Medieval History for Dummies

by Stephen J. Batchelor

Is your knowledge of The Crusades less than tip-top? Maybe you're curious about Columbus, or you're desperate to read about the Black Death in all its gory detail? Whatever your starting point, this expert guide has it all - from kings, knights and anti-Popes, to invasion, famine, the Magna Carta and Joan of Arc (and a few rebellious peasants thrown in for good measure!). Get ready for a rip-roaring ride through the political, religious and cultural life of the Middle Ages, one of the most talked-about periods in history.



Medieval History for Dummies includes:

Part I: The Early Middle Ages
Chapter 1: The Middle Ages: When, Where, What, Who?
Chapter 2: The end of Rome and the not so 'Dark Ages'.
Chapter 3: Angles, Saxons and Feudalism.
Chapter 4: The Carolingians grab their chance.
Chapter 5: Charlemagne - A new empire is born.

Part II: The Making of Europe
Chapter 6: The (Holy Roman) Empire Strikes Back.
Chapter 7: East Meets West: Islam in the Western Mediterranean.
Chapter 8: The Vikings: A threat from the north.
Chapter 9: Schism: The Church splits itself in two.
Chapter 10: The Normans: The 'real' Middle Ages begin.

Part III: 'Holy War': Crusading at home and abroad.
Chapter 11: Crusade: A call to arms.
Chapter 12: The First Crusade
Chapter 13: England vs France & Pope vs Emperor
Chapter 14: The Second Crusade & The 'Crusades at Home'
Chapter 15: Richard vs Saladin: The Third Crusade
Chapter 16: The later Crusades and other failures.

Part IV: Parliament, Priories, Provisions & Plague
Chapter 17: John, Henry, Rudolf & Edward.
Chapter 18: Monks & Merchants: The new power brokers
Chapter 19: The Papacy on Tour: Avignon and the Anti-Popes
Chapter 20: 'God's Judgement?': The Black Death

Part V: The End of the Middle and the start of discovery.
Chapter 21: One Hundred Years of War
Chapter 22: The Peasants are Revolting
Chapter 23: Agincourt, Joan of Arc & the French recovery
Chapter 24: Columbus & The New World

Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 25: Ten Rubbish Kings
Chapter 26: Ten Curious Medieval Pastimes
Chapter 27: Ten Great Castles
Chapter 28: Ten People Who Changed The World
Chapter 29: Ten Great Books (To read next)

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Reference, Medieval, World History

388 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2010

About the author

Stephen Batchelor has taught Ancient History and Classical Studies for a number of years to a wide variety of student groups. Currently, he is Deputy Head of School at Broomhill Bank School in Tunbridge Wells, England.

Batchelor has travelled extensively in the Mediterranean and worked there as an archaeological tour guide. He has written book reviews for Current Archaeology and History Today. "The Ancient Greeks for Dummies is his first book."

Reviews

[Jibran]

Does reading a book from the Dummies series make you a dummy? Does it make you any less dummy? Or more? I debated with myself if it was a suitable book to acquaint myself with what the book title declares with a grandiloquent, all-inclusive title of "Medieval History For Dummies." Does the fact that the book only covers European medieval history prove the book itself is kind of dummy?

Within the broad timeline of what is called the Medieval Ages I am, I should think, reasonably well-covered in the history of South Asia, Middle East and to some humble extent North Africa; but my understanding of East Asian history and that of Europe is abysmal, excepting Crusades which, unfortunately, are perceived to play a catalytic role in some modern conflicts. So when I came across this book, accidentally, I might add, I checked chapter titles and skim-read a couple selectively. I liked it.

I was almost thrown off by the spurious introduction, which is quite telling in that European academia has long trivialised that fascinating period of history with the excuse that not much was happening at home in Europe at that time. Recent scholarship has corrected this view, because the fact that Europe wasn't the centre of world attention did not mean nothing important was happening. Nevertheless, old attitudes still linger on, as evinced in the following quote. The author writes:

I haven’t always been interested in the Middle Ages. My main interest used to be the Ancient World of Greece and Rome, and the Middle Ages always seemed to me a bit like the clearing up after a particularly good party. The period can be difficult to get your head around, what with being in the middle rather than at the start or at the end. The times were certainly confusing too, with bits of territory changing hands all the time, and just as you get used to a king or a succession of kings, they all die and somebody else takes over.

Clearing up after a particularly good party. I'm definitely not an agelast, but what a distasteful analogy for a period of history. "Middle Ages" itself is questionable categorisation, one that is founded on the perspective of the Gregorian calender, one that is sprung from the mental timeline of Christendom. For some history was just starting; they called it the Golden Age. For others it was ending; they were soon to be subsumed into new empires that did not share their religious value systems, and remain there til modern times. We soon might have to invent a more representative term to refer to the "Middle Ages."

That said, and to be fair to the author, he does state further down the preface that when he studied more deeply "his views changed" and he came to enjoy medieval history. Good to know about your coming-of-age, sire.

Suggestion for subsequent publications:

#1 Rename the book "European Medieval History for Dummies."
#2 Start the introduction on a more persuasive note.
#3 Remember #1 and #2.

I am reading it on and off and selectively. I'd record my final thoughts later on if I feel like it. Right now I wanted to record my initial impression. So I did -_-

[Ty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a gag graduation gift and thought that it was going to suck but I was wrong. It was highly informative without being too dense or chock full of jargon. It introduced all the major factors/people of the Middle Ages seemlessly and explained how things tied in together. As a history major, one that is specializing in the Middle Ages, I strongly recommend the book for those interested in the peroid.

[D.S. Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit this wasn't the best book I've read, it gets two and a half stars because the information in it was of interest, but the writing itself was about as dry as the Sahara.
It was very heavy on the war/religion side of the medieval period and there were far too many instances of 'refer back to this section' or 'see this chapter' which very much upset the flow of reading overall.
The areas where the writer concentrated on the people of medieval times were of some interest, but again, the writing was quite dry and didn't bring the characters to life enough to really engage the reader.
I think there are other books out there which do a much better job of educating the reader regarding this era in history.

[Berni Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's basic but that's what I need. I got bogged down in the Crusades (I hear there was a lot of that back then) and started skimming until I got to more British stuff. I wish he had gone so quickly from the beginning of Henry VI to the Renaissance, skipping the whole Lancaster vs. York drama. On the other hand, that's what I'm more familiar with.

[Bryan Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much from history it was awesome. The stuff that happened back in the day still translate to things today. If you are a medieval history nut, this book will expand your horizons!

[kaya ♱ · Rating 5 out of 5]

🪵 JAM PACKED with everything possibly related to the Middle Ages so I will likely finish this after like a whole year. Loved it so much and learned a lot, stopped at 15%.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no real background with the Middle Ages, and this book helped me kickstart my newfound interest in the period. It is divided into very clear sections and never goes into great details, but it manages to condense a 1000 year period into a succinct guide. The writers tone is usually humorous, but he also is somber when he needs to be.

The one complaint I have is that whenever he references something that was already covered in the book, he puts a note that says something like "You can read more about THAT in chapter 12...", even if we literally just read it the paragraph before. It's kind of distracting and gets really annoying the 400th time around.

Other than that, I recommend the book to anyone who knows next to nothing about medieval history and wants a wikipedia-like introduction. I now feel comfortable in reading something that is a bit more in depth.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides a good (if very condensed) survey of the years 600-1600, more or less. A good intro to the time period, but it left me wanting more. Sometimes it is annoying that the author keeps reminding the reader that you can learn more about X on page xx, or we will discuss topic Y later, or he explained topic Z earlier. But it provided some good background info as a starting point for further research.

[Amr Adawy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though nicely written and interesting, this book contains a ridiculous amount of historical inaccuracies. Mainly apparent concerning the Norman invasion of England, history of Islam and Arab civilization, investiture controversy, mixing names of popes, some dates are incorrect and some viking facts need checking.

[Aphrodite · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes such a good introduction for the medieval era! It is an easy read and it is actually the first history book that I had so much fun reading it. The eighth chapter which talks about the Vikings was sooo good and definitely one of my favorites!!

[Lewi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a right book to start your journey to Medieval Age.

[Clorush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet a wonderful introduction to those that are interested in medieval Europe

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

My First Voluntary History Book. It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot and will be looking into more Medieval History and more Dummy Books.

[Katie (BooksRUs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because it is a "for Dummies" book, it tends to oversimplify some things. But if you are looking for an overview of WESTERN Medieval History, this is the book for you.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction. Amazing how much the good old Catholic Church should answer for.