The Middle Ages 101: Medieval History and Life


Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
45
Narrator
14
Release Date
September 2011
Duration
5 hours 1 minute
Summary
Heralded is one the world's most compelling Church historians, Chris Bellitto transports you into the heart of a strange and wonderful world-the world of medieval Europe.

Explore some of the most powerful theological ideas, economic tensions, and political struggles that shaped Western civilization.

This series traces western European civilization-with detours to the East-from the transformation of the Roman Empire to a thousand-year medieval period that started slowly before 1000, flowered for 300 years, and then declined sharply with the Black Death and social revolts until Constantinople fell in 1453 and Columbus sailed in 1492. Explore Charlemagne's renaissance, agricultural and commercial revolutions, new types of religious life introduced by spiritual masters from Benedict to Francis, dynastic wars, and courtly literature.

You will treasure this course as a timeless resource for understanding the people and events that have shaped faith, art, medicine, literature, and government. Encounter famous historical and literary figures such as Mohammed, Augustine, Richard the Lionhearted, and King Arthur, in their own historical context. You'll understand how the Middle Ages fit within the broader historical timeline of Europe and the rest of the world.

This course promises to delight and amaze you.

This course is part of the Learn25 collection and includes a free PDF study guide.
Reviews
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Anonymous

If my history tutors were half as motivated and projected the enthusiasm of Christopher M Bellitto, my love of the subject would have known no bounds. This man is master of holding one's attention through a series of mini lectures be conveying his love of the subject. A MUST read for anyone with even the slightest interest in Medieval history. Get this wonderful presentation.

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KAREN TEAGUE

Easy listening, informative in lecture topics format.

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Anonymous

It was a VIP selection. Interesting and engaging overview of the Middle Ages.

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Anonymous

This audiobook consists of lectures that are easy to follow, thanks to the author's compelling delivery style. That said, the author makes a few inaccuracies and unjustified claims. I will only list a few: • The author passively claims that life as a Christian under Muslim rule was much better than a Jew or Muslim under Christian rule. He offers no justification for this claim, and it's apparent that his information on Christian and Muslim history in the Middle East is lacking compared to his knowledge about European history. • He completely ignores the role that Syriac Christians and Jewish translators in the Middle East played in the translation movement. I recommend reading "How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs" to get a much more accurate picture of how Greek knowledge was transmitted to the Latin West. • His description of how early Islam spread and Islamic doctrines such as Jihad contradicts the historical records and Islam's best scholars living and dead. I recommend reading from someone who specializes in Jihad history and Islamic doctrine to get an objective view unlike the whitewashed image of Islam portrayed in this book. Overall, this is a good place to start if you're interested in learning about life in the Middle Ages. Yet, it fails to present an objective history of the Middle East and Islam.

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David J.

A great lecture series and exactly what I hoped for. Although the author’s comparisons to American life and history are a little far-fetched, especially for non-American listeners.

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Sgushe

Fabulous narration and clear easy to understand delivery. Very enjoyable way to understand the Middle Ages from a concise overview.

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Christina F.

Interesting and made more so by the speaker’s passion for his subject.

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Owen Blu Jackson

The material in this book is spot on and I have no complaints at all about the book of the narrator who is also the author.

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