Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154 by Christopher Nugent Lawrence BrookeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The perfect book for those who wish to get lost in the central middle ages. And I say "lost" because this book is 470 pages full of information. It covers all aspects of life during this time, although the section(s) on kings and monarchs couldn't help seeming like a lost list of names and dates (and there are more Henry's than I can deal with).
Some interesting tidbits:
Apparently in England people couldn't build towers (because they would threaten the king), so people with a lot of money and wishing to show off, would build churches instead.
I had always considered St. Edward the Confessor the last of the truly British kings, but it turns out he was half Norman and probably grew up in Normandy, which also adds credence to the whole "totally told William the conqueror he'd be the next king" story.
I enjoyed the reasons given for the 1st crusade (Constantinople asked for some mercenaries but got many more than they bargained for), and how all the kings who didn't participate felt left out, so they made sure they participated in the 2nd crusade.
The chapter on marriage was also very enlightening. Apparently until the council of Trent the church wasn't involved in marriage. And apparently there were issues with annulling a marriage just for the reason of no coitus, since that would be mean Mary and Joseph's marriage would have been invalid, which obviously wouldn't do.
The chapter on Abelard and Heloise made for a perfect ending.
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