I just finished grading papers and posting final grades for the semester. It’s a very frustrating time of the year.

If the names of some of our favourite authors in that category aren’t the kind of suggestion you expected to get, well, maybe someone else can come closer to your requirements. I can’t.

I also don’t address undergraduates, lazy or otherwise, differently than I address anyone else. They’re humans too.

What one written source would you recommend to dispel SOME OF THE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS about Medieval times–primarily in the UK and western Europe? I didn’t ask for a definitive all-inclusive tome nor did I say I expected a synopsis. I am a middle-aged adult and a librarian for many years and don’t expect to be addressed as though I were a lazy undergraduate. Although I have no borrowing privileges at a university library I do have on hand PUBLIC LIBRARY CORE COLLECTION NONFICTION, 13th edition. I can easily look in there but was merely asking if anyone had a recommendation that might be helpful. Excuse me for asking.

Having said that, I know most people won’t go ‘read around’ in the Middle Ages. It’s something I like to do, but not everyone does. My only real suggestion is read more than one book on the topic. Look at the author’s qualifications and other works. This will help you assess the angle the author is likely to take. The Middle Ages are not simple or easy to condense. What was going on in Italy was politically different than what was happening in England, but people traveled and traded information, literature, art. The kings of England needed the Medici banking industry to keep their country running – not to mention funding those pesky battles with France.
Anyway – authors of history have agendas, whether it be to glorify a period or person or country. Know the agenda and you can assess the quality of the information. Norman Cantor used to be the guy to read; I have heard that R. W. Southern is a reliable source. I enjoy the PBS televised series on the Medicis, but I avoid stuff done by the History Channel – too many inaccuracies.

by all means – read Cadfael – one of my favorites.

After all these years, I still have a fondness for Norah Lofts’ novels about the period, and of course there’s Cadfael.