What Really Happened in Medieval Times

Title: What Really Happened in Medieval Times
Compiled by: Terri Johnson
Series: What Really Happened
Major Themes: Middle Ages, Reformation
Synopsis: Short biographies of eight people make the Middle Ages come alive for children.

It is a lot easier to remember history told in the form of a story than history that just relates the names of people and what they did. I love using books like What Really Happened in Medieval Times to teach history. There are eight short biographies in this book, each of which acquaints children with a person who lived during the Middle Ages, and the events that happened during that person’s lifetime. Several different styles are used to tell these stories which were written by seven different people.

Saint Patrick is the hero of the first chapter. His story begins during his return to Ireland, and then continues as a flashback to his earlier experience is there. Theodora is the heroine of the next story; her story also begins as an adult and then tells everything that happened up to that time, when she was the Empress of the Byzantine Empire.

Chapters 3 shares the story of Alcuin, a monk who became a teacher in Charlemagne’s court. He taught many people to love learning and books. Next up is good King Wenceslas, who was actually a duke rather than a king. The story is told from the point of view of a slave who is ransomed by the Duke.

The story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, in chapter 5, is told as a journal kept by her granddaughter, Blanca of Castile. Eleanor went to visit Blanca and her family in Spain, and took Blanca back to Paris with her to marry King Louis and make an alliance between the two kingdoms. The next chapter is also about a girl, Joan of Arc. This is a person I have always struggled to know how to feel about. She believed that she received visions and instructions from God to lead the French army against the English. To me, that does not sound biblical, but it is part of history so therefore worth reading about.

Chapter 7 describes the life of Johan Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press. Do you suppose he knew what an impact he would have on world history? The last chapter describes the life of Martin Luther. He also changed the course of world history.

These stories are wonderful to read alongside the study of world history. They help to flesh out the stories found in textbooks. What Really Happened in Medieval Times gives personality to the names and events in history books.

No warnings!

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