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Medieval History For Dummies
Rattle through 1000 years of horrible history, from the fifth century to the sixteenth century
Famine, plague and public execution – the medieval period wasn't the best time for some, but heroic rulers like Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and Henry V made sure that it was full of action. Brimming with facts, this book helps you get under the skin of the people who lived at the time, from impoverished peasants to opulent monarchs. From the Dark Ages to the Renaissance and all the upheavals in between, this book takes the pain out of medieval history.
The Black Death – assess the deadly pandemic that swept through Britain and Europe killing millions of people The Holy Roman Empire strikes back – understand how the empire fought to maintain its position Falling apart – witness the arrival of powerful armies from the east and invaders from the north, and the dramatic effects of religious schisms Heading for the Holy Land – uncover the reasons why crusading became so popular, and ultimately so unsuccessful, between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries Living in the medieval world – understand the lives of monks and monarchs, peasants and popes, and travellers and traders of the period Waging conflicts, battles and wars – a look through the troubles that shaped the medieval age; from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Wars of the Roses Open the book and
Why the peasants revolted Where Chaucer gained inspiration to write The Canterbury Tales Which religious groups fought for power How the Magna Carta shaped our present-day legal system Why the Vikings may have got to America before Columbus Profiles of the best and worst medieval monarchs How Joan of Arc made her name The great and grisly histories of surviving medieval castles
Famine, plague and public execution – the medieval period wasn't the best time for some, but heroic rulers like Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and Henry V made sure that it was full of action. Brimming with facts, this book helps you get under the skin of the people who lived at the time, from impoverished peasants to opulent monarchs. From the Dark Ages to the Renaissance and all the upheavals in between, this book takes the pain out of medieval history.
The Black Death – assess the deadly pandemic that swept through Britain and Europe killing millions of people The Holy Roman Empire strikes back – understand how the empire fought to maintain its position Falling apart – witness the arrival of powerful armies from the east and invaders from the north, and the dramatic effects of religious schisms Heading for the Holy Land – uncover the reasons why crusading became so popular, and ultimately so unsuccessful, between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries Living in the medieval world – understand the lives of monks and monarchs, peasants and popes, and travellers and traders of the period Waging conflicts, battles and wars – a look through the troubles that shaped the medieval age; from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Wars of the Roses Open the book and
Why the peasants revolted Where Chaucer gained inspiration to write The Canterbury Tales Which religious groups fought for power How the Magna Carta shaped our present-day legal system Why the Vikings may have got to America before Columbus Profiles of the best and worst medieval monarchs How Joan of Arc made her name The great and grisly histories of surviving medieval castles
573 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2010
About the author
Stephen J. Batchelor
2 books3 followersStephen 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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June 2, 2015Does 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:
"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 -_-
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.
"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 -_-
April 30, 2012
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.
July 15, 2026
If you are going to read history, read it with humour!
It is the Medieval Ages and while we call it Dark, it really wasn’t dark that way, but life was much harder. There is no sugar-coating that, but that is how history cal be. The people were not well-cared for (depending on the lord and his vassals) and they just worked all the time. Back-breaking, unrelenting work, none of the better technology in sight. Ploughing the land was done by hand. The wife was no less busy, grinding corn, caring for kids, and no way to plan one’s family.
The Church ruled everything through fear. God was one of vengeance. They began the Crusades, too, so this was more taxation as one crusade turn into the next, and then the next.
You can see where this really needs some laughs thrown in — it can be a depressing period in history, but the richness and (non-truthful) romance of knights has its bright spots. If you do not know the history from long ago, then you need to. To put the pieces of the world today together, you need to see and understand the world of the 5th through the beginning of Renaissance together and understand that period. After that, it is incumbent upon you to read the Crusades, and that needs the humour even more (and true to him, the humour was indeed ratcheted up! Good thinking).
Yes, I have been on a reading tear of late, so I read this right through, then Crusades, then British History. I’m all up to date on quite a lot of it now.
This was a fun read for me, but I really do enjoy history, especially the nations with such long and illustrious history!
It is the Medieval Ages and while we call it Dark, it really wasn’t dark that way, but life was much harder. There is no sugar-coating that, but that is how history cal be. The people were not well-cared for (depending on the lord and his vassals) and they just worked all the time. Back-breaking, unrelenting work, none of the better technology in sight. Ploughing the land was done by hand. The wife was no less busy, grinding corn, caring for kids, and no way to plan one’s family.
The Church ruled everything through fear. God was one of vengeance. They began the Crusades, too, so this was more taxation as one crusade turn into the next, and then the next.
You can see where this really needs some laughs thrown in — it can be a depressing period in history, but the richness and (non-truthful) romance of knights has its bright spots. If you do not know the history from long ago, then you need to. To put the pieces of the world today together, you need to see and understand the world of the 5th through the beginning of Renaissance together and understand that period. After that, it is incumbent upon you to read the Crusades, and that needs the humour even more (and true to him, the humour was indeed ratcheted up! Good thinking).
Yes, I have been on a reading tear of late, so I read this right through, then Crusades, then British History. I’m all up to date on quite a lot of it now.
This was a fun read for me, but I really do enjoy history, especially the nations with such long and illustrious history!
July 4, 2025
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.
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.
February 26, 2018
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.
March 17, 2022
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!
August 19, 2025
🪵 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%.
March 4, 2014
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.
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.
May 15, 2013
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.
December 19, 2021
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.
April 15, 2014
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!!
June 15, 2017
It is a right book to start your journey to Medieval Age.
January 11, 2012
Quiet a wonderful introduction to those that are interested in medieval Europe
June 1, 2014
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.
July 4, 2018
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.
September 11, 2012
A very good introduction. Amazing how much the good old Catholic Church should answer for.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews