Oh and I know it isn’t literature or film but obviously Medieval: Total War could fall into ‘other’ and it’s a fantastic game even if it is a little older.
I just ordered The Teutonic Knights by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It appears to be a historical novel set during the same period (15th Century). Anyone familiar with this book?
I have not read the Hussite trilogy (yet anyway) by Sapkowski but does it not take place in a semi fictional universe where you basically have real world historical novel plus magic on top of that?
The first book that comes to mind for historical fiction set in the medieval era is Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. Most people would probably know it by the rather crummy English title of “Hunchback of Notre Dame”, but the book is a fantastic piece of historical fiction and I highly recommend it.
I really don’t get all the love for Kingdom of Heaven. All I saw in that movie (and I have seen the Director’s Cut) was a stew of typical bad Hollywood history, anachronistic characters and a lousy story that isn’t anywhere nearly as impressive as the original events they were inspired by. What’d I miss? 
probably the cinematography
Eaters of the dead is set in the early Dark ages. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in vikings. I love Crichton in the Same vein as my love of Cornwell. They both research the ever-loving shit out of whatever period they write about.
For something more into the period of KCD, Crichton work Timeline is also phenomenal. its a sci-fi time travel take on the 1357 Dordogne, France.
The movie is ok. not terrible, but not great. The book however is fantastic, and another thing I’d recommend.
edit
Ironclad is a good movie set during King John of england’s reign (of robin hood fame). Great acting from Paul Giamatti as the king. Not in the 1403 timeframe, but a medieval movie none the less and on netflix as well.
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Not in the exact period but there is also Alexander Nevsky.
Very good film.
The Black Cross (aka Krzyzacy) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054004/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
I’ve only see a bit of this, but it definitely fits the period i think. I only found a polish version, But I only needed it as period reference for some work, so eh.
I was just about to open a similar thread. The books I want to recommend aren’t set in the same time or geography but have in common that the main character is a young blacksmith. There are three books:
- The Hammer and the Cross
- One King’s Way
-
King and Emperor
Together they form the Hammer and Cross trilogy. They were written by Harry Harrison and co-authored by John Holm aka Tom Shippey, a scholar of medieval literature. The genre is historical fiction - the places and a lot of characters did really exist and historical events form the background to the story. The story itself is entirely fictional and changes the actual outcome of events. It mainly takes place in England and begins in the year 865, so you may guess that vikings are involved.
The main character is a boy named Shef, who is the bastard of a noble woman and supposedly a viking invader. He is apprentice to a blacksmith and throughout the story he prevails through ingenuity and intelligent use of resources. There are a lot of gruesome battles and sieges in the book, many of which really took place (not necessarily with the depicted course and outcome).
You also learn a lot about pagan believe and cultural differences between vikings and anglo-saxons. Religion is a theme and Shef has dreams of norse gods, but not in a manner or importance that the book would drift off into fantasy. It is for the reader to decide whether the dreams are visions or only premonitions.
What I like best about the series is that Shef promotes science and tolerance in a time where both was probably scarce, but the best thing is that it isn’t boring at the same time - it’s actually bloody and visceral. 
Hope I have fueled some interest and thanks for the other recommendations.
edit: Oh and don’t be fooled by the covers, there are never mentioned horns on the vikings helmets. The whole series is very authentic.
Not much new books but some confirmations:
I have read Hussite Trilogy by Sapkowski a few times and it is really great piece of history with only a small bits of magic ;). It was translated to Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian and German. It is really “a must read”.
“The Knights of the Cross” by Sienkiewicz is a mandatory reading here in Poland where children read it at school. The action takes place from 1399 to 1410 (Grunwald - Tannenberg battle). A few English translations could be spotted scattered through the internet.
“Azincourt” and two first from “Holy Grail” series by Bernard Cornwell - great reading! Although different location.
Regards
Michal
There is a military historian I am very fond of, by the name of Alfred Higgins Burne, among much else he in the mid 1960s wrote vividly on the Battles of Agincourt and Crecy. A great wordsmith and his soldiering background makes the book insightful in terms of tactics of the era.
Though some of his conclusions have been overturned by now, the two - Battle of Agincourt, Crecy - are great works of history and writing. And if you are not interested in the classical era, that is all I have.
Henry V (1989)
The dialog is spoken like Shakespeare but the actor makes it sound alive. The combat scenes aren’t that accurate but they do convert a certain sense of drama. I highly recommend it.
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Oooo the one with Kenneth Branagh! My favorite television adaptation of any Shakespeare’s plays.
Yeah that’s the one. I think I might watch the other Shakespeare play with Patrick Steward.
The Narrenturm triology from Sapkowski is really a must-read for everyone interested in the time/settings and entertaining adventure stories (but of course you need the proper language skills for one of the available translations)…
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These are my top favorited books. But beware its fantasy. Not high fantasy.
Edit: These are already mentioned in very first post in this thread LOL. 
Oh, the movie is fantastic. slightly differs from the book (which had to be expected) but in case of the movie you don’t have to speak latin in order to enjoy it. After finishing the book I had my ring finger quite squashed from keeping it permanently in the section with translations of all the latin text. 
Men of Iron (the book) by Howard Pyle takes place around the same time in England. Great story. Another medieval book by Howard Pyle “Otto of the silver hand” is set in Germany but it doesn’t say what year. It seems like early middle ages.
The Mongoiliad series? Only read the first two books of the physical series and none of the others - there are many. Great combat sequences, though bit dry at times with its narrative. Certainly interesting, takes place in the 12th century. Penned by Greg Bear and Neal Stephenson, among others.
Takes place in the Foreworld universe and is somewhat based on the Mongol Invasion of Eastern Europe and Russia.