Books for an aspiring Medieval Historian?

[rhodeislander]

Hey guys, so first off, apologies for what will surely come off as an uber-noob post. I usually post over on the government affairs forum, but I've migrated over to the history forum to ask for some advice. I've always thought about going for a PhD in history. I majored in European history as an undergrad, and even though I've since moved away from history toward international relations and Asian Studies, the idea has always remained in the back of my head. I was mainly deterred as an undergrad by the dismal job market and by my adviser, a rather embittered medievalist who had just been denied tenure because she generally terrified everyone. While I'm aware that the job market for Europeanists remains moribund, I would like to at least explore the prospect.

While my research interests are still very nebulous, I am very interested in basically anything having to do with Christianity in daily life: monasticism, local saints/cults/myths, popular heretical movements, etc. I would also be interested in trying to find some way to perhaps incorporate all those Chinese language skills I've built up, maybe researching trade and cultural exchange between Europe and the Far East in the high middle ages (limited though it was).

Anyway! I'd like to know if anyone out there can recommend some books for me to read this year that might help me decide if taking the plunge into a PhD is right for me. Either key books about Medieval history that every aspiring Medievalist should be familiar with, or books about the historical discipline in general that every PhD student should read. Basically, I'd like to read some of the key books of the discipline, to both get caught up on current trends and theories as well as figure out whether or not this is something I love enough to devote the rest of my life to. So if anyone out there can recommend some books to get me started, I would be much obliged. Thanks!

[Andean Pat]

Hello there!

 

I am not a medievalist, but had thought of becoming one for a long time especially because my research interests are not geographically based. Here is a list of books I think are BASIC for starting any serious study on the Middle Ages. However, I must warn you, I am an international student so my medieval course was very focused on Spain, Portugal and France (one of my professors was one the greatest Spanish medievalists in my country) and so you'll probably don't see some books that other people might mention or books you haven't heard of. Take it as my two cents, from an more latin perspective from a non-specialist (I am searching the books in my library, which is in Spanish, thus I have translated those whose title I did not find in English (as accurately as possible), then you can look them up).

 

* Salvador CLARAMUNT, History in the Middle Ages. ISBN 8434465698 (I don't think this book exists in English. Claramunt is a typical author of Spanish Middle Ages, very easy to read and has written A LOT on several topics).

* Jacques LE GOFF, In search of the Middle Ages. (A must have)

* Jacques LE GOFF, Money and the Middle Ages. (More focused on the role of money and the different 'types' of 'moneys' that existed in Medieval times-- from your post I think you'll like this) This is also one the must-haves in medieval history (I hope the 'real' medievalist would agree ) He wrote several books on different matters of Medieval society and religion, you can look them up in Amazon. There is one that I had to read which I truly enjoyed: Intellectuals in the Middle Ages. I know he has also written some Saints' lives books, like the one on St. Francis.

* Claudio SANCHEZ ALBORNOZ studied Medieval Spain, which is very connected with Islam. I couldn't find any of his books in English. He is a little outdated, but worth the reading. In this line, there is another author, CARLÉ (don't remember her name) who also wrote on Spanish middle ages, but she tended to focus more on institutions and the Reconquista. A very good historian of Byzantium is Emilio CABRERA, but I don't know if his books were translated. I am sorry for this... Oh, another Spanish historian who wrote a History of Christianism is Mitre Fernández. For the emergence of capitalism, I read J.L. ROMERO, The bourgois revolution in feudal society (or something like that). 

* ABULAFIA D. y BEREND N., Medieval Frontiers: Concepts and Practices, Ashgate, Aldershot, 2002. Abulafia also wrote a history of the Mediterranean which you may find interesting. He also wrote on Medieval Italy, look him up, it's worth it. 

* Rodney HILTON wrote a lot on English feudal societies, but I think you are not interested in this. I only read some chapters from his book with Georges LEFEBVRE, The transition from feudalism to capitalism.

* Georges DUBY is also a classical author that focused on medieval economy and means of production. 

 

(There are many many others, buy I only included those that I remember! hehehe)

  

 

As far as the historical discipline per se, I love this topic and have discovered that I should have been given more to read as an undergrad. These are my four favourites:

 

* Jaques LE GOFF wrote several interesting books on how to write/do history. There are two that I like: History and memory and one that is something like "Thinking history" (Pensar la historia). I have it in Spanish. 

* EVANS, In defence of history. 

* Edward H. Carr, WHAT IS HISTORY? A real classic, especially in English-speaking countries. I used this one and one of LeGoff's for theoretical framework on my senior thesis. 

* Eric HOBSBAWM, On History. Fantastic thoughts by a fantastic historian. I think all history students should read this. 

 

Uff, I am exhausted but this is not exhaustive! I suppose other people will complete this list.

[dr. t]

Hey guys, so first off, apologies for what will surely come off as an uber-noob post. I usually post over on the government affairs forum, but I've migrated over to the history forum to ask for some advice. I've always thought about going for a PhD in history. I majored in European history as an undergrad, and even though I've since moved away from history toward international relations and Asian Studies, the idea has always remained in the back of my head. I was mainly deterred as an undergrad by the dismal job market and by my adviser, a rather embittered medievalist who had just been denied tenure because she generally terrified everyone. While I'm aware that the job market for Europeanists remains moribund, I would like to at least explore the prospect.

While my research interests are still very nebulous, I am very interested in basically anything having to do with Christianity in daily life: monasticism, local saints/cults/myths, popular heretical movements, etc. I would also be interested in trying to find some way to perhaps incorporate all those Chinese language skills I've built up, maybe researching trade and cultural exchange between Europe and the Far East in the high middle ages (limited though it was).

Anyway! I'd like to know if anyone out there can recommend some books for me to read this year that might help me decide if taking the plunge into a PhD is right for me. Either key books about Medieval history that every aspiring Medievalist should be familiar with, or books about the historical discipline in general that every PhD student should read. Basically, I'd like to read some of the key books of the discipline, to both get caught up on current trends and theories as well as figure out whether or not this is something I love enough to devote the rest of my life to. So if anyone out there can recommend some books to get me started, I would be much obliged. Thanks!

 

If you really want to incorporate Chinese, I'd start looking at economic history in general and the Indian Ocean trade routes specifically. Good intro description here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6XtBLDmPA0 . 

 

Things to read (taken from the syllabus of a course I just finished which was essentially Generals prep):

 

-Pirenne, Henri. Mohammed and Charlemagne. New York: Norton, 1939.

-Leclercq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God; a Study of Monastic Culture. New York: Fordham University Press, 1961.

-Smalley, Beryl. The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. NDP 39. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1964.

-Classen, Peter. Kaiserreskript und Königsurkunde: diplomatische Studien zum Problem der Kontinuität zwischen Altertum und Mittelalter. Vyzantina keimena kai meletai 15. Thessalonikē: Kentron Vyzantinōn Ereunōn, 1977.

-Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. Montaillou, village occitan de 1294 à 1324. Ed. rev. et corr. Paris: Gallimard, 1982.

-Powell, James M., ed. Medieval Studies: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1992.

-Kantorowicz, Ernst Hartwig. The King’s Two Bodies: a Study in Mediaeval Political Theology. Princeton Paperbacks. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1997.

-Brown, Peter Robert Lamont. Augustine of Hippo: a Biography. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. (Second edition is important here)

-McCormick, Michael. Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce A.D. 300-900. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

-Philippart, Guy, and Michel Trigalet. “‘L’hagiographie Latine Du XIesiècle Dans La Longue Durée: Données Statistiques Sur La Production Littéraire et Sur L’édition Médiévale.” In Latin Culture in the Eleventh Century: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Medieval Latin Studies, Cambridge, September 9-12, 1998, edited by Michael W. Herren, Christopher James McDonough, and Ross Gilbert Arthur, 281–301. Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin 5. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002.

-Davis, Jennifer R., Michael McCormick, Angeliki E. Laiou, Jan M. Ziolkowski, and Herbert L. Kessler, eds. The Long Morning of Medieval Europe: New Directions in Early Medieval -Studies. Aldershot, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub. Co, 2008.

-Brown, Warren, Marios Costambeys, Matthew Innes, and Adam J. Kosto, eds. Documentary Culture and the Laity in the Early Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

-Clanchy, M. T. From Memory to Written Record: England, 1066-1307. 3rd ed. Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.

-Kienzle, Beverly Mayne. Cistercians, Heresy, and Crusade in Occitania, 1145-1229: Preaching in the Lord’s Vineyard. Rochester, NY: York Medieval Press/Boydell Press, 2001.

-Kieckhefer, Richard. Unquiet Souls: Fourteenth-Century Saints and Their Religious Milieu. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.

-Tellenbach, Gerd. Church, State, and Christian Society at the Time of the Investiture Contest. Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 27. Toronto ; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press in association with the Medieval Academy of America, 1991.

-Head, Thomas, ed. Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology. New York ; London: Routledge, 2001.

-Vauchez, André. Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

 

I have a larger list if you want 

 

One thing I would mention that is not immediately apparent to many, but may become obvious from this list, is that language skill is the most important aspect of medieval study. Regardless of program, you will need a solid grasp on Latin, French, and German. If you want to specialize elsewhere, you will need to add specific languages to the list. You've been warned 

Edited August 4, 2013 by telkanuru

[rhodeislander]

Wow, thank you both for some great lists! Yall really went above and beyond! Andeanpat, unfortunately I don't speak Spanish, but most of those books seem available in translation. And I don't mind at all hearing about books that aren't related to what I proposed to study, like I said my interests are still developing and I'm eager to expand my knowledge base into areas I'm not as familiar with. That is a great list though, and I appreciate the non-American perspective.

Telkanuru, having already done a good amount of research I know all about the heavy language requirements for Medieval historians. Fortunately I plan on waiting a couple years before I apply to PhD programs, by which time I could conceivably have 3 years of Latin, 2 of French, and maybe 1 of German (if I'm feeling super motivated and am not too swamped with work). I figure I might need some Italian too if I'm going to be studying Christianity. This may seem like a heavy courseload, but after memorizing the thousands of arbitrary little symbols that make up the Chinese writing system just being able to study languages with alphabets (and my alphabet, to boot!) will be a pleasure. As for incorporating Chinese, considering I already have Chinese and a little bit of Uyghur under my belt, maybe I can do something with the economics of the Silk Road? I'm really not a quant guy, but maybe if I give it enough thought I can think of some way to riff on that...

Just out of curiosity, may I ask what you two are specifically studying?

Also, is anyone able to tell me what the "hot topics" are in Medieval history right now? Or, you know, the closest thing to a "hot" topic, since as I understand Medieval studies in general aren't exactly hot right now. Not because I'm looking to get in on something trendy, I'm just trying to get a feel for the current trends in the discipline. Is it social history? Women's history? Medieval economics? Comparative? Transnational? What are the kids into these days?

Thanks for your help, and if anyone has any other books they'd like to recommend, I'd still love to hear it!

[dr. t]

Cool cool cool. The language bit was just an FYI about something which had surprised me, although I had looked early enough. Italian would depend on where you really wanted to research. For economic stuff you'd certainly need it, the Italian city states being what they are. Not so much with studying religion in general though; everyone wrote everything in Latin. Since you're in New England I'd point out that Harvard Extension School offers French and Spanish for Reading on an alternating year basis, and Professor Thomas, the George Martin Lane Professor for the Classics and Harvard College Professor, offers intermediate classical Latin courses every semester (prose in the Fall and poetry in the Spring). This is how I assembled some of my language skill.

 

Trade is not necessarily purely quantitative. I would recommend McCormick iste above, although it's quite a tome, as a great way to see several approaches with that respect. 

 

I personally study high to late medieval intellectual and cultural history, and specifically focus on the interplay between the religious and secular. My master's thesis is on a Cistercian foundation in the north of France ca. 1200 and how it shaped a community identity in response to the broader social and intellectual milieu, which is to say the universities and the crusades.

 

As for hot topics, the current fad is "materiality", although I think that one is subsiding rather than growing at this point. Women's history is at a weird point where I think there might be a bit of a lull between second and third wave feminist influences. Within my own experience, which is strongly influenced by the professors I work with, there is a growing tendency towards recognizing that medieval history cannot be a purely textual field. Archeological, climatological, and microbiological approaches are being incorporated with increasing frequency. I can also say that Byzantine history is not very popular right now, with several universities having their resident Byzantinist retire and not replaced. As someone who just went through an app cycle, the field is really strange in general. All the current greats - Carolyn Walker Byrnum, Peter Brown, Beverley Kienzle, Thomas Noble, Bernard McGinn, to name a few - are retiring or retired, and it's not really very clear where the new lights are, yet. I'm also not overly confident in my analysis, and hope someone else chimes in 

 

If you want a larger reading list, I can PM you the whole syllabus. It's about 90 books 

Edited August 5, 2013 by telkanuru

[Andean Pat]

Hi again!!!

 

I am interested in nation-building in borderlands. I examine different identities that overlap in these territories, the meaning of an international/regional boundary and the role of nature in the construction of these ideas. As an 'excuse' to explore these questions, I study Latin American borderlands, especially the Andes (Hence, 'Andean'). Since my questions are not geographically based, I thought of applying for Medieval programs. The problem was my lack of Latin (which I wanted to do as an undergrad but could not due to overlaps in my schedule) and, besides, my research experience (and background) is Latin American.

 

I don't know what the hot topics are though... but trade sounds VERY interesting! (My final paper for that course had to do with the emergence of Italian cities due to trade).  

Edited August 5, 2013 by Andean Pat

[Kirialax]

I only work on the east and do not go out of the early middle ages, so I can hardly recommend the sorts of things "real" medievalists might be reading. Still, there is one notable absence on this thread, C. Wickham's Framing the Early Middle Ages. If you are interested in recommendations on Byzantium I can give you something there, however.

[rhodeislander]

Thanks guys, this is all very interesting stuff, since I'm really starting from scratch here. Telkanaru, my thoughts on needing Italian were more along the lines of, if I'm studying medieval Christianity I'll likely be spending some time in Italy, rummaging through archives and whatnot, and will probably need decent familiarity with Italian to talk to archivists, as well as the normal day to day getting around. One step at a time though! I'll actually be living in Boston next year, so maybe I should check out Harvard extension, thanks for that heads up. On a separate note, Harvard is one of like five or so schools in the US that offers Uyghur and Chagatai (I think?) as languages of study if I wanted to go the silk road route. In fact, they have a whole research arm just devoted to study of Central Asia. Again though, one step at a time, and for now I'm mainly interested in Medieval Christianity. I do like this idea of greater permeability between disciplines, bringing things like archaeology and microbiology to the analysis of history. Being able to approach history from more than one perspective makes a lot of sense to me, so I could definitely see myself doing that. Of course, I assume that would require a lot more training, but that only excites me. That's a good sign, right?

AndeanPat, sounds like a very interesting topic! I actually touched on some modern Peruvian history in my senior thesis a few years back (I have intellectual ADD, so sue me). And as far as borderlands go, I'm really interested in China's bordering regions, with Southeast Asia in the south, Russia/Korea/Mongolia in the north, and Central Asia in the west. The overlapping identities and loyalties of the peoples there, and how this effects Chinese government policy and propaganda, is a topic I could go on and on about but won't right now because it isn't the topic of this thread, haha. Always happy to talk about it though.

Kirialax, thanks for the suggestion. That books looks right up my alley. Maybe a bit earlier than what I'm currently looking at, but best to start at the beginning, right? Telkanuru said the market for Byzantine historians (Byzantianists?) is tough going right now, just out of curiosity how does it look from your perspective?

Okay, one last question for now for either you three or anyone else who cares to chime in: What are your personal favorite books on Medieval history? Either the most interesting, or just the best written? What are the books that made you say, "Man, I could see myself studying this"? Personally, I read Will Durant's Age of Faith when I was about 12, and it got me so excited. Yes, its popular history and not an academic work, and I realize now how anachronistic it is at parts (and I'm sure much of the scholarship is now outdated), but it was beautifully written and just blew me away.

Edited August 7, 2013 by rhodeislander

[dr. t]

In terms of content, The King's Two Bodies, above. In terms of style, anything by Peter Brown.

 

Good Luck!

[greyjay69]

I only work on the east and do not go out of the early middle ages, so I can hardly recommend the sorts of things "real" medievalists might be reading. Still, there is one notable absence on this thread, C. Wickham's Framing the Early Middle Ages. If you are interested in recommendations on Byzantium I can give you something there, however.

Kirialax,

I would be interested in any recommendations for Byzantium that you might have.

[greyjay69]

Okay, one last question for now for either you three or anyone else who cares to chime in: What are your personal favorite books on Medieval history? Either the most interesting, or just the best written? What are the books that made you say, "Man, I could see myself studying this"? Personally, I read Will Durant's Age of Faith when I was about 12, and it got me so excited. Yes, its popular history and not an academic work, and I realize now how anachronistic it is at parts (and I'm sure much of the scholarship is now outdated), but it was beautifully written and just blew me away.

Check out The Rise of Western Christendom by Peter Brown.

[Kirialax]

Kirialax, thanks for the suggestion. That books looks right up my alley. Maybe a bit earlier than what I'm currently looking at, but best to start at the beginning, right? Telkanuru said the market for Byzantine historians (Byzantianists?) is tough going right now, just out of curiosity how does it look from your perspective?

Okay, one last question for now for either you three or anyone else who cares to chime in: What are your personal favorite books on Medieval history? Either the most interesting, or just the best written? What are the books that made you say, "Man, I could see myself studying this"? Personally, I read Will Durant's Age of Faith when I was about 12, and it got me so excited. Yes, its popular history and not an academic work, and I realize now how anachronistic it is at parts (and I'm sure much of the scholarship is now outdated), but it was beautifully written and just blew me away.

 

The job market is pretty dismal, but it always was. There seems to be an increasing recognition amongst medievalists that Byzantinists should not be shut out, but that hasn't really translated into a lot of real position. The problem is that as a Byzantinist you are an expensive novelty that neither a history nor classics department needs to function, unless there happens to be no one else able to teach Greek. I did my undergrad in classics, and my MA is in a new program in late Roman history in a classics department, so I'm torn between eventually selling myself as a classicist with Byzantine research interests or as a Byzantinist/Islamicist (since my main interests are on state-level conflict between Byzantium and the nascent Islamic and Bulgarian states.) Apparently history departments are hiring Islamicists, so this may be a road to employment, although it will require learning Arabic.

 

As for favourite books, I have to say John Haldon and Leslie Brubaker's Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era: A History is a very good read. Well, the first half of it, anyway. Then the rest turns to tedious state level detail and is basically Haldon's Byzantium in the Seventh Century rehashed and brought up to the ninth century. In the more readable category, Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages is excellent.

[Kirialax]

Kirialax,

I would be interested in any recommendations for Byzantium that you might have.

1. - To Avoid

J.J. Norwich, both the trilogy and the abridgement. It's written very well, but it's a century out of date despite being relatively recent.

L. Brownworth, 'Lost to the West'. Basically Norwich into 200pp, with some better stuff on the crusades.

2. - General History

G. Ostrogorsky, 'History of the Byzantine State'. Standard scholarly narrative, but getting a little old these days.

T. Gregory, 'A History of Byzantium'. I've only read sections, but they have been very good. That said, this book has a definite textbook feel to it that I don't particularly like, but at least the information seems to be first rate.

W. Treadgold, 'A History of Byzantine State and Society'. A massive work that I've only read bits of, but generally well-received.

C. Wickham, 'The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages'. W. is an amazing scholar, but he's also married to a prominent Byzantinist which makes the Byzantine history chapters to this book absolutely top-notch.

 

J. Haldon, 'The Palgrave Atlas of Byzantine History'. Can be a bit dry, but it's rather comprehensive for a small book filled with maps.

3.- Period Histories (all these work together really well)

M. Whittow, 'The Making of Orthodox Byzantium'. Probably the best narrative of the "dark ages." W. has some interesting ideas, although some are more controversial than others.

P. Sarris, 'Empires of Faith: The Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam, 500-700'. Recent and really, really good, although the scope may be a bit larger than what you're looking for since this also covers the west and the rise of Islam in the same period.

M. Angold, 'The Byzantine Empire: 1025-1204, A Political History (2nd ed.).' Very, very good, and a good follow-up to Whittow's book. I will not recommend a post-1204 volume since I am but a novice when it comes to the scholarship there, but I have heard good things spoken about Nicol's book.

4. - Civilizational

J. Harris, 'Constantinople'. One of the best introductory works on Byzantium, this book tells you many interesting stories in an abbreviated format and reveals how they shaped the Byzantine world and mindset. It's colourful, it's amusing, and it's fascinating. If I had to pick one book to recommend from my list as an introductory volume, it's this one. It's popular history, but it's good popular history by a noted scholar and the notes are full and useful.

A. Cameron, 'The Byzantines'. A more thematic introduction to Byzantine civilization taking into account the latest research. Very good, but a very rapid sweep.

J. Herrin's 'Byzantium: A Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire'. I've only read sections, but it generally seems quite good, and the author is well-regarded.

 

G. Cavallo (ed.), 'The Byzantines'. A series of essays on Byzantine society and civilization by some of the biggest names in the field today.

[rhodeislander]

Nice, I've got one hell of a reading list to sort through thanks to yall. Thanks!

[Andean Pat]

AndeanPat, sounds like a very interesting topic! I actually touched on some modern Peruvian history in my senior thesis a few years back (I have intellectual ADD, so sue me). And as far as borderlands go, I'm really interested in China's bordering regions, with Southeast Asia in the south, Russia/Korea/Mongolia in the north, and Central Asia in the west. The overlapping identities and loyalties of the peoples there, and how this effects Chinese government policy and propaganda, is a topic I could go on and on about but won't right now because it isn't the topic of this thread, haha. Always happy to talk about it though.

  

 

As far as my personal recommendation, check any of the books in Spanish (get them in English, of course!). I'm sure a perspective from Spain will certainly blow your mind. Spain underwent a VERY interesting process during the Middle Ages: no other country had to 'reconquer' their lands from the Muslims. State-building and trading there is incredible.