Medieval History

The author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back...

A major new reinterpretation of the religious superstate that defined both Europe and Christianity, by one of our foremost medieval historians In the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded...

The acclaimed biography of one of the most extraordinary of all European rulers Charles, King of the Franks, is one of the most remarkable figures ever to rule a European...

The greatest story of military conquest in history from a 'master storyteller' (Guardian) Genghis Khan was by far the greatest conqueror the world has ever known, whose empire stretched from...

A fascinating description of the beginning of the modern world For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Italian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of the modern world -...

A fine collection of the greatest French tales about the legend of Arthur Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly...

A seriously FUNNY, seriously CLEVER history of our early kings and queens by one of our favourite comedians and cultural commentators. This will be the most refreshing, entertaining history of...

The gripping new history of a dynasty that seized the English throne - then tore itself apart It is 1461 and England is crippled by civil war. One freezing morning,...

A classic history of fourteenth-century Europe, from the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Guns of August The fourteenth century was a time of fabled crusades and chivalry, glittering cathedrals and...

A glorious history of the jewel-like city on the Adriatic which was a melting-pot of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian culture. Winner of the 2020 Duff Cooper Prize In 402...

A magisterial history of the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent might seem a self-contained world. Protected by vast mountains and seas, it has created its own religions, philosophies and social...

The definitive translation of our history's founding legal document - translated with a new commentary by David Carpenter 'No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his...

Iris Origo's most famous book, her classic study of the life and times of a medieval Italian merchant In 1870 an astonishing cache, containing some 150,000 letters and great numbers...

A spellbinding journey through the life of an English monk, an age of discovery and the mysteries of the medieval mind The Middle Ages were a time of wonder. They...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics ''The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion.' The Christian and Muslim empires of...

The riveting and definitive biography of the Islamic world's most famous military hero 'Superbly researched and enormously entertaining... One of the outstanding books of the year' The Times An epic...

An authoritative rethinking of global history by a leading Yale professor When did globalization begin? Most observers have settled on 1492, the year Columbus discovered America. But as celebrated Yale...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion' The triumph of the First Crusade...

A new departure in Penguin Classics- a book containing one of the greatest of all Renaissance woodcut sequences - Holbein's bravura danse macabre One of Holbein's first great triumphs, The...

A new edition of these two French accounts written by soldiers who took part in the Crusades The Conquest of Constantinople by Geoffrey of Villehardouin and The Life of Saint...

Asser's revealing account of one of the great medieval kings Asser's Life of King Alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings....

Comprised of three books - Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso - Dantes Divine Comedy follows Dante Alighieris epic poems follows Dante through the different sections of the afterlife; hell, purgatory, and heaven.Divine...

*Now with an exclusive extract of Elizabeth Chadwick's next novel, The Royal Rebel - only in the paperback!*Wales, 1093.The warm, comfortable family life of young Nesta, daughter of Prince Rhys...

In the course of the Hundred Years War, Henry V was the English figure most responsible for the mutual antipathy that existed between France and England. His art of attacking...

'Lyrically imaginative . . . enthralling' GUARDIANBefore she was the legendary Persian queen who spun a thousand tales, Shaherazade was a girl who saw something she shouldn't have.She told the...

The Santa Maria di Firenze, an ancient, venerable Benedictine abbey (called the Badia) located in the heart of Florence, is the subject of Anne Leader's new book. In 1418, 17...

He became king before his first birthday, inheriting a vast empire from his military hero father; she was the daughter of a king without power, who made an unexpected marriage...

The ruthless reign of Henry IV and the clerical tyranny of Archbishop Arundel keep Brother Chandler and his friends under constant threat in this gripping medieval mystery featuring friar-sleuth Rodric...

In bringing together these papers, Archaeological Approaches to Medieval Europe demonstrates the need for active participation of different disciplines in formulating questions about and interpretations of material culture in the...

In the course of the Hundred Years War, Henry V was the English figure most responsible for the mutual antipathy that existed between France and England. His art of attacking...

The Loss of Normandy, 1198-1204

This book is concerned with the ecclesiastical courts set up by the papacy to hear specific cases on its behalf in the localities. It embodies the results of the examination...

The authors of The Bright Ages return with a real-life Game of Thrones-the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son,...

Byzantium. Was it Greek or Roman, familiar or hybrid, barbaric or civilised, Oriental or Western? In the late eleventh century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Christendom, the...

An engaging biography that offers a new perspective on one of the most influential figures of the Crusades In 1187, Saladin marched triumphantly into Jerusalem, ending decades of struggle against...

The unorthodox imagination in late medieval Britain explores how medieval people responded to images, stories, beliefs and practices which were at odds with the normative world view, from the heretical...

Sixteenth-century Roman presses turned out hundreds of technical treatises and learned discourses written in the vernacular. Covering topics as diverse as the cultivation of silkworms, the lives of the saints,...

"A fascinating and very original book, based on an enormous amount of primary research. Freed is a leading authority on the ministerials of the Holy Roman Empire, who kept their...

Amid the disintegration of the Kingdom of Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a new form of collective government--the commune--arose in the cities of northern and central Italy. Sleepwalking...

A sweeping survey-the first of its kind-of the artistic, cultural, and technological achievements of the vast Seljuq empire Rising from humble origins as Turkic tribesman, the powerful and culturally prolific...

This groundbreaking book challenges many stereotypical views about the historical practice of prostitution. Based on twenty years' research, and organized by region, it charts the history of sex for sale...

Edward II is one of the most controversial kings of English history. On numerous occasions he brought England to the brink of civil war. Author Stephen Spinks argues that Edward...

Historians of sexuality have often assumed that medieval people were less interested in sex than we are. But people in the Middle Ages wrote a great deal about sex: in...

In the bestselling tradition of The Swerve and A Distant Mirror, THE VERGE tells the story of a period that marked a decisive turning point for both European and world...

West's narrative takes on all of Mexican history, from the conquest by Spain and the Mexican Revolution, to the muralist movement, and explores the inner lives of such figures as...

This groundbreaking volume explores the epochal transformations and unexpected continuities in the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the ninth century. As the period opened, the Empire's southern provinces-the vibrant,...

One of the most important art works produced in late fifteenth-century Spain is the group of twenty-six panels from the altarpiece of the cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo, Castile. The panels...

The 'Montfortian' civil wars in England lasted from 1259-67, though the death of Simon de Montfort and so many of his followers at the battle of Evesham in 1265 ought...