Journalists and politicians habitually employ the term "medieval" as a derogatory adjective, indicative of regress and utter lack of civility. While common belief does identify this period of history with pestilence, lawlessness, excessively harsh punishment, brutal combat, and lack of personal hygiene, historians of the period never cease to remind us that the Middle Ages gave us Magna Carta, universities, and produced a number of spectacular architectural masterpieces.

According to Carolyne Larrington, an Oxford scholar of medieval texts, the current cinematic trend is beginning to attract more people towards the literature and history of this period. Viewers of popular television series, such as Game Of Thrones, wish to know how their favorite shows compare to real life during the Middle Ages. If you like watching or reading the Game Of Thrones, reading historical fiction, or simply wish to know more about the tumultuous events and achievements of the period, take a look at the titles in this post.

This weekend Fort Tryon Park will be celebrating rich and glorious heritage of the Middle Ages. NYC's annual Medieval Festival offers New Yorkers an exciting opportunity of being transported into the era of jousting, colorful costumes, handmade artifacts, and guiltless consumption of fried dough. To see how our version of a medieval village compares to the authentic one, download The Time Traveler's Guide To Medieval England: A Handbook For Visitors To The Fourteenth Century.

History

Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris by Eric Jager
While the discovery of the science of detection is frequently attributed to a fictional character, a leading protagonist of this true crime in fourteenth century Paris exhibits amazing powers of deduction and the skillful use of forensic evidence. When mad king's lustful and scheming brother is brutally slain in the middle of Paris, there is no shortage of suspects. The task of locating the guilty party is entrusted to the provost of Paris, Guillaume de Tignonville, a paragon of erudition, who is determined find out the culprit. The author's meticulous research is evident in his thorough knowledge of medieval Paris. He magically transports the readers into this city's narrow dangerous alleys, igniting readers' imaginations with the putrid smell of the rotting corpses of criminals on display, the crows feeding on their purple flesh, and the mournful cries of relatives.

The Last Duel: A True Story Of Crime, Scandal, And Trial By Combat In Medieval France by Eric Jager
In the year of 1386 Jean de Carrouges accused his former friend of violating his wife. The dispute was to be resolved by the ancient custom of trial by combat. If Jean de Carrouges was to be killed in the battle for the truth, Lady Marguerite de Carrouges and their unborn child would lose their lives as well. Written with the same attention to historical details and vividly imagined scenes as Blood Royal, Last Duel is even more exciting than a work of fiction.

The Middle Ages by Johannes Fried; translated by Peter Lewis
German historian Johannes Fried argues against the commonly held belief that intellectual life during the Middle Ages was stunted and stagnating. He does not tire of reminding us that this historical period produced Magna Carta, the printing press, universities, and spectacular works of architecture.

Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by Dan Jones
Eight hundred years ago a king called John signed a certain charter, a document better known to us by its Latin name. His signature under the articles of Magna Carta signified a tremendously important development in the history of modern government. Dan Jones takes us back to the year 1215 and shows us how Magna Carta forced a king to recognize the existence of ancient liberties, limited his ability to raise taxes, and reasserted legitimacy of due process.

A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind And The Renaissance: Portrait Of An Age by William Manchester
William Manchester, a great historian of the twentieth century, truly believed that the Middle Ages deserved their ignominious reputation. His popular history of Renaissance and Reformation begins with a bleak and vivid description of the era that preceded it.

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuckman
Enguerrand de Cloucy VII, a member of nobility and a participant of every major event of interest during the fourteenth century, is the hero of Barbara Tuchman's historical narrative on a grand scale. Tuchman's masterful narrative accurately portrays the brutish moral and physical circumstances of that time.

Agincourt: The Fight For France
This past October marked the 600th anniversary of one of the greatest battles of the Hundred Years War, the battle of Agincourt. Agincourt is the very battle that was immortalized by Shakespeare in his Henry V. Ranulph Fiennes, the only man alive ever to have traveled around the Earth's circumpolar surface, is the author of this historical narrative. What qualifies this legendary explorer for the job of a historian? Sir Ranulph Fiennes's ancestors commanded both the French and the English armies and were closely related to royalty on both sides of this battle.

Historical Fiction

Company Of Liars by Karen Maitland
A motley group of fugitives is attempting to outrun the fast approaching pestilence, foul weather, forces of Inquisition, and dark and mysterious forces of evil. Each member of this vagabond crew is harboring a deep dark secret that might prove to be their undoing.

The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco
A brilliant intellectual mystery, this award-winning novel presupposes a good deal of knowledge or willingness to obtain it from outside sources. The rewards of reading it are entirely worth the effort.

Katherine by Anya Seton
Was there truly room for any romance during the Middle Ages? Alison Weir is convinced that the story of Katherine and John was "the greatest and one of the most poignant love affairs in English history." Her biography of Katherine, Duchess of Lancaster, is available at Mid-Manhattan library. John and Katherine, who happen to be the forebears of both the Tudor and Stuart dynasties, are the main characters of Anya Seton's Katherine.

The corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
This work of historical fiction describes a cloistered community of nuns, struggling to survive the tumultuous events of the fourteenth century. Several generations of women have called the convent of Orby in Norfolk home. Located on an island, Orby has very tenuous connections with the rest of the world. When visitors bring Black Death to its door, the nuns must muster all their resilience to survive.

The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett
Set in the twelfth century community of Knightsbridge, this epic tale is centered around a quest to build a cathedral. The lives of a naive and idealistic prior, a visionary master builder and his family, and a ruthless, power-hungry bishop are tied to the fortunes surrounding the building site of a magnificent cathedral.

Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
A penniless cleric on the run stumbles on a funeral in the woods. He is grateful for a spot among a troupe of traveling actors. After this group dares to perform a play based on the murder committed in town, the true circumstances of the crime come to light and endanger their lives.

Children's Books

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From A Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz; illustrated by Robert Byrd

What was it like to be 10 in 1255 ? Read this Newbery Award-winning book to find out.

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales told and illustrated by Marcia Williams

Intimidated by Chaucer? This excellent illustrated selection of nine selected tales is accessible and entertaining. Stories are interpreted and summarized, but remain true to their spirit. Colorful illustrations allow everyone to visualize the narrative.

Crispin: The Cross Of Lead by Avi

This Newbery Medal winner follows the life of an outcast on the run for his life. Recently orphaned, Crispin has been declared a Wolf's Head, someone who is no longer human. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he is forced to flee his village with his only possession, a cross of lead. After the secret of his identity is revealed, he knows he must get as far away as he can, as fast as he can.