British history books for children: The Norman conquest and Plantagenet kings

The Battle of Hastings

Chris Priestley

This book gives a helpful overview of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings, and the battle itself. It is unusual in being told from two perspectives, with chapters alternating between Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror. There is a short black and white photograph section in the middle with sections of the Bayeux Tapestry, and a family tree and map at the end to show how the main players were related to each other. A dense read, but a very useful book for older children, running to about 130 pages.

In William the Conqueror’s Footsteps: Hastings 1066

Emmanuel Cerisier

This book has an interesting provenance. It is published by a small house in Normandy, specialising in tourist books. They also have a wonderful series of comic books on many different aspects of D-Day, but that is for another article. This picture book is heavily illustrated by the author. It follows a young page in the Norman army, travelling across the sea for war. The book is translated from French, and the translation is not brilliantly done, which is a shame, because this is the best coverage of Hastings for younger children that I have found.

Content warning: In the middle of the book, the name of William the Conqueror is inexplicably switched to ‘William the Bastard’. This is historically accurate, but I then had to have an off-the-cuff conversation about the meaning of the word ‘bastard’, both historic and current, and its relevance to William. The illustrations for the last three pages are a fairly gory depiction of the battle, though in comic book style. I have tried to show these concerns in the images below.

The Children’s Book of Domesday England

Peter B. Boyden

This book is a bit of a hodge-podge mix of 11th Century English history. There are several pages on the history of England 1066-1086, including a little on Hereward and Cnut, and the reasons for the compilation of the Domesday Book. Then there is some information on the process of compiling the Domesday Book, how William used it, and the later uses of the Domesday Book. There is a section on the feudal system, the manorial village, and the medieval town. I particularly enjoyed the full page photograph of a page from the Domesday Book accompanied by a translation. If you live in or near a settlement large enough to feature in the Domesday Book, I think it would be wonderful to look up the entry.

A Medieval Monastery (Spectacular Visual Guides)

Fiona Macdonald and Gerald Wood

If you want to find out about medieval monasteries, this book has everything you need! A very thorough coverage of life in a monastery, from the daily routine prescribed by St Benedict, to relics and illumination, and even what monks ate and drank. The book is not specifically about British monasteries, but some of the historic examples are British. Lots and lots of pictures and diagrams.

A Medieval Cathedral (Spectacular Visual Guides)

Fiona Macdonald and John James

Another book in the same series, this time focussing on cathedrals. This book has a focus on architectural detail, covering topics such as rib-vaulted roofs, spires and flying buttresses. Lots and lots of pictures and diagrams.

The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry

Danna Smith

This is a beautifully illustrated book introducing children to falconry. There is a poem with a verse on each page, and then a text box with more specific details about falconry. Quite a short book in some ways, but one to remember and return to.

Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections: Castle

I love these Stephen Biesty’s books, there is so much detail to find and they are so interesting. This one has a cut-through of a different section of the castle on each page, with lots of detailed labels. There also sections on siege engines, the feudal system, heraldry, jousting and much more, with plenty of diagrams to aid understanding.

Henry II and Thomas Becket (Ladybird)

John Roberts

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” This Ladybird book covers the story of Henry II and Thomas Becket, with a full colour illustration on each page. I will say that, read alongside Our Island Story, this felt rather overkill as coverage of this event for us.

Joan of Arc (Ladybird)

L. Du Garde Peach

Although not technically British history, Joan of Arc is an important figure in the wars between England and France. This exciting Ladybird biography, with full colour illustrations on every page, tells her story. There is only very brief coverage of her execution.

The Luttrell Village: Country Life in the Early Fourteenth Century

Sheila Sancha

Sheila Sancha has used the illustrations in the Luttrell Psalter as her inspiration for this lovely picture book about rural medieval life. The book is well researched, also taking into account other historic sources to reconstruct Irnham village in Lincolnshire where Geoffrey Luttrell was lord of the manor.

This book is excellent for helping children to understand how the feudal system panned out within a typical medieval village. It tells of freemen, villeins and cottars, the various elected village officials, the demesne farm, church life, coppicing and pollarding amongst other things. Plenty of black and white illustrations and maps.

Walter Dragun’s Town: Medieval People at Work

Sheila Sancha

A second book by Sheila Sancha, this time looking at life in a medieval town. The book is based on Stamford in Lincolnshire (the name is slightly altered in the book). Lots of research has gone into this book, and the drawings of e.g. All Saints Church are accurate. We really enjoyed this book.

Years of the Sword: A Pictorial History 1300-1485

R.J. Unstead

This is one of Unstead’s series of Pictorial Histories. I love these books, but they are really quite dense, and I tend to use them selectively, reading a page or two to tie in with a particular topic. Of particular note in this book are the wonderful diagrams of the Battle of Bannockburn, pages on John Wyclif and the Lollards, and the section on Peasant’s Revolt.

The Wars of the Roses are covered in the latter part of the book. There is a map showing how supporters of the Yorkists and Lancastrians were spread around the country, and a second showing the various battles. The Battle of Bosworth is only briefly described.

The Wool-Pack

Cynthia Harnett

Technically this book is set a few years into the reign of Henry VII, but it still has a very medieval feel. The Wool-Pack is a historic fiction book set in the Cotswolds late in the 15th century. The protagonist, Nicholas Fetterlock, is the son of a local wool merchant, and as the book develops, he needs to solve a mystery to save his father’s business and reputation. It’s a great story, and interspersed with lots of facts about life in the late medieval period. There are also many black and white drawings through the book, some of which show the clothing, tools, and work of characters in the story. Cynthia Harnett won the Carnegie Medal for this book, deservedly so in my opinion!

Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History

Geraldine McCaughrean and Richard Brassey

This book contains 100 illustrated stories from British history, beginning with Gog and Magog, and running up to the stranding of the Braer oil tanker in 1993. Of particular interest from this period, it includes stories of the death of William Rufus, the White Ship, Thomas a Becket, Blondel, King John losing his crown jewels in the Wash, the Princes in the Tower and Lambert Simnel. For reasons of the mixing of history and legend, this isn’t my favourite book, although I think lots of children would enjoy it, and the stories are part of our culture. There is a little box for each story explaining the historical basis, and to what extent it is likely to be legend.