Favorite medieval book

[gollum]

Been reading lately "The Wars of Byzantium" by John Haldon - pretty good book with lots of technical information about army organisation,strategy and tactics in all phases of teh Empire from its beginnings to the battle of Myrioncephalon fought by Manuel Comnenos in Anatolia.

[edyzmedieval]

Been reading lately "The Wars of Byzantium" by John Haldon - pretty good book with lots of technical information about army organisation,strategy and tactics in all phases of teh Empire from its beginnings to the battle of Myrioncephalon fought by Manuel Comnenos in Anatolia.

Myriokephalon, you heathen!

Jokes aside, it's a good book, comprehensive and contains lots and lots of useful info. I used it for my Manzikert essay for my diploma alongside Treadgold and a couple of others, and if you manage to read them all you would get a very good idea of how powerful the Byzantine army was and how deplorable it ended up only 100 years later.

[gollum]

Ah yes, sorry for mispelling Μυριοκεφαλον, Edyz :)

[edyzmedieval]

Ah yes, sorry for mispelling Μυριοκεφαλον, Edyz :)

Good one.

[PershsNhpios]

Tsk! Is Meerheeohkefahlon not accentuated? ( )

On the subject of such books as yours Gollum, could either you or Edyz recommend 'Γιατί το Βυζάντιο' by Ελένη Γλύκατζη-Αρβελέρ?

I bought that book in Sydney and it is far beyond my reading level in Greek, but I am nonetheless chafing to start on it and see what it has to tell about Byzantine history and background.

[gollum]

Hello Glenn, i haven't read the book you speak of. I have however read the History of the Empire in 3 vols by John Julious Norwich. While it is popularised history book, and written to be adressed to a western audience, it is very decent and well written as well as based on primary sources and a far more objective point of view towards Byzantium than earlier ones (Edward Gibbon etc). There is also a 1 vol version of the same book that is however far too synoptic to be really enjoyable - choose the long version that fills the gaps and make sense of events described rather than being a dry account of places, name and events.

John Julious Norwich has also written quite a few other books that are worthwhile, one for Mount Athos, the monastic peninsula that was the spiritual and philosophical center of the Empire in the Middle Ages, on the history of the Venetian Republic and on the Seljuk Turks as well as some books on historical architcture in which he was the chief editor.

[Gilrandir]

One more fiction book worth mentioning is Fair Margaret by Henry Rider Haggard. It is not that breathtaking, but pretty solid. It reminds me of Scott's Quentin Durward (similar romantic line).