Top products from r/MedievalHistory

We found 25 product mentions on r/MedievalHistory. We ranked the 45 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/MedievalHistory:

u/andro1ds · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

And on vikings - primary sources though not all of battles - here’s a quick overview of sources https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-knowledge/archaeology-and-history/written-sources-for-the-viking-age/

They may be found around the web but here are links to a few to buy

I can recommend the
Icelandic sagas, personally I find them great fun lots of skull bashings - you may have to buy them.

at least some are here https://sagadb.org Or here https://archive.org/details/sagalibrarydonei01snoriala


Icelandic sagas
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=icelandic+saga&qid=1559118780&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Saxo gramattucus or Saco’s saga (13th century danish ‘history’ of kings
https://www.amazon.com/Saxo-Grammaticus-History-English-Commentary/dp/0859915026


Snorris saga
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Norse-Kings-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/8209101730 - not sure if there is a newer more comprehensive translation as I read in original language

and the Eddas

Younger Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Edda-Illustrated-Snorri-Sturluson-ebook/dp/B00NCCEJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118593&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Elder Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Elder-Edda-Viking-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140435859/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118649&s=gateway&sr=8-11


And on vikings - primary sources though not all of battles

I can recommend the
Icelandic sagas, personally I find them great fun lots of skull bashings - you may have to buy them.

at least some are here https://sagadb.org Or here https://archive.org/details/sagalibrarydonei01snoriala


Icelandic sagas
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=icelandic+saga&qid=1559118780&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Saxo gramattucus or Saco’s saga (13th century danish ‘history’ of kings
https://www.amazon.com/Saxo-Grammaticus-History-English-Commentary/dp/0859915026


Snorris saga
https://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Norse-Kings-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/8209101730 - not sure if there is a newer more comprehensive translation as I read in original language

and the Eddas

Younger Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Edda-Illustrated-Snorri-Sturluson-ebook/dp/B00NCCEJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118593&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Elder Edda
https://www.amazon.com/Elder-Edda-Viking-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140435859/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=edda+saga&qid=1559118649&s=gateway&sr=8-11

u/ConanofCimmeria · 14 pointsr/MedievalHistory

My area of particular interest is Old Norse stuff, and as far as I know there's little about band of criminals there, probably because of how their justice system worked. The sagas, though, represent a treasure trove of legal ideas, especially concerning what is to be an outlaw, and have all kinds of exciting juicy fighting bits. I'm going to link to to a few relevant sagas, but the translations are all from the 19th century (and thus in the public domain,) so they frequently are translated differently than they would be now. If you're interested enough, I recommend you buy The Sagas of Icelanders for some really top-notch modern translations.

u/The-Lord-Our-God · 13 pointsr/MedievalHistory

Start with The Year 1000 by Robert Lacey. It's a great read and it will introduce you to a lot of concepts of the early middle ages in a fun and very informative way.

Then I'd move on to books by Joeseph and Frances Gies, particularly Life in a Medieval City, Life in a Medieval Castle, and Life in a Medieval Village (the last one being my personal favorite, although village life is especially interesting to me). You really can't go wrong with any Gies books though, so if one catches your eye, go for it.

Then, when you're ready to go into further depth, move onto the books of G. G. Coulton. They were mostly written in the early 20th century so they can be a little dry, but holy smokes the guy was an erudite medievalist, and many authors and researchers owe a lot to him.

BONUS: If, like me, you become interested in the village life aspect of the middle ages, there are some primary documents that you can find online too. I recommend at least The Rules of Robert Grosseteste, Seneschaucie, and Robert of Henley's Husbandry (I don't know what that site is, it was just the first one that came up on my search results).

u/Scalez · 7 pointsr/MedievalHistory

I'd probably start here in order to get an idea of Britain on the macro scale.
While bountyonme mentions Saxons ruling from 410AD to 1066, the term "rule" is rather loose, as they were constantly being attacked and invaded by Nordic peoples, even having one as their king for a period of time.
And before even that, there was the Roman rule of England, which shouldn't be overlooked, as the Romans had a major impact on the entirety of Europe, and with England so far away from Roman Empire's Mediterranean hub, there was a different flavor of Roman imperialism there than in Italy or France, which left its mark on Britain even after the fall of Rome
Finally, when you're looking at British history, if you're curious about the various cultural elements of the Isles, and how the Brits perceived themselves and others, I would suggest reading Beowulf, with Tolkien's essay on it which examines how the tale provides a peek into the cultural mindset of the period. Also, if you want a somewhat amusing read, check out Gerald of Wales' Topography of Ireland, the section on Irish miracles is especially interesting.
Also, returning to bountyonme, definitely definitely definitely read The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's poetry is equal parts beautiful and humorous. I would suggest reading it in its original Middle English, if you can get a handle on it. Many of the translations remove much of the beauty and humor of the work, leaving a dry, lifeless piece of shit and besmirching the genius's name. I would suggest this edition if you can handle the price or get it through interlibrary loan, it's well-footnoted, provides a primer on how to read/understand Middle English, and uses the most complete edition of the texts.
Welcome to the confusing/frustrating/entertaining/well-worthwhile arena of Medieval history.

u/darwinfish86 · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

Daily Life in Medieval Europe may be a bit too general for what you are looking for, but it does include a section on clothing and even includes some cloth patterns if you are trying to make your own medieval clothing.

Another book, Fashion in the Middle Ages may be closer to what you are looking for, but again this is much broader than your specific 'winter/cold weather' clothes.

This book Medieval Tailor's Assistant: Making Common Garments 1200-1500 may be your best bet. From a customer review:
>This book covers everything you ever wanted to know about medieval clothing, from measurements, patterns and materials to methods of construction. It has over 400 illustrations of medieval clothing, and 121 patterns for shirts and smocks, cotes, doublets, kirtles, hose, surcotes, cotehardies, gowns, overkirtles, cloaks, children's clothing, headwear, and accessories.


Sorry I couldn't be of much help other than a few Amazon links, but hopefully one of these will at least point you in the right direction.

Edit: oops! Saw someone else recommended Tailor's Assistant already. My apologies, but let us know if you find anything interesting!

u/ovnem · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

There's most of a chapter devoted to them in James Reston's Warrior's of God but Reston doesn't use footnotes so it feels like he made up a bunch of his quotes and more minor facts. On the + side it's an entertaining read.

u/blizzsucks · 3 pointsr/MedievalHistory

You should check him out if you have some free time. Very interesting read regarding the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. I read it alongside Gibbon, it's a very useful perspective and takes a more critical perspective on traditional understandings of the ending of the classical era and the beginning of the middle ages.

http://www.amazon.com/Mohammed-Charlemagne-Henri-Pirenne/dp/0486420116/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318814339&sr=8-1-spell

u/randomfemale · 3 pointsr/MedievalHistory

For anyone interested in this area in the previous century, this book is just great.

u/mykindoftown · 3 pointsr/MedievalHistory

I have heard good things about both Goodwin's "Fatal Colours" and Sadler's "Towton" from friends more interested in these conflicts than I am.

Hicks' "Wars of the Roses" seems to want to be the authoritative go-to text for the subject.

u/breads · 5 pointsr/MedievalHistory

This article has a perspective on age of criminal responsibility.

Google seems to offer a lot of results. The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England appears to have some info, but its Google Books preview is pretty limited. Let me know if you want me to do a quick search of academic journals when I get home. This is an interesting question so I'd like to read up on it, too.

u/alcuin_the_cat · 2 pointsr/MedievalHistory

As freondlas pointed out, it really depends which time period you're interested in. For UK history this can roughly be divided into Anglo-Saxon England (pre 1066 and the Battle of Hastings) and Norman England (After 1066). That's a very rough breakdown/divide. If you want an academic but easy-to-read book I would suggest Julia Smith's Europe After Rome: 500-1000 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-after-Rome-Cultural-500-1000/dp/0192892630) or if you want to get your nails into proper Anglo-Saxon work and primary sources (in translation) try Beowulf; it's a good read.

u/whiskythree · 2 pointsr/MedievalHistory

The Narrators of Barbarian History showed up on another thread. Looks promising, although it's from 1991, so perhaps not the most current of readings.

u/kittykat1066 · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

For a quick, interesting view of life in the medieval period, try the book "The Year 1000". It offers a day-to-day perspective on life in that year alone. Of course there were good and bad aspects of daily life, much like there are now. http://www.amazon.com/Year-1000-First-Millennium-Englishmans/dp/0316511579

u/patron_vectras · 6 pointsr/MedievalHistory

If you're writing about people who use swords, you should read Guy Windsor's short work on that: Swordfighting, for Writers, Game Designers and Martial Artists

u/Whoosier · 6 pointsr/MedievalHistory

Lots of first-hand accounts in Chronicles of the Crusades: Jean de Joinville's lively and detailed account of Louis VII's mid-13th century crusading in the Holy Land features lots of vivid battles and Geoffrey de Villehardouin's eyewitness account of the sack of Constantinople in 1204.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Jean de Froissart's account (lots of free translations on line) of some major battles of the 100 Years' War is a classic.

u/cabelhigh · 1 pointr/MedievalHistory

A lot of it is total BS, such as #7, about the beer and wine drinking. Many people drank Ale as an alternative to water because the water was polluted; both adults and children drank it, and Ale was a thriving home business from the 1100s to the 1400s (I think) run mainly by women. #14 is also totally false, as women could NOT inherit businesses (they could only if their husbands died, and could not pass it on to their non-male kin). They could NEVER buy and sell property (unless they were the in the highest 1%), and as for legal rights, there were few. They even suffered greater fines for lesser crimes such as scolding (causing a public fuss) than men did for assault and robbery.

Source: Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World