today before the feature film release this holiday season.
J. R. R. Tolkien's groundbreaking epic of good versus evil, extraordinary heroes, wondrous creatures and dark armies of terror will be presented in a trilogy of feature films.
"The Fellowship of the Ring" - December 19, 2001
"T

82

The Leper of Saint Giles (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #5)

Ellis Peter

4.1

October 1139. A savage murder interrupts an ill-fated marriage set to take place at Brother Cadfael's abbey, leaving the monk with a terrible mystery to solve. The key to the killing is hidden among the inhabitants of the Saint Giles leper colony, and Brother Cadfael must ferret out a sickness not of the body, but of a twisted mind.

83

Seduction of a Highland Lass (McCabe Trilogy, #2)

Maya Banks

4.0

Maya Banks, the New York Times bestselling author of romance and romantic suspense has captivated readers with her steamy Scottish historical novels, perfect for fans of Julie Garwood. In Seduction of a Highland Lass, an indomitable Highland warrior is caught between loyalty and forbidden love.

Fiercely loyal to his elder brother, Alaric McCabe leads his clan in the fight for their birthright. N

84

The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2; The Cousins War #1)

Philippa Gregory

4.0

Brother turns on brother. The throne of England is at stake. The deadly Wars of the Roses have begun. . . ."They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women."Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretl

85

The Midwife's Apprentice

Karen Cushman

4.0

From the author of Catherine, Called Birdy comes another spellbinding novel set in medieval England. The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat--who renames herself Alyce--gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: "A full bell

86

The Summer Queen (Eleanor of Aquitaine, #1)

Elizabeth Chadwick

4.0

Eleanor of Aquitaine is a 12th century icon who has fascinated readers for 800 years. But the real Eleanor remains elusive.

This stunning novel introduces an Eleanor that all other writers have missed. Based on the most up-to-date research, it is the first novel to show Eleanor beginning her married life at 13.

Overflowing with scandal, passion, triumph and tragedy, Eleanor's legendary story begins

87

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness, #2)

Tamora Pierce

4.0

Disguised as a boy, Alanna of Trebond becomes a squire, to none other than the prince of the realm. But Prince Jonathan is much more to Alanna; he is her ally, her best friend, and one of the few who knows that she's really a girl. Now it will take all of Alanna's awesome skill, strength, and growing magical powers to protect him from the mysterious evil sorcerer who is bent on his destruction, an

88

A Knight in Shining Armor (Montgomery/Taggert Family, #13)

Jude Deveraux

4.0

an alternate cover editions can be found here and here

New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux will capture your heart with signature classic novel, a time-travel romance featuring a present-day heroine and a dashing hero from the sixteenth century!

Abandoned by a cruel fate, lovely Dougless Montgomery lies weeping upon a cold tombstone in an English church. Suddenly, the most extraordinary

89

Defy Not the Heart (Shefford's Knights #1)

Johanna Lindsey

4.0

Reina seethes with rage over her fate: taken captive by the knight Ranulf — a golden giant of a man — who has pledged to deliver her to the nuptial bed of the despised Lord Rothwell. She will never accept such bondage — and Reina offers herself to her kidnapped instead, offering to make Ranulf a great lord...if he agrees to wed her.But the brave knight desires much more than a marriage of convenie

90

The Burning Bridge (Ranger's Apprentice, #2)

John Flanagan

4.0

Bracing for a final clash with the evil warlord Morgarath, the Rangers rally the kingdom's allies, and Will is chosen, along with his friend Horace, as special envoys to nearby Celtica. But the simple mission soon takes an unsettling turn - the Celticans have disappeared, their town abandoned. The scheming hand of Morgarath, it seems, has been far from idle. He has found a way to bring his legions

91

The Battle for Skandia (Ranger's Apprentice, #4)

John Flanagan

4.0

For Will and Evanlyn, freedom has never felt so fleeing.

Still far from their homeland after escaping slavery in the icebound land of Skandia, the Ranger's apprentice and the princess's plan to return to Araluen is spoiled when Evanlyn is taken captive by a Temujai warrior. Though still weakened by the warmweed's toxic effects, Will employs his Ranger training to locate his friend, but an enemy sco

92

Lords of the North (The Saxon Stories, #3)

Bernard Cornwell

4.0

The third instalment in Bernard Cornwell's King Alfred series, following on from the outstanding previous novels The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman, both of which were top ten bestsellers. The year is 878 and Wessex is free from the Vikings. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, helped Alfred win that victory, but now he is disgusted by Alfred's lack of generosity and repelled b

93

The Serpent's Tale (Mistress of the Art of Death, #2)

Ariana Franklin

4.0

Ariana Franklin combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the drama of historical fiction in the enthralling second novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, featuring medieval heroine Adelia Aguilar.

Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died an agonizing death by poison - and the king's estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry suspects

Cover unavailable

94

Parzival

Wolfram Von Eschenbach, A. T. Hatto

4.0

Composed in the early thirteenth century, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival is the re-creation and completion of the story left unfinished by its initiator Chrétien de Troyes. It follows Parzival from his boyhood and career as a knight in the court of King Arthur to his ultimate achievement as King of the Temple of the Grail, which Wolfram describes as a life-giving Stone. As a knight serving the

95

Timeline

Michael Crichton

4.0

In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world, archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to the headquarters of a secretive multinational corporation that has developed an astounding technology. Now

96

The Chief (Highland Guard, #1)

Monica McCarty

4.0

An elite fighting force unlike the world has ever seen...

Scouring the darkest corners of the Highlands and Western Isles, Robert the Bruce handpicks ten warriors to help him in his quest to free Scotland from English rule. They are the best of the best, chosen for their superior skills in each discipline of warfare. And to lead his secret Highland Guard, Bruce chooses the greatest warrior of all.

T

97

Time and Chance (Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, #2)

Sharon Kay Penman

4.0

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, acclaimed historical novelist Sharon Kay Penman portrayed all the deceit, danger, and drama of Henry II's ascension to the throne. Now, in Time and Chance, she continues the ever-more-captivating tale.

It was medieval England's immortal marriage--Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But wh

98

The Scarlet Lion (William Marshal, #3)

Elizabeth Chadwick

4.0

Following early beginnings as a knight in the English royal household and a champion of the tourneys, William Marshal's prowess and loyalty have been rewarded by the hand in marriage of Isabelle de Clare, heiress to great estates in England, Normandy and Ireland. Now a powerful magnate, William has weathered the difficult years of King Richard's absence on crusade and is currently serving him on c

Cover unavailable

99

The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature

C. S. Lewis

4.0

C.S. Lewis' The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, as historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It describes the "image" discarded by later ages as "the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe." This, Lewis'

Recommended by Tim Radford.

Tim Radford

You have to understand this world or you can’t enjoy Dante. [source]

100

The Medieval Tailor's Assistant: Common Garments 1100-1480

Sarah Thursfield

4.0