Love Eyewitness Knight? Readers share 63 books like Eyewitness Knight...

Edward III’s founding of the Order of the Garter was what inspired me to write my book, but I knew little about him.

This true medieval king’s fifty-year-long reign was marked by controversy from the start, but he was also a romantic, a warrior (he instigated the 100 Year War against the French), steered England through the horrific amount of death from the plague in 1348, and was the patriarch to The Black Prince and John of Gaunt, and The War of the Roses came after his reign.

I recommend this fascinating account of his life. 

This book is essential to understanding the feudal system, and how life revolved around the myriad castles dotted throughout the countryside of England and Wales.

They focus on one castle in particular, but the structure of the society around the castle was somewhat universal, with the lord and lady of the castle, to the workers in the castle, the village that was nearby that would take refuge inside the castle walls if necessary during battles.

I found this an essential book when I was researching my book, which features a castle named Wodesley. What would meals be like there, entertainment, daily life?

I bought this book as a house gift before I even had the chance to read it. When I finally did, I was struck by the level of detail of the history of these four sisters.

Most importantly, this book could and should inspire a thousand pieces of fiction with its rich descriptions and characters. While the standard assumption that the rights of medieval women were limited to being decorative and useful pawns who would bear heirs, this was an eye-opening book in the breadth of these sisters’ reach throughout Europe. 

If you’re going to visit the Middle Ages, it’s hugely important to understand the scripts of the time. You might be able to pick out a word or two, but most of it looks as difficult to read as hieroglyphics.

This is a useful book outlining the development of different scripts, tools, material, illustrations, and production of these rare books. In my book, Ellie Hartford is a professor of English Literature before 1525, and one of her skill sets was paleography, which identifies the source of the script and aids in understanding its origins. This is nerdy stuff, but fun! 

The thing about a pet finding its way into your life at exactly the right time is that it does kind of feel like a divinity sent you a little helper to keep your life from completely falling apart while you are pretending to be a boy so you can become a knight or while you are on a writing deadline and very stressed out, which are two challenges that are equally difficult and noble.

Cameron’s Chivalry series of which this is the first, takes the reader on a thrilling journey across Europe during the Hundred Years War, chronicling the life of a mercenary who comes to serve the great Sir John Hawkwood and eventually is knighted himself.

Cameron is a master of prose description, scene-setting, and dialogue that rings true to the ear. His historical research is impeccable and like me, he has for many years donned full armour in reenactments and tournaments and so truly understands the challenges of medieval combat. A great read.

The sheer size of George R.R. Martin’s books is intimidating, especially for first-time readers.

Despite my love for the Game of Thrones TV series, I ignored his books for years due to their length. However, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms provides a superb introduction to Goerge R.R. Martin’s writing and A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series the TV show is based on.

This book is split into three digestible short stories, but retains the ruddy grit and brilliant character arcs of his longer works.

If you’ve ever dreamed of the proverbial knight in shining armor who will protect and save you (and who hasn’t?), this epic medieval tale shows where the idea came from. Lancelot is the perfect knight who must rescue his kidnapped beloved, Queen Guinevere, and off to battle he goes. But Queen Guinevere is married to King Arthur, an inconvenient fact that isn’t a problem in this story. Being crazy in love with your majesty’s wife was not a big moral problem in the twelfth century, apparently. In fact, they ate it up.

When he finds her, he overcomes the villain and is rewarded by having hot sex all night with her, which both lovers desire. I love that Guinevere is an equally passionate lover, not an idealized pure-minded maiden.

This book is the go-to for nearly everything you need to know about Arthurian legend. I use it and return to it time and time again to explore different elements of the Arthurian story. Not to mention, the history of Malory and the book itself are just as fascinating to me.

Writing at the end of the fifteenth century, Malory’s work was really the starting point for anything Arthurian–and even though I find the earlier works on Arthur’s history are just as enthralling. Any translation is fine, and many editions (I have about eight) have notes on different elements of Arthurian history and legend and where they may have originated. I have followed many such notes down multiple captivating paths.

I love the hilarious, creative approach of this book.

In a conflict like war, one side usually believes something about the other side that is inaccurate for one reason or another. In this story, we don’t know why the little person on the left side believes the wall in the middle protects him from dangerous creatures on the right side. The wall is so tall he can’t see them. But he also doesn’t see the danger behind him on his side.

The ogre on the right side, whom he believes will eat him, actually saves him from danger and plucks him to safety. In the end, we love that he will now explore and enjoy playing with the creatures on the right side.