Medieval Historical Fiction
Explore the best medieval historical fiction books! Dive into captivating tales of knights, castles, and intrigue with our curated list of top-rated novels set in the Middle Ages.
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Byzantium
by Stephen R. Lawhead
Born to rule Although born to rule, Aidan lives as a scribe in a remote Irish monastery on the far, wild edge of Christendom. Secure in work, contemplation, and dreams of the wider world, a miracle bursts into Aidan's quiet life. He is chosen to accompany a small band of monks on a quest to the farthest eastern reaches of the known world, to the fabled city of Byzantium, where they are to present a beautiful and costly hand-illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, to the Emperor of all Christendom. Thus begins an expedition by sea and over land, as Aidan becomes, by turns, a warrior and a sailor, a slave and a spy, a Viking and a Saracen, and finally, a man. He sees more of the world than most men of his time, becoming an ambassador to kings and an intimate of Byzantium's fabled Golden Court. And finally this valiant Irish monk faces the greatest trial that can confront any man in any age: commanding his own Destiny.
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The Last Kingdom
by Bernard Cornwell
In this epic novel, bestselling author Cornwell follows King Alfred the Great and his desperate quest to keep England from falling into the hands of the Danish conquerors.
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The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
In 1327, finding his sensitive mission at an Italian abbey further complicated by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William of Baskerville turns detective.
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The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read #1 New York Times Bestseller Oprah's Book Club Selection The “monumental masterpiece” (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career. Look out for the prequel, The Evening and the Morning, coming from Viking in September 2020. “Follett is a master,” extolled the Washington Post on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.
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Dissolution
by C. J. Sansom
Having worked to establish laws that protect the interests of the crown in 1537, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's feared vicar-general, enlists fellow reformer and lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his young protTgT to investigate a commissioner's murder, which may be tied to an impending rebellion. 40,000 first printing.
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Knight with Armour
by Alfred Duggan
KNIGHT WITH ARMOUR is the best historical novel to tackle the epic story of the First Crusade. We follow an impoverished young knight on the three-year journey to the Holy Land that culminates in the storming of Jerusalem in 1099. Like most of his contemporaries, Roger has never travelled outside his county, let alone country. His religious convictions are sincere, if alien to modern sensibilities. He discovers the yawning gulf between war as celebrated by the troubadours and the grisly reality of life and death on campaign: dysentery, starvation and brutal death in battle.