In your opinion — and this can be fiction authors of any historical time period, not just medieval history — who are the best authors (and their novels) when it comes to historical accuracy?
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Hi – I would have to say the Iliad in some ways – the descriptions of the armor, the catalog of the ships – although Athena didn’t literally appear next to a warrior, one has to take in the allegory as reflective of fact, giving depth to military actions. Epic poetry like the Iliad may be beautiful poetry wrapped around historical fact – there is a core of historical truth therein.
I haven’t read the Iliad since high school days, but I agree that epic poetry is a great place to find historical details — and contemporary information at that — within fiction, Beowulf being my favorite epic poem.
I have read some Louis L’Amour, and I would say that his are fairly accurate- especially in capturing the frontier spirit of early America.
I’ve never read L’Amour myself. Did you know he wrote a novel set in the Middle Ages called The Walking Drum? I did a post on it a while back:
https://steventill.com/2008/09/30/medieval-historical-fiction-novel-of-the-week-27/
Yes, I started The Walking Drum a while back but didn’t get too far. I’m not sure if it’s as good as his westerns or not.
I’m a fan of Morgan Llewellyn. I don’t actually know enough about the details to know whether she got those wrote (she writes about early medieval Europe for the most part) but I know she gets the general stuff right.
Clare, I own Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llewellyn. I picked it up at the suggestion of a friend. I’m planning to sit down and read it here in the next few months. I’ve heard really good things about it.