History Hit Guide to Medieval England: From the Vikings to the Tudors and Everything in Between

by Matthew Lewis, Dan Snow (Introduction), History Hit

Have you ever wondered about Edgar Ætheling, the fourteen-year-old who took on William the Conqueror? Or about the woeful collapse of the Angevin Empire under King John? Or what about Eleanor Cobham, a noblewoman found guilty of witchcraft for predicting the death of the King?

Join Matthew Lewis and the creators of History Hit on a guided tour spanning more than five centuries of English medieval history and witness spectacular changes in military, political and economic spheres. At home and overseas, England's status and identity was in constant flux, and yet through it all, the nation withstood the turmoil of everything from the 9th century attack of the Great Heathen Army to the year of three kings in 1483 - just.

From the bit before 1066 - which matters just as much! - through to the Wars of the Roses, The History Hit Guide to Medieval England charts the extraordinary development of a young nation that went on to emerge as a global superpower.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2024

About the author

Matthew Lewis is the author of histories and historical fiction novels about Richard III and the Wars of the Roses. The medieval period is a particular passion of Matthew’s, a passion he hopes to share through his blog. He is dedicated to teaching and discussing this period, operating two history podcasts and providing bite-sized facts to his Twitter and Facebook following.

Lewis has degree in Law and currently lives in Shropshire.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a week I was obsessed with medieval England and this book satisfied my craving. Very easy read and very informative. Would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more 🐴🏰👑

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this easy to digest history of the medieval period in England, from Alfred to Henry VII. Lots of familiar stuff but enjoyable to read and get some new info as well as context. The best part for me though, is that each margin has a QR code that you can scan to be taken to the corresponding podcast episode of “Gone Medieval” on History Hit (sponsor of the book) and hosted mostly by author Matt Lewis. This is great as a way to very easily expand your audience as well as to at a click find more info about your preferred topics in the book. What a great idea! Someone needs a raise.

Matt is a great writer and easy to follow, so while it might not be a scholarly tour de force, it’s still a great overview of a huge swathe of history well worth investigating further if you enjoy it, which I do.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

an accessible look at and introduction to the medieval period. especially enjoyed the rise of the plantagenets, the peasants revolt, and joan of arc.

it's pretty unrelenting though. it doesn't really escape being a list of dates and names, and at times this can be too much. i want to care but so many names are being thrown that maybe being structured in a strict chronological fashion wasn't the most compelling choice

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife gifted me this and I loved it. I do enjoy my history but struggle to navigate medieval England from the Vikings to the Tudors with the royal turnovers and people named after places. this book simplified the timeline to just the key bits which made the read very enjoyable and easy to understand who everyone was. The beginning of the book was stronger than the ending though.

[Chloe Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook of this and it was a really fascinating journey through Medieval England. I'm in my history nerd era 🤓

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Piece Of Cake.


I couldn't wait to get this book in my hands as it was irresistible to see this beautiful front cover alongside listening to author Matthew Lewis talking about it on his fantastic Gone Medieval podcast.

I was amazed upon receiving it, i could've eaten it! It's like a slice of cake with it's lush cream colour, that being the jacket and with its jacket off again keeping with its delicious cream and most impressive title in striking glistening red along its spine.

Continuing with its superb quality are the soft pages noticed straightaway from the book closed then seeing how they flop beautifully.

As for the content visuals it continues to be a little gem with its pure medieval style black and white illustrations set throughout on most pages.

I love the way it is set out in small segments within each chapter. As with Dan Jones' Powers And Thrones it's an incredibly difficult read so these segments gave me those much needed breaks to get through it easier.

The book is what it was set out to be, a decent overview, unlike Powers And Thrones which is an ultra detailed 1000 years of everything that went on. The other difference is that Dan's book is Medieval Worldwide and Matthew's is Medieval England. I rated that a 4 star too because of its thorough research and presentation although it was quite less than a 4 star read.

The same goes for Medieval England, beautifully presented, but for me i can't rate 5 stars because again the reading is too bland and juiceless but that's just based on my tastes.

Dan Jones gave too much on certain events and too little on others and Matthew Lewis gives a decent overview spread throughout the book evenly although most of it covers the last 500 years and a little bit of the first 500 but he does mention this intention in the book.

There's not much about anything else except all of the wars and battles, that is what this book is all about.

This is a wonderful little gem for my bookshelf, more of a visualiser, the front cover couldn't have been better, impressive art literally telling you what you're about to read. Definitely one to dip into for easy finding of all the facts of Medieval England.

I'll mention it again, the Gone Medieval podcast is brilliant, it's where all the juice is!

[Andrew Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This history reads like a running collection of podcasts - but that is not a negative comment and it reflects the History Hit format. Ideally, you read chunks at a time with gaps in which to digest the content. Otherwise, you get bogged down in (often repeated, such is the nature of history) names and dates. The title and sub-title let you know the time period covered. As well as some very familiar detail there is plenty to learn and/or be reminded about or, indeed, be surprised by. It is history for the general reader and a really good run through of England’s medieval times. Strongly recommended. I will now be researching the History Hit site.

[Rana YILDIRIM · Rating 5 out of 5]

During my visit to England, with the sadness of knowing almost nothing about the history of England, I searched for a book that would give me a general perspective on the history of England in a short time and I found this book. Now I know who are the Vikings, Normans, what did they do here etc. For example the information on the castles constructions during the Normans impressed me since I am interested in the history of architecture. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this nice work.

[Suzuka · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ Read this for work as someone who knew almost nothing about Medieval England.

It’s a good and useful book, but perhaps it’s too ambitious in its aim. So much history and countless individuals are covered here, resulting in me often feeling overwhelmed or just downright bored because things moved too quickly for me to care about them. The highlights for me were Hastings, Henry V, the Black Death and Joan of Arc.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an accessible and well written book, which is a good introduction for those who know little about medieval England, but who would like to gain a good broad brush foundation before delving deeper. Not so useful if you are already knowledgeable about the period but it’s still a fun read

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

Highly enjoyable history of England from Alfred the Great to the battle of Bosworth a good concise and well written book , find the podcast enjoyable as well .

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview to Medieval England.

[Patrick Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good. good summary of most kings but glosses over some areas a bit too much. especially big events like war of the roses. also one really big misprint in the middle somewhere!