Quite interesting deep dive into 1215, the year of Magna Carta, with a look at the politics, John's reign, the collapse of the Angevin empire, and somQuite interesting deep dive into 1215, the year of Magna Carta, with a look at the politics, John's reign, the collapse of the Angevin empire, and some aspects of more normal life--food, the position of women, etc. Not entirely compelling--I don't find his writing that sparky tbh--and I got slightly annoyed at the repeated trope of 'everyone thinks John was a bad king but actually he may well have been a competent administrator' while what's under discussion is a country-wrecking rolling disaster. I mean, show me the part where he did useful things for anyone and I'll listen. ...more
What an absolutely marvellous book. An alt medieval fantasy in which Byzantium is an evil empire that hasn't been slowed down by the Ottomans. We haveWhat an absolutely marvellous book. An alt medieval fantasy in which Byzantium is an evil empire that hasn't been slowed down by the Ottomans. We have a Byzantine mercenary, a Welsh sorceror, an Italian doctor and a German engineer/vampire, all getting snarled up in the Wars of the Roses.
As with all alt history I imagine a lot of the effect will depend on how much of the history you know (it was a trifle hard to follow at points anyway with a lot of politics, ime jumps and things left to the reader's inference). Those of us who spent lockdown obsessively reading Plantagenet history have an advantage, which is not a sentence often written.
It's huge and complex and weary and I loved it. A modern classic of SF that really deserves the name. (and may I note that it was written in the 80s but manages to have meaningful female characters who aren't just there to be raped I'M JUST SAYING). ...more
The occult classic, allegedly, in which the highly pro-Cathar French theosophist Maurice Magre, writing in the 1930s, gives a whistle stop tour of theThe occult classic, allegedly, in which the highly pro-Cathar French theosophist Maurice Magre, writing in the 1930s, gives a whistle stop tour of the occult highlight reel, focusing on Christian Rosenkreutz, Nicholas Flamel and the book of Abraham, the Cathars, the Templars, et al et seq. There are sages in remote Himalayan mountains and beautiful women in white dresses. Mild but persistent misogyny throughout and he doesn't half bang on about rape.
Obviously this stuff is all made up anyway, but this book is significantly more made up than that, including but not limited to completely fictional people, conversations, events, motivations, assertions, and religious movements. "We don't know how the Buddhist faith could have spread to Languedoc in the eleventh century" he says, which in one sense is entirely correct in that we do not know how this thing that didn't happen did not happen, but in another and significantly more accurate sense is gibbering bullshit. The author's favourite phrase is "no doubt", as deployed in sentences like "We don't know what happened to Nicholas Flamel's nephew but no doubt he discovered the secrets of the Philosopher's Stone and became a sage" or "No doubt the last Cathars' bodies are forever preserved in a hidden cave still clutching their book of secrets" or "No doubt he went to a Himalayan monastery and discovered the wisdom of the ancients." I mean, yes, those are all the likeliest outcomes.
I was not expecting this to be a reliable or factual history, obv. It's published in Dennis Wheatley's Occult Library. But honestly, this is an utterly amazing illustration of what people will swallow, especially on the Cathars. Reminds me vaguely of GK Chesterton's aphorism about how "the nineteenth century decided to have no religious authority. The twentieth century seems disposed to have any religious authority." ...more
Entertaining coffee table book with lots of good reproductions of bizarre medieval images. It's a comedy thing rather than informative but an amusing Entertaining coffee table book with lots of good reproductions of bizarre medieval images. It's a comedy thing rather than informative but an amusing sofa-coma Christmas read....more
Irritatingly, there is a fascinating story to be told here. The bloody history of Romania, for so long standing between the Ottoman Empire and the HolIrritatingly, there is a fascinating story to be told here. The bloody history of Romania, for so long standing between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman one. Medieval infighting and politics and side-switching and Crusades and crucial battles that don't usually get covered because British historians are banging on about Agincourt again. Plus, the whole Dracula (book) thing, plus Romania's recent history. What I read of all that was really interesting.
Unfortunately, someone decided to let some sort of aspiring horror novelist write fictional interludes of extreme brutality, depicting people being impaled, blinded etc in loving detail and at length, which are then included between chapters, presumably in order to help anyone sitting on the fence about whether being horribly mutilated was fun. I mean: no, and also: what.
Also unfortunate is the outstandingly uncomfortable and lengthy discussion on the supposed Turkish/Ottoman habit of penetrative male/male sex (TE Lawrence makes it in, you may be amazed to hear) with much concentration on rape, and speculation on who may have been raped, and frankly fairly squinky attitudes.
I felt I was learning something in the actual history bits but it's feeling distinctly sticky, with an awful lot more close-up dwelling on traumatic violence than I expected in a history of Vlad the Impaler. I am off-put....more
A surprisingly interesting deep dive into a variety of manuscript books, with lots of interesting byways about their histories, MS production, scribesA surprisingly interesting deep dive into a variety of manuscript books, with lots of interesting byways about their histories, MS production, scribes, politics, royal families, book collectors, and how they are now kept and shown. I wish it was full colour, and I also wish I'd read it in hardback rather than the cramped paperback. ...more
A very sweet retelling of the Bisclavret story (husband turns into wolf three days a month, wife betrays him to keep him trapped in wolf form forever,A very sweet retelling of the Bisclavret story (husband turns into wolf three days a month, wife betrays him to keep him trapped in wolf form forever, he is finally rescued by the kindness of his king). This version is a lot sweeter, with understanding for the wife's actions (because, mate, marrying someone without telling them you're a werewolf does not constitute obtaining informed consent!) and a really lovely slow-burn romance between Bisclavret and the (demisexual) king. A pleasure to read. ...more
Highly readable and very interesting history (more a set of essays than a continuous account) digging the traces of medieval European women out of accHighly readable and very interesting history (more a set of essays than a continuous account) digging the traces of medieval European women out of accounts mostly written by men. Lots to relish here, well written, and intersectional with some traces of trans people. The author takes an unapologetically feminist stance here although even her staunch support of the women wavers slightly as she discusses the hilariously awful Margery Kempe, whose utter intolerability echoes down the centuries. ...more
The grim, grim story of the Cathars, a dualist sect who believed the material world was evil. They were against the established church and monarchies The grim, grim story of the Cathars, a dualist sect who believed the material world was evil. They were against the established church and monarchies because worldly pomp, didn't believe in oaths or sacraments unless they were given by people who actually demonstrably lived up to their principles, didn't believe in tithing, were against violence, generally believed in something like equality for women and lower classes. Basically the kind of religion you can get behind. As far as can be told they just...didn't do any harm. Except, of course, to the Church, by making people question why they should give much of their money and labour to support a bunch of greedy corrupt bastards when you could attain heaven by simply living a good life of service, prayer and self restraint.
So they had to go, and by happy chance, the French monarchy was bang alongside any excuse to put down the independent and headstrong Languedoc nobility. A crusade was called for, and was every bit as vile, greedy, spectacularly violent and flat out evil as, oooh, all the other crusades. Good lord, the cruelty and misery that the Catholic church has wrought.
It's actually quite hard to read this book because you want the story to come out differently so very much, and there were points when it could have. A handful of people not dying, a handful of others dying earlier, and Europe might have been a very different place. Plus, there's very little to cheer about, although we do dwell with enormous pleasure and some detail on the splatting of one particularly evil bastard.
Well written and clearly told. I'd have liked a bit more on the life of the Cathars before we get into the protracted death, but inevitably most of the sources are from the Church and the Inquisition, so. ...more
Tremendous. A hugely comprehensive history of the Burgundian duchy, which wasn't just the French wine bit, but covered a lot of the Netherlands/BelgiuTremendous. A hugely comprehensive history of the Burgundian duchy, which wasn't just the French wine bit, but covered a lot of the Netherlands/Belgium. Brilliant structure, giving a quick run over the first thousand years, focusing in on the most important hundred years, then closer and closer in--a decade, a year, a day--to take us the the end of Burgundy as a named political structure. This means the author can really go in hard on the interesting bits, and does.
It's bursting with great stuff. Good stories, many interesting characters with deep dives into the dukes with their extravagance, cruelty, and appetites, loads on art and literature and emergent technology (I am desperate to go see some of the surviving buildings and paintings now), lots on the state of the common people, not just the nobles. Really good with the historical context, which let me slot it into place with what I know of England/France/Holy Roman Empire. Written in an enthusiastic, informal style (and terrifically translated) so it's a bit like a history lesson from a really good teacher. It's a big book about an area of which I knew virtually nothing and I've been glued to it for a week.
Really excellent. Don't miss, even (especially) if you're like "who tf are the Burgundians anyway". You'll learn....more
A history book that tells the story of the Crusades by focusing on an individual in each chapter. This gives a much stronger sense of crusading as a EA history book that tells the story of the Crusades by focusing on an individual in each chapter. This gives a much stronger sense of crusading as a Europe-wide affair, involving Norwegians and Spaniards as well as the usual suspects. In general it helps make it much wider and deeper than the Franks Vs Muslims narrative and shows the multiplicity of views and behaviours: Arab rulers who sided with the crusaders, Frankish monarchs who refused to do so, people who set up cosy trading relationships and friendships over the years. We actually get chapters centring women (!) and even a lower class woman (!!!).
What's really important I think is how the book broadens the crusading concept. Obviously there were the continual invasions of the Middle East, but crusading aka politically motivated violence in the guise of fighting for Christ and winning personal salvation was also actively and explicitly targeted against many groups of Jews, a pagan German sect, the Cathars, Venice , the Hohenstaufens, Byzantium. Even Columbus was specifically sailing off on waves of crusade rhetoric.
A really interesting overview of the wars in Outremer (to use the Frankish term), with lots of space given to the Muslim side of things, explaining thA really interesting overview of the wars in Outremer (to use the Frankish term), with lots of space given to the Muslim side of things, explaining the politics of succession and internecine wars. It's very readable for what it is--ie a book focusing on the wars. I really benefited from reading it paired with Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands which takes a much wider geographical view along with much deeper dives into human stories (including women!) but which I wouldn't have appreciated nearly as much without the factual grounding from this one. ...more
A delve into English history, attempting to trace the roots of a folk legend of a dragon killer in a tiny Hertfordshire village. Interesting in how hiA delve into English history, attempting to trace the roots of a folk legend of a dragon killer in a tiny Hertfordshire village. Interesting in how historians go about looking for clues and answers, with lots of intriguing byways about tradition, superstition, mythmaking and history.
Ultimately a bit inconclusive since there are of course no answers to be had at a thousand years' distance and there isn't a super strong thesis, more a meditation. Good for those with an interest in folklore.
However, I had the 2020 HarperCollins paperback with the teal cover and I have to point out that the text seems to have been formatted for a completely different size of book since it has ludicrously massive margins and is poorly sited on the page. Not sure why the publisher couldn't have adjusted the layout rather than wasting quite so much paper on making a slim book into a brick. ...more
Massive and wide-ranging history of the Middle Ages centring on Europe, from around 450 to 1500 CE. Covers the Middle East, Byzantium, the Mongols, soMassive and wide-ranging history of the Middle Ages centring on Europe, from around 450 to 1500 CE. Covers the Middle East, Byzantium, the Mongols, some stuff on Scandinavia, Russia and Asia mostly as it relates to Europe; moves out to look at India and the Americas again mostly from the perspective of commerce/colonisation/invasion.
This is still a huge amount of stuff and it necessarily proceeds at something of a gallop while still being very long. It does manage to make a lot of the pieces fit together in an impressive way, partly by keeping a focus on themes and ongoing ideas rather than just events. I really liked the sections that focus on specific areas (monks, crusades, printing and popular revolt) rather than a country: those again give a very handy overview.
Lots of parallels drawn with modern times to varying effect including a frankly stupid section where the author talks about the oppression of new thought in universities as equivalent to 'wokeness' because it's about not letting people dissent or speak unpopular truths. Mm hmm. Because obviously 'woke' people are the ones entrenched in a position of power who don't want change, whereas the people who run universities and newspapers are the brave ones fighting against the establishment and daring to say, uh, the things they've been saying for years. Did anyone even read over this?
Which made me increasingly irritated/conscious of an authorial agenda with the other modern parallels, and increasingly aware how very much this is a history of predominantly white men, which, you know, I have read before and don't feel compelled to read again, what with other stories exist. Sorry if that makes me exactly the same as Pope Innocent III. *rolls eyes forever*...more
KJ Parker getting closer to his Tom Holt persona here with a strong Good Omens flavour. Tale of exorcism told by a demon, very much about the IneffablKJ Parker getting closer to his Tom Holt persona here with a strong Good Omens flavour. Tale of exorcism told by a demon, very much about the Ineffable Plan, with a lot of excellent jokes to go with the Miltonic wrangling. A bit, oh, lightweight, which was obviously deliberate: it's an entertainment and I enjoyed it a lot....more
I think I have reached my limit with literary fiction character pieces about unpleasant people.
We're with a group of pilgrims heading to meet in LondI think I have reached my limit with literary fiction character pieces about unpleasant people.
We're with a group of pilgrims heading to meet in London then go to Rome. The thirteenth century travelogue is extensively researched and it shows. The pilgrims take turn narrating chapters, and are all unreliable and mostly awful, and by 28% with no discernible plot emerging I decided I didn't care to find out more. I don't insist characters should be likeable as long as they're human and interesting, but the repeated unreliable narrator effect made it feel more like a conscious puzzle to me. If you like that effect, you'll be in heaven.
DNF at 28% in search of some action. Call me lowbrow....more
Marc Morris may well be my favourite historian. Highly readable, thorough, even handed, full of intriguing details, gives a sense of personalities witMarc Morris may well be my favourite historian. Highly readable, thorough, even handed, full of intriguing details, gives a sense of personalities without attempting ventriloquy, and remembers that readers don't know as much as him so there's lots of useful reminders about who's who when they all have the same two names, and what happened 100 pages ago.
This is a terrific bio, with lots of context. It won't make you like the oversized psychopath any more, but does convey his impressive achievements as well as staggering awfulnesses....more
Very interesting and well told history of a man you hear mentioned a lot while never really learning about. It's a fascinating look at the time with aVery interesting and well told history of a man you hear mentioned a lot while never really learning about. It's a fascinating look at the time with a persuasive attempt to get into the mind of a principled rebel baron. That said I found it a bit hagiographic at points, and his unequivocally evil acts (specifically the massacres of England's Jews) struck me as a bit less examined than they could have been....more
Morris is a terrifically readable and accessible historian, and this account of John's reign reads almost like a novel at points, as it tells the storMorris is a terrifically readable and accessible historian, and this account of John's reign reads almost like a novel at points, as it tells the story of his better documented and ever more screwed up later years with flashbacks to earlier events. Cracking writing, engaging presentation, and a very persuasive account of this flawed king and terrible human being.
Now I feel like I need to read his book on Edward I but I don't wanna because he's a psychopath. (The king, not the historian.)...more
A terrific overview of castles, from their arrival in England at the Norman conquest to the end of the castle building trend after the Civil War. ThisA terrific overview of castles, from their arrival in England at the Norman conquest to the end of the castle building trend after the Civil War. This is really informative about design and utility, as well as revelatory about the cultural exchange going on: the architect of Caenarfon in Wales came from the Savoy (Switzerland basically) and this was under Edward I.
Really interesting with lots of human stories, and also extremely funny. I didn't expect laugh out loud lines in a book on medieval architecture.
Also, turns out that the castle in the boring market town where I grew up was the place where the English finally surrendered to William the Conqueror. I mean, we just used to hang around there for underage drinking. ...more
