James Burke's inspiration?

I don't know who your medieval historian was, but I do know who James Burke is. He's not a historian, he's a broadcaster. He began his careerer with the BBC as a science correspondent and was the main anchor for the BBC's coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. He made two very successful TV series called "Connections" where he attempted to connect events in history (the first of the series attempted to connect the invention of the stirrup with the invention of the atomic bomb). The "Connections" series were hugely successful, as were the accompanying books. It was extremely entertaining, but it wasn't history.