A World Lit Only by Fire – The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
by William Manchester

The book begins with the fall of Rome and the ensuing Dark Ages and leads to the Renaissance.

One little fact from the book sticks in my mind illustrating how badly civilization fell apart. Nobody built new roads in Europe for centuries after Rome fell – people reverted to a more primitive life without the advanced organization of the Empire.

You can read the first chapter at Google Books.

Also, did someone mention that you are Irish, Keith? Because here’s another book.

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

“From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne – the ‘dark ages’ – learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of western civilization – from the Greek and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works – would have been utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of unconquered Ireland.”

If we are talking about European history from the fall of the Western Roman Empire—and the simultaneous rise of the Byzantine/Ottoman Empire (476 cde) to the beginning of the Renaissance (1400 ce), the four best books I’ve ever read on the subject were:

(1) The Civilization of the Middle Ages, by Norman Cantor. This gives you a how and why things developed politically, economically and socially. It’s good, but a bit dry.

(2) The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity, by Richard Fletcher. The subject is about how and why we developed as Christians, with the most interesting historic anectdotes concerning the Church and it’s leaders including the Crusades and he impact they had on the populace.

(3) Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror which covers developments leading up to and surrounding 14th century Europe and the effects it had on the daily lives of members of each class. It includes the plagues, the economy, the cultures. It is my number one favorite book on the period. All of Tuchmann’s books were great. She was a fine historian. This is my all-time favorite book on the period and I really wish I’d read the first two listed here first—or at least The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Middle Ages first.

(4) Medieval Lives, by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira. It’s about the people of the period. Cultural and social history of he times.

The best intro to the subject is of course The Complete Idiot’s guide to the Middle Ages. It will familiarize you with the seminal events of the period and save you time in later research.

An excellent book to have around while you’re reading the others is The Medieval World: An Illustrated Atlas

Note: I just saw @jaytkay‘s reference to Manchester’s book. I haven’t read it, but anything I ever read by William Manchester was gripping and impeccably researched.

^^ After reading a couple of the books above, especially Tuchmann’s, read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with your new, fresh eyes.

@jaytkay Thank you, you’ve been very informative. Yes I am indeed Irish.

This is my area of study as a hobby. Can you be more specific as to what you’re interested in and whether you’re looking for general interest or scholarly references?

Tuchmann is a goddess. I have a first edition of A Distant Mirror.

@Seek Oh I just want to read up on it out of general interest

OK, a good one for general daily life stuff is Daily Life in Medieval Times, co-written by a married couple with the last name Gies. It’s an anthology of Life in a Medieval Castle, Life in a Medieval City, and Life in a Medieval Village.

I also like The Time-Traveller’s Guide to the Fourteenth Century. It has a lot of the fun, little talked about trivia, like what people thought was funny (the bit about Hockstide fund raisers is hilarious).

@Seek names a good series, easy reading with lots of down-to-earth everyday detail. Joseph and Frances Gies. There are many that are much heavier going, and some with specialized focus, such as attire across classes, societies, and years, or witchcraft, or celebrations.

I liked The Time-Traveller’s Guide to the Fourteenth Century a lot too. A little bit gruesome in places, but very entertainingly told.

There’s some much heavier reading matter if you want to go deeper. Tuchman’s is a good one. So is Montaillou, by Ladurie, which, being a record of actual testimony during heresy trials, contains a lot of detail of everyday life of the early 14th century. The book is based on those Inquisition records but isn’t a transcript; it’s written to be read.