Barbero, Allesandro. Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. 2004. A wonderful biography of Charlemagne and study of the times in which he lived that argues for the complexity of his legacy.
Barford, P. M. The Early Slavs: Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe. 2001. An excellent survey of developments in much of eastern Europe.
Bitel, Lisa. Women in Early Medieval Europe, 400–1100. 2002. Uses literary works and archaeological evidence as well as more traditional sources to trace all aspects of women’s lives: social, intellectual, political, and economic.
Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path, updated ed. 2004. An informed and balanced work on Islam based on the best modern scholarship and original sources.
James, Edward. The Origins of France: From Clovis to the Capetians, 500–1000, 2d ed. 2006. A solid introductory survey of early French history with an emphasis on family relationships.
McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity. 2008. Analyzes Charlemagne’s understanding of his role and methods of rule.
Reynolds, Susan. Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reconsidered. 1996. A comprehensive challenge to traditional conceptions of feudalism, the fief, and vassalage that has led to a rethinking of medieval political relationships.
Riche, Pierre. Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne. Trans. JoAnn McNamara. 1978. A detailed study of many facets of Carolingian society.
Sawyer, Peter, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. 1997. A sound account of the Vikings by an international team of scholars.
Verhulst, Adriaan. The Carolingian Economy. 2002. A brief survey, designed for students, of all aspects of the Carolingian economy, including agrarian production, crafts, and commerce.
Watt, W. Montgomery, and Pierre Cachea. A History of Islamic Spain. 2007. A succinct analysis of Islam’s influence on Spain.
Wickham, Chris. Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400–800. 2007. A massive, yet accessible, survey of economic and social changes in many regions, with great attention to ordinary people.
Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450–751. 1994. The best general treatment of the Merovingians.
DOCUMENTARIES
Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain (PBS, 2007). A documentary focusing on the culture of pluralism in tenth-century Muslim Spain, especially in the city of Córdoba, and its collapse because of internal and external forces. With an accompanying Web site at www.islamicspain.tv/Islamic-Spain/index.html.
The Dark Ages (History Channel, 2007). A blood-and-gore-filled documentary of the violence and instability of the early Middle Ages that also looks at Charlemagne and others as heroic creators of new institutions.
The Vikings (Nova, 2000). A two-hour special that presents the Vikings as merchants, shipbuilders, artisans, and colonizers, and that re-creates Viking voyages in the Atlantic and eastern Europe using replicas of their ships.
FEATURE FILMS
Beowulf and Grendel (Sturla Gunnarsson, 2005). A version of the Beowulf story with some new plot elements; loaded with violence and shot in the bleak landscape of Iceland.
The 13th Warrior (John McTiernen, 1999). A fictional retelling of the story of the real tenth-century Arabic traveler and writer Ibn Fadlan who was sent as an ambassador to the king of the Volga Bulgurs, at whose court there were eastern Vikings. Based on a novel by Michael Crichton, the film also mixes in stories from Beowulf.
WEB SITES
Internet Medieval Sourcebook. The definitive location for primary sources from the Middle Ages. Most of the texts are in English and are organized chronologically and thematically. www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies. Run by Georgetown University, this site provides free access to electronic resources in medieval studies, which are organized thematically. labyrinth.georgetown.edu
The Viking Answer Lady. In addition to being fun for Viking enthusiasts and historical re-enactors, this site offers bibliographies, visual materials, links to original texts, and accurate information on a range of topics. www.vikinganswerlady.com/