Middle Ages Europe

Here is the list of books we'll use for our study of the Middle Ages, with an emphasis on Europe. I have other lists for other geographic regions. We've already read some of these, but the rest will be studied in another year or two.

We'll start at the top and read our way through. If I feel like we've covered an area well enough, we'll move on without reading all of them. We won't use all those spines either! I need to get my hands on some of them to figure out which ones I want for sure. Also, I won't be able to find some of these at the library. I have a lot of books listed in order to give me options!

As we read them and decide which ones are best I'll edit the list and post my reviews at Goodreads.

MIDDLE AGES EUROPE
About 500 to 1600 AD

Spines (read a little bit every day in addition to the books listed below)
Famous Men of the Middle Ages - Poland and Haaren, edited by Cynthia Shearer (394 to 1471)
Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation - Poland and Haaren, edited by Cynthia Shearer (1304 to 1572 )
Famous Men of the 16th and 17th Century – Robert Shearer (1519 -1715)
Heroes of the Middle Ages – Eva March Tappan
Story of the Middle Ages – Micheal McHug and John Southwort
Story of Liberty – Charles Coffin (start with Magna Charta and read a little each week)
Middle Ages – Dorothy Mills
Middle Ages: A Cultural Atlas – Mike Corbishley
Hamster History of England – Janis Mitchell
Looking at History – R. J. Unstead
Rats, Bulls and Flying Machines – Deborah Mazzotta Prum (1350 -1642 – begin reading around time we start da Vinci)

Elementary/Middle School Read-alouds
Door in the Wall – Maguerite De Angeli
Apple and the Arrow – Conrad Buff (William Tell, 1291)
King Arthur and His Knights
Try these:
Classic Starts: The Story of King Arthur – Howard Pyle, edited by Tania Zamorsky
King Arthur (Usborne) – Felicity Brooks
Tales of King Arthur – Hudson Talbott (if we like check others in series)
King Arthur (Troll Illustrated Classics) – Don Hinckle and Howard Pyle
King Arthur and His Knights – Maude Radford Warren

Between the Forest and the Hills – Ann Lawrence
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - J.R.R. Tolkein
Otto of the Silver Hand - Howard Pyle
Don Quixote and the Windmills - Erick Kimmel
Stories of Don Quixote Written Anew for Children - James Baldwin

Elementary/Middle School (listed chronologically)
Byzantine
Byzantines – Thomas Chubb
Arabs – Harry Ellis
Silk Route – John Major

Europe
Usborne Time Traveler 2-31
Across a Dark and Wild Sea – Don Brown (521, Ireland)
Augustine Came to Kent - Barbara Willard (597)
Son of Charlemagne - Barbara Willard (781)
Two Travelers – Chris Manson
Marvelous Blue Mouse – Chris Manson
Dragon and the Raven - G.A. Henty (870 - Danish invasions of England)
Wulf the Saxon – G. A. Henty (1066)
Tower of London – Leanard Everett Fisher
White Isle - Caroline Dale Snedeker (Roman Britian)
Red Keep: A Story of Burgundy in 1165 - Allen French
If All the Swords in England: A Story of Thomas Becket - Barbara Willard (1170, Henry II)
Hidden Treasure of Glaston – Eleanore Jewett (1171)

Crusades
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History 240-243
Crusaders – Walter Buehr
Winning His Spurs (aka Boy Knight) - G.A. Henty (Crusades, 1190, King Richard)
Big John’s Secret – Eleanore Jewett (1218)
Lost Baron: A Story of England in the Year 1200 - Allen French (under King John/Robin Hood)
Tales of Robin Hood – Tony Allan
Robin Hood – Howard Pyle
Star & Sword – Pam Melnikoff
Ivanhoe - Marianna Mayer (Richard Lion Heart and Robin Hood)
Red Falcons of Tremoine – Hendry Peart
Stories from the Crusades - Janet Harvey Kelman

Genghis Khan and Mongol Invasion (1213-1227)
Genghis Khan – Demi

Empire in the East – Earle Rice OR
Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde – Harold Lamb
Time Warp Trio: You Can’t, But Genghis Khan

Magna Charta
King John and the Magna Carta – L. DuGarde Peach (Ladybird books)
Magna Charta - James Daugherty (1217)

Knights and Castles
Castle Diary – Richard Platt (1285)
Making of a Knight – Patrick O’Brien
Medieval Feast – Aliki
Knights in Shining Armor - Gail Gibbons
Page, Esquire and Knight - Marion Florence Lansing
Knights, Castles and the Feudal Life – Walter Buehr
Castle - David Macaulay
When Knights were Bold - Eva March Tappan
Archers, Alchemists and 98 Other Medieval Jobs – Priscilla Galloway (1000-1500)
Medieval World series – various authors – Manners and Customs, Law and Punishment, Medicine and the Plague, Trade and Travel, etc. – Lynne Elliott, Marc Cels, Kay Eastwood, Marsha Groves, Joanne Findon, etc.

Saint Brendan and the Voyage Before Columbus – Michael McGrew
Canterbury Tales - Barbara Cohen (1340ish)
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - Marcia Williams
Pied Piper of Hamelin – Robert Browning (1300)
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce - G.A. Henty (1314)
Fine Print: A Story About Johann Gutenberg - Joann Johansen Burch (late 1400s, Germany)
Pippo the Fool – Tracey Fern (1377-1446)
Prince Henry the Navigator – Leanard Everett Fisher (1394-1460)
Joan of Arc - Diane Stanley (1412-1431)
At Agincourt – G. A. Henty (1415)
Marguerite Makes a Book – Bruce Robertson (1400-1425)
Illuminations – Jonathan Hunt
Trumpeter of Krakow - Eric Kelly (1461)
Year of Columbus – Genevieve Foster (1492)
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, Leonardo da Vinci - Mike Venezia
Leonardo da Vinci - Diane Stanley (1452-1519)
Leonardo, the Beautiful Dreamer - Robert Byrd (Leonardo da Vinci)
Leonardo’s Horse – Jean Fritz
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, Michelangelo - Mike Venezia
Michelangelo - Diane Stanley (1494)
Michelangelo’s Surprise – Tony Parillo
World of Columbus and Sons – Genevieve Foster (1451 to 1537)
Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day - Scott O'Dell (William Tyndale - 1525)
Good Queen Bess - Diane Stanley (1533 to 1603)
World of Captain John Smith – Genevieve Foster (1580-1631)
Renaissance: Understanding People of the Past - Mary Quigley
Renaissance - Jane Shuter
Apprentice – Pilar Molina Llorente
Matilda Bone - Karen Cushman

Shakespeare
William Shakespeare & the Globe – Aliki
Bard of Avon - Diane Stanley (1561 to 1661)
World of Shakespeare - Claybourne and Trayes
Shakespeare Stealer trilogy – Gary Blackwood (free time reading if wanted)
Begin reading Shakespeare once a week. We own most of the following resources:
Beautiful Stores from Shakespeare – E. Nesbit
The Tempest - Marianna Mayer
William Shakespeare's Winter Tales - Bruce Coville
Hamlet - Bruce Coville
Twelfth Night - Bruce Coville
Romeo and Juliet - Bruce Coville
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Bruce Coville
Stories from Shakespeare – Anna Claybourne
Tales from Shakespeare – Marcia Williams
Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare – Charles Lamb

Cathedral - David Macaulay
By Pike and Dyke – G.A. Henty (1579)
By England's Aid - G.A. Henty (1588 – sequel to By Pike and Dyke)
The Siege – Stephen Shapiro (1585 – Holland)
Ship – David Macaulay
A 16th Century Galleon – Richard Humble
Westward Ho! - Charles Kingsley (Elizabeth and Drake – 1575 - 1588)
Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal (1587)
Peter the Great - Diane Stanley (1672-1725)

Vikings
Children's Atlas of Civilizations 56-57
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History 210-213
Time Traveler 34-63
Viking Tales –Jennie Hall (Norway, 850-933, online)
The Vikings – Elizabeth Janeway (900-1000)
Leif the Lucky - Ingri D'aulaire and Edgar P. D'aulaire
Viking Adventure – Clyde Robert Bulla
Everyday Life of a Viking Settler – Giovanni Caselli
Leif’s Saga – Jonathan Hunt
Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow - Allen French (maybe elementary age)
Sword Song - Rosemary Sutcliff
Beorn the Proud - Madeleine Polland
Beowulf - Michael Morpurgo
Beowulf the Warrior - Ian Serraillier
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children - H.E. Marshall
Book of Norse Myths - Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire
Viking Quest series - Lois Walrid Johnson

Books we don’t want to use again
The Hero Beowulf - Eric Kimmel

Explorers
America Begins – Alice Dagliesh
Explorers Who Got Lost – Diane Sansevere-Dreher
Exploration and Conquest – Betsy Maestro
Picture History of Great Explorers – Gillian Clements
They Put Out to Sea – Roger Duvoisin
By Right of Conquest - G.A. Henty (1595)

High School (mostly in order)
May want to repeat some of the books from earlier
Life in Medieval Times - Marjorie Rowling
Mystery of History Volume 3 – Linda Hobar (use student text only)
Renaissance - Paul Johnson
A History of the English Speaking People – Winston Churchill
Renaissance and Reformation Times - Dorothy Mills
History of the Kings of Britain - Geoffery of Monmouth
The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Medieval World
Lantern Bearers – Rosemary Sutcliff (450)
Shining Company – Rosemary Sutcliff (600)
More King Arthur (maybe Howard Pyle)
Song of Roland - Dorothy Sayers (778)
Saga of the Volsungs - translated by Jesse Byock
1066 The Year of Conquest - David Howarth
Magna Charta – James Daugherty (1167-1216)
1215 The Year of Magna Carta - Danny Danziger and John Gillingham
The Scottish Chiefs - Jane Porter (1296-1305 Scots against English)
Canterbury Tales (1340s)
Divine Comedy – Sayers translation (just read bits of it to get a feel for it)
St. George for England –G.A. Henty (1340)
White Company – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
March on London – G. A. Henty (1381)
Men of Iron – Howard Pyle (1400s)
Joan of Arc - Mark Twain 1412-1431)
The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson (War of the Roses, 15th century)
Prince and the Pauper – Mark Twain (1530)
The Prince - Machiavelli (1531 - translated by Bull?)
Queen Eleanor - Polly Brooks (mother of Richard the Lion-Hearted)
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott (Richard and Robin Hood)
Warriors of God, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade – James Reston
Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth – Jane Resh Thomas (1558)
Under Drake's Flag - G.A. Henty (Sir Francis Drake, 1560s)
The Lion Of The North – G. A. Henty (1618 -1648 – ‘30 Years War’)
A Messenger for Parliament - Erik Christian Haugaard (1641-1651)
Cromwell’s Boy – Erik Christian Haugaard (sequel to A Messenger for Parliament – 1643)
Governor of England: A Novel on Oliver Cromwell - Marjorie Bowen
Don Quixote - Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, translated by Samuel Putnam
Shakespeare – read some of his works
Paradise Lost – translated by Elledge (1667)
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (1789-1799)
Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Scarlet Pimpernel – Baroness Emmuska Orczy
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew – Daniel Pool