Ryan Myint
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A first class resource - I recommend you get it if
you can. It has thousands of entries, from biographies of selected
historical figures to mini-essays on any aspect of Mediaeval life.
Great for checking out little details. ISBN
0-500-27645-5
What REAL magic was like in the Middle Ages!
ISBN 0-521-31202-7
Less on history, more on individual subjects - science,
economy, urban life, literature, etc. ISBN 0-297-82014-1
Maps and history. Very useful for planning campaigns,
less good on finer detail. ISBN 0-14-051249-7
Good, but obviously restricted in location (northern
France, Britian and southern Italy). ISBN ??
Excellent detail of everyday life in the Viking era.
ISBN 0-14-012561-2
This book is indispensable for gaining an understanding of medieval Christendom. ISBN 0-14-013755-6
Confusing in places, but good for the adventure I
had written that took place in the Garden of Eden. ISBN 1-85958-170-6
A good overview of Celtic (both Irish and Welsh)
myths. ISBN 0-85030-551-9
A fascinating account of the coming of Christianity
to Scandinavia. ISBN 0-85613-301-9
A nice, cheap compilation, like many of the mythology
series in the Senate series. ISBN 1-85958-176-5
The main source of Welsh myths and the origin of
many of the King Arthur stories. ISBN 0-460-87066-1
Translations of the Eddas, put into easily digestible
form. One of the best books on Norse mythology. ISBN 0-14-025869-8
Excellent for story ideas, particularly in the high
fantasy of Russia's Otherworld. ISBN 1-85958-181-1
Like most of the GURPS books, an excellent resource
for other genres. I can personally recommend GURPS Russia, GURPS
Arabian Nights and GURPS Celtic Myth very highly. The first is
almost an essential for a Novgorod saga (until Atlas bring out
their own of course :), and by using Arabian Nights, you could
easily get a Levantine saga up and running - it's also a good
source for the Crusades. I'm also told that GURPS Vikings and
GURPS Middle Ages I are good, but both are out of print.
Very good for flavour of particularly the early Middle
Ages, 'though you have to be careful of the squiffy date system,
as it doesn't conform to historical years. All the books are filled
with info about mythic sites, fairies and monsters all around
the British Isles. "Lordly Domains" is an excellent
resource in general, with articles on hunting, heraldry, warfare
amongst others. "Beyond the Wall" is all about Scotland,
"Pagan Shore" is good for Ireland, and "Land of
Giants" covers Scandinavia.
I've only managed to lay my hands on "Mythic
Egypt", but have used it several times for ideas. They too
have a "Vikings" book, and a "Mythic Greece: Age
of Heroes". Haven't seen any of his series around for a long
time though.
Much maligned (not necessarily unjustly), but their
Historical Reference series are very useful. "The Glory of
Rome" is great for planning an alternate eras saga, perhaps
set in the early days of the Cult of Mercury, as well as giving
background details on the Roman period. Their Viking and Charlemagne
books might also prove useful
In many ways, worse than AD&D, mainly because
it's so depressing! However, bits of the "Dark Ages Companion"
have proved useful for flavour
Murder-mysteries set in 13th century Shrewsbury.
Cadfael is the Welsh ex-mercenary-turned-friar who solves the
mysteries. At last count, there were 19 novels.
Translated into plain English (thank God!). ISBN
0-19-281597-0
Low fantasy, set in a Welsh-Celtic world. Many very
good ideas, and a great source of inspiration. Several sequels.
ISBN 0586073159
"Hell", "Purgatory" and "Paradise"
are the three volumes - a bit later than the ArM period, but useful
for flavour - if you can penetrate the allegory. The notes in
the Penguin editions helps! ISBN 0-14-044006-2, 0-14-044046-1
& 0-14-044105-0
Set in the Borders of Scotland in the 13th Century,
it retells the story of the wizard Michael Scott (who is the author's
ancestor). Could almost be an Ars Magica novel! ISBN 0575060999
First of a trilogy (the others are "The Firebird"
and "The Golden Horde"), set in Russia at the time of
the Mongol invasion. Excellent for details on Russian life. The
last book of the series is more historical than the other two.
ISBN 0712634045
An alternate earth, with magic, and the premise that
the Emperor Constans did not accept Christianity as the official
religion of the Empire of Rome. Very funny, as well as thought
provoking. ISBN 0-7088-8360-5