Recomendatiions needed: History books! Time Period 800 AD.

[KGatch113]

I'm looking to learn more about the general history ( and military history) of the time period in Europe around 800 AD. I'm also looking for good maps of Europe etc. I'm also interested in Eastern Europe, including the Byzantine Empire.

I decided to ask here because gamers tend to know the best sources, as opposed to an internet search where I'll get reviews that tend to be biased for books that may not be what I am looking for.

Thanks for any help! I'm also not opposed to any websites, but I know how fruitless that can be from when I did work on Viking history.

[aphillathehun]

Not a book, but if you are interested in podcasts, the history of byzantium podcast is really well done:

https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/category/podcast/page/4/

I would start with the beginning which is much earlier than your target date, but I suppose you could start at about the time you want.  If you do, maybe do the century before wrap-up episodes and then launch into the narrative.

[Caldor]

Osprey has some books on this period.
For example: Byzantium at War (AD 600 - 1453)
https://ospreypublishing.com/store/military-history/period-books/medieval-warfare/byzantium-at-war-ad-600-1453-ebook


https://ospreypublishing.com/store/military-history/period-books/medieval-warfare

[KGatch113]

I didn't say one book <grin>

I like Osprey's but I find them to be a bit light in terms of their facts. I just had a thought, do they list their sources?

[roma912]

If you can get a copy this:

Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081 Paperback – 1 Jun 1998
by Warren Treadgold (Author)

Is worth reading on the Byzantium army.

Believe Osprey books have a bibliography in them

Cheers, Ross

[Byrthnoth]

Guy Halsall’s Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900 might be of use — good use of both archaeological as well as written sources. Nice discussion on the impact of the Vikings on battlefield tactics, use of fortifications, etc., most of which happened in the late 8th to 9th centuries. It has some maps of Britain, the Carolingian empire and Italy, but they aren’t particularly detailed.

[KGatch113]

Thanks!Orders have been made!

Gonna do the podcast when I get some free time this week!

[Jacksarge]

There are so many books and authors worth  exploring...

James Campbell's book "The Anglo-Saxons"
"The Anglo-Saxon World" edited by Higham & Ryan
Get a copy of the Penguin Atlas of Medieval History, to help visualise what was going on.
Asser's Life of Alfred the Great
"The English Warrior" by Stephen Pollington
"War & Society in Medieval Wales" by Sean Davies
"Viking Britain : An Exploration" by Tom Williams
"An Introduction to Early Medieval Western Europe, 300-900 : The Sword, the Plough and the Book" by  Matthew Innes

[Little Odo]

What Jacksarge said - I know most of those books (from my Uni reading list). As an aside, Matt Innes was one of my lecturers, so I am going to be biased and say grab his book - it is a great background read for the period.

[Antonio J Carrasco]

Johannes Fried Charlemagne. I have the Harvard's edition, in English. The original is in German. Not military history, but strong on social customs, culture and politics -in the sense of how politics and the manifestations of power were understood in Carolingian empire-. It is a dense book, but I believe the effort to read it is worthy.

[S_P]

Guy Halsall’s Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900 might be of use — good use of both archaeological as well as written sources. Nice discussion on the impact of the Vikings on battlefield tactics, use of fortifications, etc., most of which happened in the late 8th to 9th centuries. It has some maps of Britain, the Carolingian empire and Italy, but they aren’t particularly detailed.

Read the above volume quite recently- found it very useful so it gets my recommendation.

[Dr Mathias]

I finished a book relating to the period about two weeks ago. It has almost nothing regarding military matters but it was a fascinating glimpse into certain aspects of the medieval mindset.

"Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages" by Patrick Geary. The intro starts pretty academically with the usual convoluted wordplay but it gets into interesting things quick. I had quite a lot of skirmish gaming ideas afterward.

About a third covers the Carolingian period so a good portion appears to be out of your specified area.

You might try an 'interlibrary loan' service rather than popping for it, if you have such services available.