The Greatest Books of All Time on Medieval History

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
397 Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel 2009 British English
537 The Waning of the Middle Ages Johan Huizinga 1919 Dutch Dutch
588 The Pillars Of The Earth Ken Follett 1989 British English
714 Encyclopedia Britannica Encyclopedia Britannica 1768 British English
807 The Book of the City of Ladies Christine De Pizan 1405 French French
2390 The Face of Battle John Keegan 1976 British English
2691 The Book Of Margery Kempe Margery Kempe 1436 British Middle english
3066 Montaillou Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie 1975 French French
3149 Chronicles Jean Froissart 1370 French Middle french
3249 A Distant Mirror Barbara Wertheim Tuchman 1978 American English
3305 Personal Recollections Of Joan Of Arc Mark Twain 1896 American English
4072 Private Renaissance Maria Bellonci 1985 Italian Italian
6352 The Historian’s Craft Marc Bloch 1949 French French
7167 Timeline Michael Crichton 1999 American English
8495 Atarashii Chūsei Akihiko Tanaka 2003 Japanese Unknown
8521 The History Of The Franks Gregory of Tours 594 French Latin
8526 The Secret History Procopius 550 Multiple Greek
9703 The Book Of Peace Christine De Pizan 1413 French French
9706 The Etymologies Isidore of Seville 630 Spanish Latin
9715 Laxdæla Saga Unknown 1245 Icelandic Old norse
10048 The Tale Of The Heike Unknown 1371 Japanese Japanese
10305 Feudal Society Marc Bloch 1940 French French
11307 Mysteries Of The Middle Ages Thomas Cahill 2006 American English
11544 Hildegard Of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen 1152 German Latin
12655 The Barbary Coast Herbert Asbury 2009 American English
13224 Through The Eye Of A Needle Peter Brown 2012 Unknown English
14113 The Household Of Sir Thomas More Anne Manning 1851 British English
14132 A History of the Crusades Stephen Runciman 1951 British English
14775 Ecclesiastical History Of The English People Bede 731 British Latin
14788 The Making Of The Middle Ages R. W. Southern 1953 British English
14881 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Unknown 890 Unknown Old english
14984 The Anglo Saxons Marc Morris 2021 British English
14984 Millennium Felipe Fernández-Armesto 1995 British English
15899 Memoirs Of A Medieval Woman Louise Collis 1964 British English
15899 A History Of India Romila Thapar 1966 Indian English
15899 Alberuni's India Al-Biruni, Edward C. Sachau 1030 Multiple Arabic
15899 Prehistoric India Panchanan Mitra 1923 Unknown English
15899 Medieval Cities Henri Pirenne 1925 Belgian French
17120 Viking Britain Thomas Williams 2017 British English
17120 Ash Mary Gentle 2000 British English
17120 Medieval In La Jim Paul 1996 American English
17120 The World Turned Upside Down Christopher Hill 1972 British English
17120 The Making Of Europe Robert Bartlett 1993 British English
17120 In The Wake Of The Plague Norman F. Cantor 2001 American English
17120 The Eagle And The Hart Helen Castor 2024 Unknown English
17120 The Humiliation Of Sinners Mary C. Mansfield 1995 Unknown English
17120 The Ties That Bound Barbara A. Hanawalt 1986 American English
17120 History Of Medieval India Radhey Shyam Chaurasia 2002 Indian English
17120 A Textbook Of Medieval Indian History Sailendra Nath Sen 2010 Indian English
17120 A History Of Medieval India Satish Chandra 2007 Indian English
17120 The Reckoning Sharon Kay Penman 1991 American English
17120 The Age Of The Cathedrals Georges Duby 1966 French French
17120 The Cheese And The Worms Carlo Ginzburg 1976 Italian Italian
17120 The Crusades Through Arab Eyes Amin Maalouf 1983 French French
17120 The Ornament Of The World María Rosa Menocal 2002 American English