The Best Medieval Books of 2023

This week, Danièle continues the annual tradition of sharing some of her favourite books of the year, along with the top picks of Peter Konieczny, editor and co-founder of Medievalists.net.

Danièle’s list:

Temptation Transformed: The Story of How the Forbidden Fruit Became an Apple, by Azzan Yadin-Israel

Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art, edited by Kristen Collins and Bryan C. Keene

Vox Clamantis, translation by Robert J. Meindl and Mark T. Riley

Women and the Crusades, by Helen Nicholson

How to Focus: A Monastic Guide for an Age of Distraction, by John Cassian, translation by Jamie Kreiner

Peter’s list:

The Donkey and the Boat: Reinterpreting the Mediterranean Economy, 950-1180, by Chris Wickham

The Cosmography and Geography of Africa, by Johannes Leo Africanus, translation by Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard Oosterhoff

The Emperor and the Elephant: Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne, by Sam Ottewill-Soulsby

Inked: Tattooed Soldiers and the Song Empire’s Penal-Military Complex, by Elad Alyagon

Meteorological Disasters in Medieval Britain (AD 1000‒1500), by Peter J. Brown

The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on Twitter @5MinMedievalist

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