A MUST READ for any fan of medieval history.
579938
Author, Jesse Byock, is considered the world's leading expert on the vikings.  This new translation of the Norse epic brings clear  a tale that is very similar to the story of Beowulf---however, it is told from the Norse point of view.
This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the Vikings .
1719835
What a great medieval story!  Imagine the king commanding you to marry someone you had never met!  Debbie Lynne Costello did a great job describing the emotions of both Royce of Hawkwood and Lady Brithwin.  The book has some surprising turns near the end.  The descriptions of life in that era were wonderful although they were a little bloody at times!  I am fascinated by life in England and Scotland during that time period.  I certainly recommend Sword of Forgiveness to others who enjoy fiction of the 1300s and will be looking for more books by this author.  I received my copy of Sword of Forgiveness from a blog giveaway.  This is my honest opinion.
1551841
This was a challenge read for me but well worth the extra time spent on it.  The author has command of the English language and is quite the loquacious writer.  I felt it was not a simple story with a hero, but a time in history which incorporates the different peoples of England with church, nobles and the peasantry.  The author has been fastidious in his research for the time period in which the story takes place and in the end of the book has listed notes of his historic information and footnotes.  This is a story of Chivalry so it includes Knights, battles and historic characters as well as the famous legendary Robin Hood.  I also found some humor along the way.  The author also has many phrases in Latin and French and I really learned some history in the process of reading.  I was highly entertained.
2863231
It would be pretty hard to find a better concise history of European knighthood than this book by Frances Gies. Her research is very thorough and she understands the Medieval world well. At the same time, she brings her subjects alive and never lets her erudition intrude to interrupt the flow of the story. In little more than 200 pages of well-written text she traces the whole arc of the knight's history, from Charlemagne to the end of the Hundred Years War -- and beyond into the long twilight of knighthood down to the Victorian era.

 After tracing the origins of knighthood she gives a vivid description of the First Crusade. Then she turns to the troubadours and the development of the literature of knighthood, as well as its impact on the knights themselves. Next she takes up the career of a very notable knight of the second half of the 12th century, William Marshal in an account filled with details that reveal his character and that of knighthood in his time. The story of the remaining Crusades is organized around an account of the crusading orders, particularly the Knights Templar. Next comes a vivid mini-bio of one of the most remarkable characters of history, the mid-14th century French knight and commander Bertrand Du Guesclin. Then the story of Sir John Fastolf, a major English commander of the 15th century (only very tenuously related to Shakespeare's Falstaff) nicely illustrates the transition between the world of knightly warfare and that of armies on the modern pattern. A final chapter traces the lingering influence of knighthood in early modern Europe.

 There are many well-chosen black-and-white illustrations, extensive source notes, and a good bibliography.

 The book addresses the knight's armor and fighting techniques, but only briefly. Combats and battles, too, are treated largely in schematic fashion. The focus is on the knight's character, his views of himself and his world, and his place in his society. There is also a clear summary of the overall development of the patterns of Medieval warfare.

 Although there is some mention of knighthood elsewhere, the book concentrates very strongly on England and France; treatments of Southern and Central Europe of comparable quality would be very welcome. Gies does not have an ideological slant or a theory to defend -- she neither "debunks" nor extolls. Since the book's writing, two decades ago, further evidence has been discovered which naturally alters some details, but on the whole the book holds up very well.
292894
Asbridge is deeply familiar with the history of this 200-odd year long saga and I was absolutely riveted to this book from start to finish. Having only seen a couple of (biased) television specials on this topic, and from what I've heard over the years, the modern picture of the crusades seemed to be one of a series of ill-conceived misadventures of brutish and barbaric Christians driven by an equally misguided series of Popes. I had also been under the impression that all of the crusades had been met with failure at one point or another. Moreover, the Islamic hero I'd always heard mentioned in connection with the crusades was Saladin. After reading this wonderfully written text, I can see that history has been twisted and distorted quite a bit. Yet Asbridge uses as sources reliable witnesses from both camps, including Saladin's own biographer. This is a very honest, very factual rendering of history without the jingoism that might otherwise lead us to declare a winner. Yes, most of the Europeans were eventually unseated from the Lavant, but they survived there for 200 years.
89225
No one knows as much about ASOIAF as Attwell, let alone as much about the intersection of real Medieval history and the series. A must read for any serious ASOIAF fans
3955168
Wonderfully written.  It's often hard to find a medieval history that clearly delineates all the same-named people and still is engaging. Goldstone does this and makes it almost like a novel, weaving the sisters' tales together into a narrative that displays their individual stories and how their stories intertwine and affect the whole of Medieval society.
3135253
An enjoyable, well reasearched, and engaging piece of history. William Marshall is someone that it is easy to deify, Asbridge resisted the temptation, ultimately telling a better story by making Marshall human. It reads like a piece of historical reporting that reminds me of some of the better pieces about the founding fathers of the United States. The attention to detail, structure of the presentation, and intelligent discussion about what might have actually happened. Make it a must read for medieval history buffs. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the subject can lend itself to being a bit wordy, but it works here.
4582056
First let me admit that I enjoy history and learning about how people lived in different cultures and times.  So I tend to purchase books that promise that.
This book was one of the best at not only giving me a glimpse into what life was like in the middle ages in Europe, but in making me feel like I actually knew the characters as real people.  People often forget when talking about knights and serfs, kings and dukes, etc, that these were all real people, with personalities and attributes, hopes, dreams, and fears, just like people now.
This is the third book I have read by this author, and I have enjoyed them all.  I look forward to reading more from him.
921341
Very informative and enchanting account of a very important period in history. I couldn't stop reading or putting it down.
4885972
I'm still reading this excellent book. It's highly detailed with copious endnotes plus maps and some very nice color photos of castles. If you're interested in medieval history, you'll want to read this book.
413364
If you're a Game of Thrones fan with any interest at all in medieval history or the 'real world' (or as J.R.R. Tolkien would say, 'primary world') background of this marvelous epic, you will enjoy this book.  Authored by a well respected medievalist, Carolyne Larrington, this book is an outstanding guide to the actual history that informs the stories of the Starks, the Lannisters, the Targaryens, and all the other great characters that we love (or in some cases love to hate).  The cultural richness of Westeros and Essos, as informed by medieval European history, comes alive.  One leaves impressed with how much study George R.R. Martin put into developing the background for his stories.  Warning!  There are spoilers.
4417262
This book is treasure chest of history and insight into the CV series. It's a MUST OWN for any fan of Castlevania.
4101772
The First Crusade written by medieval historian Thomas Asbridge is simply the finest general history of the campaign yet written.  His use of contemporary sources, battlefield prose, and political and religious intrigues are fantastic.  There is little if anything left out of this volume.  He truly brings the first crusade to life.  My fervent wish is that Asbridge with his emphasis on the military and human stories involved here becomes the next individual tasked with writing a full crusade history as a whole.  This work is absolutely marvelous.  Kudos to Mr Asbridge for this wonderful and hopefully introductory volume!
2069065
As a great fan of Edward I (and collector of a number of books about him and his times), I find this new book by Marc Morris to be among the very best, largely because it is structured as a narrative rather than by themes.  Not only has Morris done a great job sorting through all the chronicles, but he also brings to the task a delightfully shrewd wit and a lively style.  Only a gifted writer could make 13th/14th Century English history so engaging.  Detailed accounts of battles usually bore me; with his wonderful sense of details, Morris makes them suspenseful and intriguing.
4267596
Anyone looking for a serious introduction to the Crusades cannot do better than read this book.  It is a great read, superbly written, informative and scholarly, with a good account of the sources - which are surprisingly numerous for such an early period.  It focuses on the military elements of the Crusades, and describes the lengthy battles, sieges and campaigns vividly.  In parts I found it so engaging that it was hard to put down before completing the story of a campaign.  The book gives a vivid account of the atrocious conditions and suffering of medieval warfare, which provoke a morbid fascination at an age that seems so far removed from our own.  It covers a very large subject and cannot deal with all aspects equally.  Its portraits of such figures and Saladin and Richard the Lionheart are very well drawn, but there is not sufficient room to cover all aspects of their lives. One area that remains rather mysterious even after completing this excellent book is the inner workings and lives of the Latin kingdoms in Outremer.  How did these people actually live and govern in their exotic colonies?  A good balance is maintained between the Christian and Muslim perspectives, and many stereotypes are no doubt rightly debunked in the process.
176902
Just a perfect book for all history buffs.
Not much is said about the mercenary's daily life, but much more about the logistics, strategy, the nature of the service, the problems faced by contractors and impresarios.

If you are into the Renaissance warfare, this book is absolutely must read.