The best books that are about, set in, or written in the Middle Ages time period. (The 5th century to the 15th century)
1

by
4.35 avg rating — 839,236 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.14 avg rating — 398,865 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
3.53 avg rating — 239,189 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.33 avg rating — 278,706 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.50 avg rating — 349,835 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.05 avg rating — 44,520 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.41 avg rating — 22,795 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.06 avg rating — 119,632 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.03 avg rating — 208,490 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.89 avg rating — 1,032,377 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.27 avg rating — 113,599 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.76 avg rating — 78,710 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.92 avg rating — 39,661 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.77 avg rating — 99,579 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.88 avg rating — 43,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.09 avg rating — 174,692 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.30 avg rating — 25,135 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.21 avg rating — 36,170 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.03 avg rating — 65,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,065,072 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.26 avg rating — 17,533 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.50 avg rating — 19,458 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.93 avg rating — 41,038 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.40 avg rating — 10,680 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.13 avg rating — 213,662 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.46 avg rating — 9,778 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.02 avg rating — 26,759 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.02 avg rating — 221,000 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
3.81 avg rating — 47,075 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.18 avg rating — 66,097 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.74 avg rating — 43,426 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.93 avg rating — 16,745 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.87 avg rating — 218,240 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.80 avg rating — 25,535 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.29 avg rating — 9,477 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.42 avg rating — 61,654 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
4.31 avg rating — 62,497 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.15 avg rating — 15,933 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.16 avg rating — 32,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.91 avg rating — 75,362 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.93 avg rating — 8,710 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.78 avg rating — 108,599 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,950 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
3.73 avg rating — 43,561 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.71 avg rating — 6,935 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.83 avg rating — 12,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.83 avg rating — 4,943 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.82 avg rating — 9,022 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.68 avg rating — 5,747 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
3.52 avg rating — 15,057 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,328 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,355 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.36 avg rating — 53,264 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.87 avg rating — 16,870 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.39 avg rating — 8,215 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.14 avg rating — 9,884 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
4.27 avg rating — 2,452 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.55 avg rating — 2,930 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.02 avg rating — 4,372 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.91 avg rating — 59,174 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.16 avg rating — 34,080 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.96 avg rating — 183,564 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.07 avg rating — 18,064 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
3.87 avg rating — 5,881 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.33 avg rating — 6,557 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.05 avg rating — 94,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
4.10 avg rating — 75,010 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.96 avg rating — 13,811 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.10 avg rating — 2,724 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.92 avg rating — 5,547 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.95 avg rating — 9,170 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.11 avg rating — 7,864 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.22 avg rating — 4,249 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.33 avg rating — 46,052 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.26 avg rating — 56,123 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.83 avg rating — 10,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.96 avg rating — 2,733 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
3.83 avg rating — 78,761 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.57 avg rating — 8,331 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
4.07 avg rating — 4,618 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7,048 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.44 avg rating — 31,623 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.91 avg rating — 239,540 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.07 avg rating — 67,220 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.14 avg rating — 21,103 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,324 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
3.72 avg rating — 47,080 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
4.29 avg rating — 3,341 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.76 avg rating — 497 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.56 avg rating — 415 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.75 avg rating — 7,284 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.27 avg rating — 12,948 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
4.26 avg rating — 12,654 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.40 avg rating — 5,487 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
4.14 avg rating — 1,304 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.83 avg rating — 3,923 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.02 avg rating — 2,997 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
3.45 avg rating — 3,121 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.76 avg rating — 5,448 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.86 avg rating — 1,592 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1,242 books · 1,728 voters · list created July 16th, 2008 by Steven Harbin (votes) .
635 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Steven 4279 books
2491 friends
Laura 13077 books
320 friends
Dave 803 books
63 friends
Gina 2 books
0 friends
Roberta 1545 books
154 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends
Wealhtheow 4761 books
689 friends
Karen 2416 books
114 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-19 of 19 (19 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Brett (new)

Brett Sorge If you are talking about middle ages historical fiction how come Bernard Cornwall is not one of the mentioned books/author??? He is definitely the champ of writing on this period!


message 2: by IWB (new)

IWB The list is ABOUT the Middle Ages (i.e., secondary sources), not books FROM the middle-Ages (i.e., primary sources). Thus, the Mabinogion, Bede, Beowulf,Boccaccio, Chaucer, Marie de France, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ought not to be on the list.


message 3: by Steven (new)

Steven Harbin Brett,
Which particular titles of Bernard Cornwell 's would you suggest? I've never read any of his works, but I've had friends suggest him.
Also, you know you can add books to the list and vote for them, right?



message 4: by Steven (new)

Steven Harbin IW,
I'm of a like mind, I only voted (initially) for secondary works and historical novels but I could see a case for including works from the MA as well...but you're correct than in that case the list title probably should be slightly changed...


message 5: by Brett (last edited Dec 11, 2009 02:39PM) (new)

Brett brett,
I couldn't agree more! I clicked on this list expecting to see loads of bernard cornwell! He is really an awesome writer. I really think his books define the genre.

Steve,

I would suggest Vagabond, The Archer's Tale, and Heretic. I believe these three books comprise The Grail Quest series?? They are so amazing! Well, I am being a bit partial with these suggestions; they are the only Cornwell I've read. I'm sure there are other great titles as well..

...o yea and IWB...you're a dipshit. This is a list ok, "books that are about, set in, or written in the Middle Ages," therefore the list should include books FROM the Middle Ages..moron..






Susanna - Censored by GoodReads It's easy enough to add books to the list - the form is over at the right-hand side of the page ("find/add books to list")


message 7: by Chipchick (new)

Chipchick I loved the Grail Series by Cornwell. As well as Azincourt.


Barbara Gem(ini) "The Marlowe Conspiracy" is set in 16th century - it's hardly middle ages.


message 9: by AndrewJL (new)

AndrewJL Foucault's Pendulum seems like a stretch to me. The novel is set in the 20th century, and though the characters spend a lot of time discussing the Templars, the book is still not medieval.


message 10: by Michael (new)

Michael "Agricola and the Germania" by Tacitus should be deleted as it was written in the 1st century CE, and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" is set in the future after a nuclear war, so again not really MA and should be deleted from the list.


message 11: by Beatriz (new)

Beatriz Lara silva Andrew wrote: "Foucault's Pendulum seems like a stretch to me. The novel is set in the 20th century, and though the characters spend a lot of time discussing the Templars, the book is still not medieval."


message 12: by Beatriz (new)

Beatriz Lara silva I agree insted the name of the rose should be right in the middle age


message 13: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Aug 30, 2015 08:11AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) The term 'Middle Ages' is only used for a Western European phenomena, as far as I know. Yet there are books on this list which are not set in during the Middle Ages of Western Europe, like The Tale of Genji (#149), for instance. A great book, but I very much doubt whether it should be on this list? Same goes for The Pillow Book (#297).

Andrew wrote: "Foucault's Pendulum seems like a stretch to me. The novel is set in the 20th century, and though the characters spend a lot of time discussing the Templars, the book is still not medieval."
I've read the book and agree, which is why I haven't voted for it.
Beatriz wrote: "I agree insted the name of the rose should be right in the middle age". The Name of the Rose (#484) is indeed set in the Middle Ages.

IWB wrote: "The list is ABOUT the Middle Ages (i.e., secondary sources), not books FROM the middle-Ages (i.e., primary sources).
Seems the description of the Listopia has been adapted since your comment, as it now also includes "written in the Middle Ages time period" (which is why I voted for some written during that period).


message 14: by Elyse (new)

Elyse I removed A Canticle for Leibowitz. It is a post apocalyptic science fiction book. Its plot involves a time way in the future that includes monasteries similar to those from the actual Middle Ages. I can understand where some readers might think this book should be included because of this.


message 15: by Kathy KS (new)

Kathy KS Ken Follett's Fall of Giants doesn't seem to fit this list. (#301 today)


message 16: by Kathy KS (new)

Kathy KS #509, How to Beg for Cigarettes. It doesn't appear to fit this topic, but maybe I'm missing something here...


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads I'd say both should be removed from this list.


message 18: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Apr 17, 2019 11:23PM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) I don't think Wolf Hall (#109) should be here, and neither should Bring Up the Bodies (#173), its sequel, as they are not set in the Middle Ages (5th to 15th century). Nor should L'Œuvre au noir (#400) as it is set in the 16th century.

Does The Last Battle (#597) count?

It is too long ago since I've read it but I seem to remember Foucault's Pendulum (#38) was set outside the Middle Ages as well. But like I said, it's too long ago to be sure (see also my earlier message).


message 19: by Zak (new)

Zak The Return of Martin Guerre should not be on here, as it is Early Modern history.


back to top



Related News

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...

Anyone can add books to this list.