I have not blogged about about the medieval period for some time. With this new format, I hope to give short insights into the books I have been reading. I will cover more ground in these types of post, so the detail will be lighter than in my full reviews. Nevertheless, I will summarise my thoughts.

Glen Bowerstock’s ‘The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam’ is 2013 book that focuses on a Late Antique conflict between the Ethiopian Axum and the Jewish Kingdom of Himyar on the Arabian Peninsular during the sixth century- which, for posterity, is my favourite century to read about. The main source of information used in this text is a throne and a stele at Adulis, with its inscriptions written down by Cosmas, a merchant who visited Adulis in the sixth-century. These detail Ptolemy III of Egypt and boast of his conquests, it also tells the story of an unknown Ethiopian king during Roman times. Meanwhile, in the sixth century, the King of Axum was using these texts to plan an invasion of his own into Himyar.

The text covers the main source for these ambitions. However, it also details Ethiopia and pre-Islamic Arabia as well. It discusses the invasion, then it moves on to mention the entry of the great powers- Rome and Persia. It ends with the rise of Islam. Overall, I enjoyed the book- it was well written and introduced the context well for those unfamiliar with the region.

The next book I want to discuss is François-Xavier Fauvelle’s The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages. This provides snapshots of different parts of the African continent from Late Antiquity to the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade. It’s style was interesting as allowed one to get a sense of the whole continent, rather than a particular region. Obviously, this sacrificed some of the detail- but I got a feeling breadth was its aim.

The only place which was lacking in terms of discussion (though still present) was south-west Africa. The evidence drawn upon the book was written and material- as well. I particularly liked the discussion of Great Zimbabwe’s archaeological record because I did an MA essay on Indian Ocean trade. Notably, it also discussed Axum- which was present in the Throne of Adulis.

James T. Palmer’s The Apocalypse in the Early Middle Ages provides an insight into millenarian and eschatological thought from Late Antiquity to fears about the coming year 1000. Gregory of Tours and Gregory the Great are both mentioned, as is Beatus of Liebana, the latter being famous for his Commentary of the Apocalypse. The focus is on Western Europe and the sources are textual, yet it is still interesting.

Palmer is keen to emphasise how the idea of the apocalypse was mobilised for political and social aims and this suggests the future or at very least pre-thought about the future can be used to achieve certain goals and aims. Furthermore, apocalyptic dimensions can be seen in political thought following alleged ‘end of the world’ events like the Viking invasions.

Graham E. Seel’s King John: An Underrated King aims to provide a more balanced account of the individual who is often called the ‘worst’ monarch of England. It succeeds to a large degree- through providing the context to his rule, particularly being a successor of Henry II and Richard I. He also had military achievements, such as the establishment of a standing navy. Also the majority of important barons decided not to rebel against him in 1215- only 13 out of 27- something which is missed out a lot in the formation of the Magna Carta.

Yet, it is still difficult to understand some of his actions such as his often forgotten harrying of the north following the baronial war- which allegedly was just as bad as William the Conqueror’s. Then there is also the whole mystery surrounding the disappearance of Arthur of Brittany from the record- who may have been murdered on John’s orders. However, what I liked about this book was that it did not shy away from John’s sometimes cruel actions- it was not so much calling him ‘good’ King John, but ‘alright’ King John by the standards of his day (a truism, I know).

The final source I want to discuss is Shakespeare’s depiction of King John- particularly the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation by Eleanor Rhode in 2019. I did not get sense from Shakespeare and the direction of the show that King John was an ‘evil villain’, unlike how Richard III is often portrayed. In fact, a great deal of the play is set surrounding the conflict over France and this often takes the centre stage of the play, rather than other parts of his reign.

Despite, this, Shakespeare decided to blame John for ordering the murder of Arthur of Brittany- a cruel act indeed. The scene where Hubert Walter talks to Arthur and balances whether to dispose of John’s nephew (Arthur) is some of the best Shakespeare I have seen. However, I liked Timon of Athens, so maybe I’m not the best judge.

I hope this post has achieved its aims- to give an overview of what I have been reading about the Medieval period, relatively recently. Liked I said it was not meant to be detailed, but instead, hopefully, spark interests in and inform about certain books.