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3. Medieval Mysteries

go to Intro 1. Epic heroes 2. Modern Sagas 4. A sense of justice
5. Medieval Japan

There are plenty of mysteries written in a medieval atmosphere, They range from authors who make a real effort to find a language and details coherent with the middle ages, such as Margaret Frazer, to the most horrifying books. However, some cheesy books are pleasant. What would you give to your kids? Peters is safe, Follett is very long and has rape and gore, Van Gulik has some erotic motivations for crime but no violent description. Frazer and Roe are well respected but I have not read them yet.

Ken Follett was highly praised for The pillars of the earth, a story around the building of a cathedral with very well developped characters. The book was not for me, but has great qualities. I guess that you are taken by it or it escapes you.

Ellis Peters wrote a whole series about the enquiries of Brother Cadfael. Brother Cadfael is a monk, tending to the herb garden of a monastry, but he had a life before he got converted, and he is acutely understanding of various characters and aware of the significance of details. A whole series of good reads in this order, if I am not mistaken. I liked the series for all reasons that are not medieval: logic, good sense, generosity, acceptance of people.

1.A Morbid Taste For Bones 2. One Corpse Too Many 3. Monk's Hood 4. Saint Peter's Fair 5. The Leper Of Saint Giles 6. The Virgin In The Ice 7. The Sanctuary Sparrow 8. The Devil's Novice 9. Dead Man's Ransom 10. The Pilgrim Of Hate 11. An Excellent Mystery 12. The Raven in The Foregate 13. The Rose Rent 14. The Hermit Of Eyton Forest
15. The Confession Of Brother Haluin 16. A Rare Benedectine 17. The Heretic's Apprentice 18. The Potter's Field 19. The Summer Of The Danes .20. The Holy Thief 21. Brother Cadfael's Penance

Most of these books, you can buy for a few cents, and then you could splurge on the DVD. PBS has the whole series : Mystery!: click on the book for the whole series, or buy each separately.
Mystery!: Brother Cadfael: Set I DVD 4PK
Mystery!: Brother Cadfael: Set II DVD 3PK
Mystery!: Brother Cadfael: Set III DVD 3PK
Mystery!: Brother Cadfael: Set IV DVD 3PK

Cadfael whole series:

Bother Cadfael also has fans' sites like this

Margaret Frazer's hero is a nun, living over 2 centuries after Brother Cadfael. You can count on her accuracy. Try the first books of the series and see how much you like them: The Novice's Tale and The Servant's Tale

I have tender feelings for Ivanhoe. Walter Scott is better than what the critics say nowadays. And you should not despise Hollywood either:see Ivanhoe (1952) starring: Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor . If you want a more modern type of movie, get : Braveheart it is Hollywood medieval as well.

Get out of England and try medieval Spain with Caroline Roe and the Chronicles of Isaac of Girona. Caroline Roe is a medievalist from the univesrity of Toronto. Her hero, Isaac, is a blind Jewish physician with an acute sense of the truth. The first book of the series is Remedy for Treason

Sigrid Undset has a trilogy called Kristin Lavransdatter. She was a delightful Norwegian writer (and a literture Nobel prize). This medieval saga remains her best known novels, but not the ones I prefer (I loved Spring, I read it at the right age, when I was 20!).

One of my preferred medieval series happens in China. Van Gulik was a Dutch orientalist and a diplomat and a man of courage. Look at his Judge Dee series, starting with The Chinese Bell Murders

If you read Russian, French or German, look for the books by Elena Arseneva : I can't find her in English.

You want a medieval fantasy with a twist, look for A Secret History: The Book Of Ash, #1 by Mary Gentle

In the children book section, Anne Love has published a successful book: The puppeteer's apprentice, the tale of a young orphan who follows a puppeteer. I have not read it, but I support books where the girl is a hero.

Try the best of real bookstores if you dislike virtual ones: