The medieval era is a delight to study. While there certainly were periods and places of darkness, the medieval world should never be categorized as a grim wasteland in between two more glorious epochs of civilization, and the Middle Ages should be studied as more than a mere transition period.
Of course, studying medieval history provides many fun opportunities to dress up in costume and build castles out of wooden blocks. Beyond that, however, it is also a period of rich literature both in original source documents and in modern thematic literature. Would you be surprised to know that you don’t necessarily need a middle school homeschool curriculum to really help your kids learn about this time period?
I am so excited to share some of our family’s favorite homeschool resource ideas for studying the Middle Ages with you all!
This is where it gets a tiny bit complicated…
Some people might call it my super power. Some people (my husband?) might view it as my biggest weakness.
But when I start recommending books, it is really hard for me to stop! I will do my best to limit this list.
I’ll try. Maybe.
{This post contains affiliate links. Please see disclaimer.}
What exactly do I mean by textbook-free history? You’ll find everything you need in my Textbook-Free History Masterclass here.
My desire is always to focus first on our core resources. These are the books that will give us our biographical and chronological framework for the time period we are studying (in this case, the Middle Ages). Many of these books I read aloud, although there are necessarily several I pass off to older kids for independent study (Mom’s voice and a toddler’s patience can only last so long).
There are also a few historical fiction resources that I love so dearly I am unwilling to leave them to chance on the supplemental-reading shelf. Some of these I read aloud and some the children read on their own.
75+ Textbook-free Resources for Medieval History
What follows are my own essentials. These are of course not the only good books to teach and study the Middle Ages. But this is my home and my school so I get to pick what I want; my position has to come with at least this one privilege, right?
Check out my Textbook-Free History masterclass for a bit more about how and why we study history the way we do. And please let me know of any other books, documentaries, or projects I should incorporate the next time we cycle through this period of medieval history!
Also be sure to watch and read about how we incorporate reading journals for our younger and older children!
Middle Ages: Essential Books For Elementary Students and Beyond
Medieval History Spine Titles
- Famous Men of the Middle Ages, Rob and Cindy Shearer, John Haaren, and A.B. Poland
- The Story of Liberty, Charles Coffin
These are perfect to give the big-picture context of the medieval time period and make lovely read-alouds for all ages.
Supplemental Titles Perfect For Your Medieval Homeschool History Study
- Cathedral, Castle, and Mosque by David Macaulay (both those books and the movie versions: Cathedral and Castle)
- Beowulf, Seamus Heaney’s translation; illustrated edition
- Beowulf, James Rumford
It is totally worth it to seek out this children’s retelling. The author only uses words derived from pre-1066 English! (For those of you wondering, that is when William the Conqueror invaded England and our language changed dramatically through the influence of French.) The illustrations are also magnificent.
- Canterbury Tales, Barbara Cohen
A great illustrated introduction for children of all ages! - Chanticleer and the Fox, Barbara Cooney
Caldecott Medal Winner! - Men of Iron, Howard Pyle
- Otto of the Silver Hand, Howard Pyle
- Robin Hood, by Pyle, Wyeth (illustrator), and/or Green
You almost can’t go wrong, there are so many wonderful retellings of the Robin Hood legend! I am especially partial to Wyeth’s illustrations. - King Arthur and His Knights, by Pyle and/or Wyeth (illustrator)
- Landmark book series: William the Conqueror, Joan of Arc, Crusades, Vikings, and King Arthur
Keep an eye out for vintage hardbacks when you’re thrifting or scouring a library book sale! - Leif the Lucky, Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire
- Norse Myths, Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire
- Door in the Wall, Marguerite de Angeli
- Minstrel in the Tower, Gloria Skurzynski
- Monks and Mystics, Withrow
- Biographies of early church fathers by Simonetta Carr (like Athanasius and Augustine) will give a fascinating look into the development of Christendom. For more church history resources, check out my Beginner’s Guide to Church History.
Medieval History Titles for 7th grade and beyond
We use Dr. George Grant’s humanities lectures and curriculum to guide our older students through their history studies. You can read my review here.
There are several additional resources, however, that I have already have or plan to incorporate in our upper level years:
- Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages, Umberto Eco (a challenging read for your older high schooler)
- Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (also for older highschool students)
- The Discarded Image, C. S. Lewis
(This is not quite as challenging as Eco, but still complex, so probably also for an older high schooler. It would be amazing to read Voyage of the Dawn Treader afterwards and discuss how Lewis incorporated elements of Medieval worldview into that story.) - Confessions and City of God, Augustine
- On the Incarnation, Athanasius
- Beowulf, Seamus Heaney translation, bilingual edition (So much fun to see the Old English across from the modern translation! A friend gave me a copy of this a few months ago and practically made my year.)
- A Distant Mirror, Barbara Tuchman
- Once and Future King, T. H. White
- King Arthur and His Knights, Malory
- Scottish Chiefs, Jane Porter
- Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso), Dante (Sayers translation)
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Song of Roland
- The older grades are also a perfect time to delve deeply into church history, the ecumenical councils, and creeds.
More Medieval History Books For All Ages
I strew these supplemental books strategically around the house hoping to pique a child’s interest. Also, because I teach chronologically, we cycle back through historical time periods when children are at varying ages. So a title they enjoyed the last time around they may not want to read again.
Since I have 5 children, that means today you get the benefit of a very large list of supplemental titles. These are all actual books we have read over the past few cycles through the Middle Ages; every child did not read every title on this list both times, however!
Aside from the strewing, there have also been times when a child’s weekly assignment sheet has said something like, “read 1 supplemental title this week” or “read a supplemental book of your choice for 20 minutes each day” or “pick 3 of the following 5 titles to read this term.” I do like for them to have some personal ownership and interest in the books they are reading!
Here are a few of our favorites:
- Cultural Atlas of the Middle Ages, Corbishley
- Arabs in the Golden Age, Moktefi
- Augustine Came to Kent, Willard
- Knights, Gibbons
- Medieval Feast, Aliki
- Light Beyond the Forest, Sutcliff
- The Apple and the Arrow, Buff
- Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights, Tenggren
- Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman
- You Wouldn’t Want to be in a Medieval Dungeon, MacDonald
- Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, Schlitz
- St. Patrick- Pioneer Missionary in Ireland, McHugh
- 100 Things You Should Know about Knights and Castles, Walker
- Kitchen Knight, Hodges
- Merlin and the Making of the King, Hodges
- Saint George and the Dragon, Hodges
- Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, Cohen
- The Emperor’s Silent Army, O’Connor
We got to visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Art one year and see some of the actual terracotta warriors from China. It was epic! If you’re within driving distance or the touring exhibit, it is worth the effort and expense. - Viking Adventure, Bulla
- Book of Dragons, E. Nesbit
- Time Trekkers visit the Middle Ages, Needham
- Boy Knight, Henty
- Discovery of New Worlds, Synge
- Children of Odin, Colum
- Adam of the Road, Gray
Beyond Books: Study The Middle Ages Through Art, Hands-On Projects, and Living History Adventures
Memory Work For Medieval History In Your Homeschool
I have found the Middle Ages to be a great time to copy maps of both Medieval Europe and modern Europe. After all, the topography has not changed. However, we can learn a lot from examining how the geo-political borders have shifted over time.
It is also helpful to gain a perspective on a time that was, in many ways, pre-national. Medieval people were incredibly connected to their families, their communities, and their local region.
During the Middle Ages there was not a sense of belonging to a large nation or country the way we think of them today. Map studies can help illuminate this issue.
Here is a helpful video demonstrating how to do a simple geography drill.
Along with drawing, copying, or labeling maps of Europe, we absolutely love puzzle maps. This can be a useful task to keep hands occupied during read-aloud time.
Other things we have incorporated into our homeschool memory work while studying the Middle Ages include:
- The 12 Chivalric Virtues
- Nicene Creed
- Caedmon’s Hymn
- Patrick’s Breastplate
- King Alfred’s War Song (one of my favorite hymns!)
- A simple poem summarizing the English kings and queens after the conquest
- Prologue to the Canterbury Tales in Middle English
- Excerpts from Macbeth, Henry V, or any of Shakespeare’s other English history plays
Any excuse to memorize Shakespeare with the kids is good enough for me. Click here to check out my free quick start guide to Shakespeare!
Chalk Pastel Middle Ages Art Course
Chalkpastel.com has an amazing Middle Ages themed video art lessons course! You can see an example of what they have to offer for FREE on their YouTube channel:
Easy Medieval Crafts To Make History Come Alive
In my imagination, we are building elaborate to-scale castle models, trebuchets in the back yard, and intricately illuminated manuscripts.
In reality, the castles are built from lego and playmobile, the trebuchet is the fork shooting food across the table, and the illuminations happen in a coloring book.
If you, like me, are a mom of many children or many responsibilities, or even just a mom who doesn’t want to clean up an extra mess, these low-key art resources are simple and fun.
- To learn about the printing press, which played a huge role in the transition period between medievalism and the renaissance, you could just use literal alphabet stamps and printer paper you have lying around the house. If you wanted to take it a step further, you could make block prints from potatoes or sponges.
- Although I have not yet discovered a local resource like this in my area that allows children to visit, when I was a child studying the Middle Ages we went to a local stained-glass shop. There we actually were allowed to make our own stained glass art with real tools! I still have my sailboat today, more than two decades later.
- There are also numerous coloring books that give examples of Medieval calligraphy and illuminations. Color your own Book of Kells, experiment with medieval manuscript illumination, or decorate medieval tapestries.
Middle Ages: Audio and Video Resources
- The Anglo-Saxon World is an engaging collection of lectures of Dr. Drout. We actually incorporated a mnemonic from one of these lectures into our morning time memory work last fall.
- Masterpieces of Medieval Literature is an intriguing collection of lectures by Dr. Shutt.
- I was blessed to have a local friend willing to share her experience with the Arabic language the last time we cycled through Medieval history. She came to our home and taught us a bit of the basics of the Arabic alphabet. We learned how to write our names in Arabic and a few numbers. There is likely someone in your area who would be equally glad to share their knowledge.
- I won’t apologize for loving the animated Robin Hood. I have decided it “counts,” at least for the littles.
- This fall, the kids and I loved watching the “Medieval Siege” episode from Secrets of Lost Empires. The historians in the episode actually built a trebuchet to try to replicate Medieval warfare. It was incredibly fascinating.
- Great Kings of England: William the Conqueror was another documentary we enjoyed in our previous cycle through studying the Middle Ages.
- This title is completely silly, but I do want to include it for the sake of moms who already have some history knowledge as well as older high school students with a good grasp of history. 1066 and All That is a complete inside-joke for history students. My brother gave this to me many years ago, and I still laugh whenever I open it to read a few pages!
- This Beginner’s Guide to Dante is a great introduction to the Divine Comedy!
What are your favorite Medieval resources? Please share in the comments below!
This is amazing! I want my kids to be school age now!
lol. Aren’t there so many fun things to learn and read and watch and listen and enjoy?! 🙂 But you are in such a fun stage now, too! Read all the picture books and go for long nature walks and talk to your precious kids and pray with them and love on them…that is such a valuable and delightful stage to be in! And bookmark this page for many years down the road. 😉
Pingback: Our Morning Gathering: Memory, Laughter, and Relationship – Humility and Doxology
What a great list! I should not have read this right before bedtime – it literally makes me too excited to sleep. 😊
This makes me so happy! Best comment ever. 😉
Pingback: Day in the Life 2018 (with a 12, 10, 7, 5, and 2 year old) – Humility and Doxology
Pingback: Textbook-Free History – Humility and Doxology
Pingback: 4 Ways to Learn History Through Adventure, Freedom, and Delight