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The Early Middle Ages
We often call them the "Dark Ages," he era which spanned the decline and fall of Rome’s western empire and linge ed for centuries, a time when the Ancient World was ending and Europe had seemingly vanished into ignorance and shadow, its literacy and urban life declining, its isolation from the rest of the world increasing.
It was a time of decline, with the empire fighting to defend itself against an endless onslaught of attacks from all directions: the Vikings from the North, the Huns and other Barbarians from the East, the Muslim empire from the south.
It was a time of death and disease, with outbreaks of plague ripping through populations both urban and rural.
It was a time of fear, when religious persecution ebbed and flowed with the whims of those in power.
And as Rome's power and population diminished, so, too, did its ability to handle the administrative burdens of an overextended empire. Fewer records were kept, leaving an often-empty legacy to historians attempting to understand the age.
But modern archaeology has begun to unearth an increasing number of clues to this once-lost era. And as historians have joined them to sift through those clues—including evidence of a vast arc of Viking trade reaching from Scandinavia to Asia—new light has begun to fall across those once "dark" ages and their fascinating personalities and events.
It was a time of decline, with the empire fighting to defend itself against an endless onslaught of attacks from all directions: the Vikings from the North, the Huns and other Barbarians from the East, the Muslim empire from the south.
It was a time of death and disease, with outbreaks of plague ripping through populations both urban and rural.
It was a time of fear, when religious persecution ebbed and flowed with the whims of those in power.
And as Rome's power and population diminished, so, too, did its ability to handle the administrative burdens of an overextended empire. Fewer records were kept, leaving an often-empty legacy to historians attempting to understand the age.
But modern archaeology has begun to unearth an increasing number of clues to this once-lost era. And as historians have joined them to sift through those clues—including evidence of a vast arc of Viking trade reaching from Scandinavia to Asia—new light has begun to fall across those once "dark" ages and their fascinating personalities and events.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2004
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625 people want to read
About the author
Philip Daileader
22 books49 followersPh.D., Harvard University,
The College of William and Mary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_D...
The College of William and Mary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_D...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
April 4, 2019
These are 24 lectures about the fall of the Roman empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages, centering on the years between 300-1000 A.D.
Vandals, Goths, Britons, Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Vikings! The rise of religion, Knights, Feudalism, conquest and the importance of Latin (and much more)!
A fascinating series of lectures on how these people came to be and how some of them assimilated into the Roman society and lost their ‘barbaric’ customs. The conquests, wars, raids and treaties of the age of Darkness in Europe.
I highly recommend listening to these lectures if you’re into history and want to learn more about how the Roman empire fell (you’ll learn that it didn’t actually collapse the day it was divided into two or even the day the last western emperor was assassinated), about the invasion of barbaric tribes, the rise of the Carolingian empire, Charlemagne, Arthur, the raids of the Vikings, the rise of Christianity, the rise of knights (and feudalism) and then immediately their de-romanization – “knights around the year 1000 were more like Tony Soprano, than Lancelot – thugs for hire”. The conquest of Anglo-Saxon England by Frenchified ex-Vikings (aka the Normans) and the answer to why the Anglo-Saxon Old English became so Latinized and gave rise to Middle English, and SO MUCH MORE!
It was a very educating experience and opened a window to the middle ages in Europe, an interesting era worth exploring.
Vandals, Goths, Britons, Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Vikings! The rise of religion, Knights, Feudalism, conquest and the importance of Latin (and much more)!
A fascinating series of lectures on how these people came to be and how some of them assimilated into the Roman society and lost their ‘barbaric’ customs. The conquests, wars, raids and treaties of the age of Darkness in Europe.
I highly recommend listening to these lectures if you’re into history and want to learn more about how the Roman empire fell (you’ll learn that it didn’t actually collapse the day it was divided into two or even the day the last western emperor was assassinated), about the invasion of barbaric tribes, the rise of the Carolingian empire, Charlemagne, Arthur, the raids of the Vikings, the rise of Christianity, the rise of knights (and feudalism) and then immediately their de-romanization – “knights around the year 1000 were more like Tony Soprano, than Lancelot – thugs for hire”. The conquest of Anglo-Saxon England by Frenchified ex-Vikings (aka the Normans) and the answer to why the Anglo-Saxon Old English became so Latinized and gave rise to Middle English, and SO MUCH MORE!
It was a very educating experience and opened a window to the middle ages in Europe, an interesting era worth exploring.
March 8, 2023
چند تا دوره دیگه در مورد عهد باستان متأخر دارم. ولی فکر نکنم به اندازۀ این مطلب داشته باشن هیچ کدوم.
October 31, 2018
Have you ever heard someone tell you that the Roman Empire collapsed because of lead in their water pipes? I have. I only wish I had listened to this course before hearing the ignorant of history fool tell me that. The Professor tells the listener why that simplistic take on history is foolish (though he does it politely).
The dark ages weren’t as dark as we once believed; the Vikings were a scourge who shaped the West in unexpected ways; Islam, Byzantine, Spain, Anglo-Saxon, Franks and so on shaped our world; and what about that Catholic Church? How did it go from being a ‘universal’ church which meant it would accept anyone as a member to a ‘universal’ Church that was everywhere?
The lecturer slyly educates the listener on the development of the Roman Church by never really quite focusing on the church but ties together pieces such as those non-iconoclastic blasphemers, Justinian and his losing parts of his Empire, and what really happened on Christmas Day 800 CE and why it was so important.
When I grow up I want to be just like Dr. Daileader because he knows how to entertain, excite and educate the listener on the Early Middle Ages and the enthusiasm he has for the subject matter was not wasted on me.
History is complex and relevant for understanding the world, and if the only thing one got out of this course was being able to explain to a naïve fool why ‘lead in the pipes’ was not the reason the Roman Empire fell, this course would be well worth it for that alone. But, not only will you get the satisfaction of justifiably calling them ignorant of real history you will also get to explain with excruciatingly long detailed reasons why they are mistaken.
Dr. Daileader explains where we came from and why it matters better than almost any body. (BTW, a really good book covering the same material is ‘Inheritance of Rome’ by Wickham).
The dark ages weren’t as dark as we once believed; the Vikings were a scourge who shaped the West in unexpected ways; Islam, Byzantine, Spain, Anglo-Saxon, Franks and so on shaped our world; and what about that Catholic Church? How did it go from being a ‘universal’ church which meant it would accept anyone as a member to a ‘universal’ Church that was everywhere?
The lecturer slyly educates the listener on the development of the Roman Church by never really quite focusing on the church but ties together pieces such as those non-iconoclastic blasphemers, Justinian and his losing parts of his Empire, and what really happened on Christmas Day 800 CE and why it was so important.
When I grow up I want to be just like Dr. Daileader because he knows how to entertain, excite and educate the listener on the Early Middle Ages and the enthusiasm he has for the subject matter was not wasted on me.
History is complex and relevant for understanding the world, and if the only thing one got out of this course was being able to explain to a naïve fool why ‘lead in the pipes’ was not the reason the Roman Empire fell, this course would be well worth it for that alone. But, not only will you get the satisfaction of justifiably calling them ignorant of real history you will also get to explain with excruciatingly long detailed reasons why they are mistaken.
Dr. Daileader explains where we came from and why it matters better than almost any body. (BTW, a really good book covering the same material is ‘Inheritance of Rome’ by Wickham).
September 15, 2022
The Early Middle Ages i.e., the Dark Ages. This is a period of history I genuinely knew nothing about it. I knew nothing of Rome’s fall, Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Goths, Vikings (well a little bit), the importance of Latin during that era and so much more. The reason I listened to this lecture series was wanting to continue from the History of the Ancient World by Great Course series. The only real issue I had with that lecture series is that the last couple of lectures were extremely sparse with information. This series does a much stronger job at describing the Fall of Rome, its theories of what caused it and the Carolingian Empire's rise and fall. So, the span of time this covers is centred upon 300-1000 A.D.
So, would I recommend this lecture series, well it depends. If you’re fascinated by this period of history for sure. If you want to learn about the social and economic climate of Europe during that era, yeah. One of the strengths of this lecture series is also its weakness. Firstly, the exclusion of Asia. This is quite disappointing considering the name of the Course is the Early Middle Ages. It should be re-labelled as the Early Middle Ages of Europe. However, because of this weakness, the lecturer has more time to explore Europe. Just due to the nature of history some lectures are more interesting than others. The audio is sometimes kinda off and certain aspects of the lecturer's speech made me less engaged. But for the most part, the lecturer does a great job, and you tell he is passionate about the subject.
So, my favourite lectures were centred upon Rome, Arthur, Carolingian Renaissance, Northman and the last three lectures (Carolingian Europe, Family Life, and Long Shadows and Dark Ages Revisited). Though this period is called the Dark Ages it wasn’t as large as a shift you would think from the name at least. Just we have resources from this era compared to the High Middle Ages onwards is significantly less. The lecturer's theory of the Fall of Rome is something I haven't heard before, but I am more convinced of that theory than Gibson’s conclusion. In Conclusion, if you are interested in digging into European Early Middle Age History then I would recommend it.
So, would I recommend this lecture series, well it depends. If you’re fascinated by this period of history for sure. If you want to learn about the social and economic climate of Europe during that era, yeah. One of the strengths of this lecture series is also its weakness. Firstly, the exclusion of Asia. This is quite disappointing considering the name of the Course is the Early Middle Ages. It should be re-labelled as the Early Middle Ages of Europe. However, because of this weakness, the lecturer has more time to explore Europe. Just due to the nature of history some lectures are more interesting than others. The audio is sometimes kinda off and certain aspects of the lecturer's speech made me less engaged. But for the most part, the lecturer does a great job, and you tell he is passionate about the subject.
So, my favourite lectures were centred upon Rome, Arthur, Carolingian Renaissance, Northman and the last three lectures (Carolingian Europe, Family Life, and Long Shadows and Dark Ages Revisited). Though this period is called the Dark Ages it wasn’t as large as a shift you would think from the name at least. Just we have resources from this era compared to the High Middle Ages onwards is significantly less. The lecturer's theory of the Fall of Rome is something I haven't heard before, but I am more convinced of that theory than Gibson’s conclusion. In Conclusion, if you are interested in digging into European Early Middle Age History then I would recommend it.
April 23, 2022
I learned a lot about the post-Roman barbarian kingdoms, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Frankish kingdom, and how the transformation of the late antiquity, from the Roman Empire to the barbarian kingdoms, was very gradual. The barbarians lived in Roman territory for more than a century before taking over the power for themselves, so they had already adapted to the Roman way of life. That's why the social structure and everyday life of people didn't change much in most of the former Roman territory. What really caused the collapse of the Roman world was probably a demographic collapse due to disease and other factors unknown to us. This created an opportunity of the Germanic barbarian tribes, and later Muslim Arabs, to gradually take over the Roman territory, and cut the Mediterranean world into two new spheres, which in turn moved the economic and power center away from Rome and into the Middle East.
January 5, 2016
Excellent review of how religion, politics, family structure, language, etc changed as humans colonized and conquered Rome, Germany, Spain, and England. This course details the power struggles between families as the grappled for control over empires and kingdoms (did family feuds or outsiders bring them down?). I feel as if I learned more about earlier and later time periods. For me, this filled in some gaps.
The course itself is really short (12 hours on Audible). Very digestible. No prior knowledge required. Absolutely recommend.
The course itself is really short (12 hours on Audible). Very digestible. No prior knowledge required. Absolutely recommend.
August 24, 2024
This 24 lecture series on the Early Middle Ages is now a trilogy of lectures that Professor Daileader does for the Great Courses. In addition, there is a course on the High Middle Ages and one on the Late Middle Ages. This is the first of the three that I have listened to, but I will be certain to go on and listen to the other two as well. He also has two other courses he teaches, one on Charlemagne and one on How the Crusdaes changed history, which I have already listened to.
Professor Daileader speaks fairly clearly. He does have a tendency to hit the "are" in his sentences kind of strongly. He also throws in touches of humor, which you might not expect from a Medieval historian. He clearly knows his subject matter, and is passionate about what he teaches. This course covers the years from 300-1000 AD. The opening lectures set the stage, beginning with the situation in the Roman Empire, how it began to decline and what the Emperors Diocletian and Constantine did to avert the growing crisis. There are lectures on how the Goths were able to subdue the Romans in Western Europe. There are two lectures on Augustine of Hippo, so as you can see, this is not a course that only covers political history.
Professor Daileader's area of focus is on the social, religious, and cultural history of Mediterranean Europe. He spends a good deal of time on discussing the Carolingian Empire in France. This is an area of particular interest of mine, so I was satisfied with this. He does not neglect England during this time period, as he has two lectures about it, one on the age of Arthur and then later on Alfred's rule. He devotes a lecture to teaching about the role the monks played in European life of the time. Islam, the Byzantines, the Vikings invasions, and family life all also get a lecture. The course guidebook that comes with the lectures includes several maps, a timeline. and a good selection of recommended readings.
Professor Daileader speaks fairly clearly. He does have a tendency to hit the "are" in his sentences kind of strongly. He also throws in touches of humor, which you might not expect from a Medieval historian. He clearly knows his subject matter, and is passionate about what he teaches. This course covers the years from 300-1000 AD. The opening lectures set the stage, beginning with the situation in the Roman Empire, how it began to decline and what the Emperors Diocletian and Constantine did to avert the growing crisis. There are lectures on how the Goths were able to subdue the Romans in Western Europe. There are two lectures on Augustine of Hippo, so as you can see, this is not a course that only covers political history.
Professor Daileader's area of focus is on the social, religious, and cultural history of Mediterranean Europe. He spends a good deal of time on discussing the Carolingian Empire in France. This is an area of particular interest of mine, so I was satisfied with this. He does not neglect England during this time period, as he has two lectures about it, one on the age of Arthur and then later on Alfred's rule. He devotes a lecture to teaching about the role the monks played in European life of the time. Islam, the Byzantines, the Vikings invasions, and family life all also get a lecture. The course guidebook that comes with the lectures includes several maps, a timeline. and a good selection of recommended readings.
January 6, 2021
A good overview of the period from 323AD to 1000AD...there were many things happening in Europe and the East. Daileader is a good guide for this. I only wish he would have given more of his own ideas on this historical period.
Read
March 27, 2023Maaaan. I am completely blown away.
Prof. Daileader is immaculate in presenting what we know of the early Middle Ages (sometimes known as the Dark Ages), demonstrating how humanity in Europe endured through one of its darkest times.
I mean, religious history, politics, wars, kings and queens, Constantine, barbarians, King Arthur, Vikings, the late Roman Empire, Charlemagne, Byzantium, early France and Germany - what’s not to love!
The most interesting, and unexpected part, to me at least, was how the concept of the “family” changed from ancient barbarian and Roman customs to being far more Christian influenced in the early Middle Ages. How the Church stomped out polygamy, infanticide, and incest truly shows how our modern sexual dynamics and relationship culture is still owed to this era and religion in particular. Learning how Chirstian missionaries brought literacy back to pagan Britain was also interesting.
Only minor gripe was Daileader’s assertion that the original Platonic Academy was closed by Justinian - this is untrue. The original Platonic Academy was destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC. Justinian, on the other hand, closed a Neoplatonic school that had little to no continuity to the original Academy. Not to mention various other pagan, Platonic academies still operated in other parts of the Empire.
Prof. Daileader’s theory on the collapse of Rome is owed to depopulation is also fascinating and, I believe, plausibly accurate - at least compared to the ridiculous theory of Edward Gibbon’s. Listening in retrospect to Daileader say we couldn’t possibly understand depopulation in our modern world - when, in fact, population decline is happening globally now - was truly eerie and unsettling to say the least. Spooky.
Prof. Daileader is immaculate in presenting what we know of the early Middle Ages (sometimes known as the Dark Ages), demonstrating how humanity in Europe endured through one of its darkest times.
I mean, religious history, politics, wars, kings and queens, Constantine, barbarians, King Arthur, Vikings, the late Roman Empire, Charlemagne, Byzantium, early France and Germany - what’s not to love!
The most interesting, and unexpected part, to me at least, was how the concept of the “family” changed from ancient barbarian and Roman customs to being far more Christian influenced in the early Middle Ages. How the Church stomped out polygamy, infanticide, and incest truly shows how our modern sexual dynamics and relationship culture is still owed to this era and religion in particular. Learning how Chirstian missionaries brought literacy back to pagan Britain was also interesting.
Only minor gripe was Daileader’s assertion that the original Platonic Academy was closed by Justinian - this is untrue. The original Platonic Academy was destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC. Justinian, on the other hand, closed a Neoplatonic school that had little to no continuity to the original Academy. Not to mention various other pagan, Platonic academies still operated in other parts of the Empire.
Prof. Daileader’s theory on the collapse of Rome is owed to depopulation is also fascinating and, I believe, plausibly accurate - at least compared to the ridiculous theory of Edward Gibbon’s. Listening in retrospect to Daileader say we couldn’t possibly understand depopulation in our modern world - when, in fact, population decline is happening globally now - was truly eerie and unsettling to say the least. Spooky.
May 23, 2019
Daileader's statement that "Roman institutions stayed on long after the last Roman Emperor" hit me with a jolt - I had always imagined Western Europeans switching from togas to fur skins as soon as Rome fell :D
Daileader starts the course with the iconic line "Without Mohammed, Charlemagne would be inconceivable". However, I don't think he explained the connect between the two. He also did not delve into socio-economic changes that resulted in the replacement of Roman societies with feudal ones. While the political history of Western Europe is well chronicled in the course, I felt the above two points should have been given more weightage.
Daileader starts the course with the iconic line "Without Mohammed, Charlemagne would be inconceivable". However, I don't think he explained the connect between the two. He also did not delve into socio-economic changes that resulted in the replacement of Roman societies with feudal ones. While the political history of Western Europe is well chronicled in the course, I felt the above two points should have been given more weightage.
October 29, 2017
Part One:
As someone who is particularly fond of the early middle ages despite its obscurity and the lack of historical source material [1], I found this course to be enjoyable. One of the strengths of the Great Courses as a whole is the way that they generally have able professors teaching about subjects they know and love in a way that skips out the boring parts and manages to provide genuine insight to listeners at a fraction of the cost of higher education. The fact that I review so many of these Great Courses is demonstration of their genuine excellence as a whole, as they are a very enjoyable and profitable way to pass the time while driving in a car. Be that as it may, this particular course shows the professor wrestling with some of the major issues of the time period between 300 and 1000 AD, or at least the first half of that period or so in this part, which contains twelve lectures and about six hours of listening time. Better yet, he manages to address these larger issues and controversies without taking time from the material that people want to hear about the peoples of Western Europe and the Levant from the time between Rome's third century crisis and the rise of Islam.
The subject matter in this particular lecture is well chosen, and one could easily imagine that had the professor wanted to make this a three or four part lecture that even more material could be chosen. Given the constraints of time, though, it is worthwhile not to spend too much time bemoaning what was not chosen and to enjoy what was selected for these twelve lectures. The professor begins with a discussion of the long shadows of the late Roman Empire on the early Middle Ages and the controversy between those who call this period the dark ages and those who opt for the less fierce and more politically correct nomenclature of late antiquity. After this, he moves on to a discussion of Diocletian and the crisis of the third century that nearly brought Rome to its knees. A discussion of Constantine the Great follows, as does an interesting discussion about the relationship of Pagans and Christians in the fourth century focused on Julian the Apostate and his abortive efforts to revive classical paganism. A discussion of early monasticism in the Egyptian deserts follows, and then two lectures on Augustine and his outsized influence on Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages and beyond. A couple of lectures then follow about the stress of barbarian infiltration on the late Roman Empire that leads to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and a comparison in the survival of Roman culture and institutions in the kingdoms of the Franks and Goths on the one hand and the lack of survival of these elements in Arthur's England. A lecture on the Byzantine Empire and one on the rise of Islam follow, giving the course as a whole a considerable interest and topicality for contemporary students of history.
There is much to appreciate about this course. The professor shows himself to take a mediating opinion between those writers who have a great deal of faith in divine providence and those who, like Gibbon, are far more harsh on Christianity. Without showing any evidence of any particularly strong religious belief, he manages to present a thoughtful and generally sympathetic view of the people of the world of the early Middle Ages that presents their struggles as well as their considerable achievements, although he appears not to be a particularly profound student of engineering history when he talks about the Hagia Sophia and its engineering excellence. With these caveats aside, the course is an enjoyable one and one wishes that the professor had the time to speak of far more aspects of the period than he does, as there are many elements of the period on a global scale, from the rise of Axum and medieval Ethiopia to the fall of the Han and the Middle Ages of China, Japan, India, and Central Asia, that would be of great interest to students of the Middle Ages with a global perspective. If one judges this book for what it is rather than it would it could be, it is still a worthy way to spend one's time listening to audiobooks in the car.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
Part Two:
As someone who finds Charlemagne and the Vikings to be subjects of personal interest [1], there was much in this audiobook to appreciate. What was covered here was covered with a great deal of thoughtfulness and sensitivity and skill, and I definitely consider myself to be at least moderately interested in anything this professor would have to say or write about the Middle Ages. When one is listening to an audiobook, one wants to be informed but one also ones to listen to someone who gets his point across in a winsome and entertaining way, and that is certainly to be found here. The author even closes with a recap of what he introduced with, and that is a discussion of the viewpoints of some notable and famous historians who have pontificated on the history of the Middle Ages, most notably Edward Gibbon and a more obscure Belgian historian whose views have fared better. The author is particularly pointed in his critique of Gibbon's mistaken view that Christianity weakened the Western Roman Empire and made it vulnerable to destruction, and any historian who is willing to give a fair shake to Christianity is always welcome here.
In terms of its contents, this particular audiobook manages to provide a great deal of interesting material, even if it is heavily slanted towards particular areas. Starting with the rise of the Carolingians, the professor then spends a lecture on Charlemagne along with lectures on Carolingian Christianity and the supposed Carolingian Renaissance based on the attempts of clerics during his time to raise the level of Latin understanding and recover as much as possible of the useful classical texts in achieving that aim. After this the author discusses the fury of the Northmen and the damage they inflicted on Western European society, with a particular look at France, the British Isles, as well as their explorations ranging from the Middle East to North America. A discussion of the collapse of the Carolingian Empire due to infighting follows before the author then discusses the resulting birth of France and Germany as nations and the differences in how these early nations fared during the last part of the early Middle Ages, with a fair amount of foreshadowing as to their distinct fates in the High Middle Ages. After this comes a discussion of England during the time of Alfred all the way to 1066, before the author turns to a lecture on what was going on in Muslim Spain through the fall of the Umayyads and the raise of the taifa states and the entrance of North African rulers to attempt to roll back gains by Christian kingdoms, another instance of foreshadowing. The professor then moves on to discuss Carolingian Europe as the gateway to the Middle Ages and looks at family life, the trial by ordeal, the rise of feudalism and the replacement of slavery by serfdom before looking at the long shadows of the early Middle Ages on contemporary life.
Although I greatly enjoyed this course, there is at least a little bit that I found lacking in this course. Although the book is about the early Middle Ages, the information is pretty heavily slanted towards Western Europe. Perhaps this is a matter of sources and the author's interest in looking at what most people are interested in, but I must admit that I would have enjoyed it had the author given at least a bit more discussion to Eastern Europe (the author gives no discussion of the revival of Byzantine fortunes during the reign of the Macedonian dynasty, for example). Even so, what is included is certainly worthwhile and the author does give a detailed description of the role of the Vikings in aiding connection between Western Europe and the Middle East during the early Middle Ages, an area of economic history that few people may be aware of, unless they read a great deal about the subject or visited some of the Viking trade entrepots of the area like Saaremaa (a large island off the coast of mainland Estonia [2]). Likewise, the professor's discussion of Al-Andalus is also interesting and a bit of a break from the norm as far as the history of the Middle Ages is concerned, so even though the author focuses on Western Europe, he at least appears interested in covering all of it, which is something to appreciate.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
As someone who is particularly fond of the early middle ages despite its obscurity and the lack of historical source material [1], I found this course to be enjoyable. One of the strengths of the Great Courses as a whole is the way that they generally have able professors teaching about subjects they know and love in a way that skips out the boring parts and manages to provide genuine insight to listeners at a fraction of the cost of higher education. The fact that I review so many of these Great Courses is demonstration of their genuine excellence as a whole, as they are a very enjoyable and profitable way to pass the time while driving in a car. Be that as it may, this particular course shows the professor wrestling with some of the major issues of the time period between 300 and 1000 AD, or at least the first half of that period or so in this part, which contains twelve lectures and about six hours of listening time. Better yet, he manages to address these larger issues and controversies without taking time from the material that people want to hear about the peoples of Western Europe and the Levant from the time between Rome's third century crisis and the rise of Islam.
The subject matter in this particular lecture is well chosen, and one could easily imagine that had the professor wanted to make this a three or four part lecture that even more material could be chosen. Given the constraints of time, though, it is worthwhile not to spend too much time bemoaning what was not chosen and to enjoy what was selected for these twelve lectures. The professor begins with a discussion of the long shadows of the late Roman Empire on the early Middle Ages and the controversy between those who call this period the dark ages and those who opt for the less fierce and more politically correct nomenclature of late antiquity. After this, he moves on to a discussion of Diocletian and the crisis of the third century that nearly brought Rome to its knees. A discussion of Constantine the Great follows, as does an interesting discussion about the relationship of Pagans and Christians in the fourth century focused on Julian the Apostate and his abortive efforts to revive classical paganism. A discussion of early monasticism in the Egyptian deserts follows, and then two lectures on Augustine and his outsized influence on Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages and beyond. A couple of lectures then follow about the stress of barbarian infiltration on the late Roman Empire that leads to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and a comparison in the survival of Roman culture and institutions in the kingdoms of the Franks and Goths on the one hand and the lack of survival of these elements in Arthur's England. A lecture on the Byzantine Empire and one on the rise of Islam follow, giving the course as a whole a considerable interest and topicality for contemporary students of history.
There is much to appreciate about this course. The professor shows himself to take a mediating opinion between those writers who have a great deal of faith in divine providence and those who, like Gibbon, are far more harsh on Christianity. Without showing any evidence of any particularly strong religious belief, he manages to present a thoughtful and generally sympathetic view of the people of the world of the early Middle Ages that presents their struggles as well as their considerable achievements, although he appears not to be a particularly profound student of engineering history when he talks about the Hagia Sophia and its engineering excellence. With these caveats aside, the course is an enjoyable one and one wishes that the professor had the time to speak of far more aspects of the period than he does, as there are many elements of the period on a global scale, from the rise of Axum and medieval Ethiopia to the fall of the Han and the Middle Ages of China, Japan, India, and Central Asia, that would be of great interest to students of the Middle Ages with a global perspective. If one judges this book for what it is rather than it would it could be, it is still a worthy way to spend one's time listening to audiobooks in the car.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
Part Two:
As someone who finds Charlemagne and the Vikings to be subjects of personal interest [1], there was much in this audiobook to appreciate. What was covered here was covered with a great deal of thoughtfulness and sensitivity and skill, and I definitely consider myself to be at least moderately interested in anything this professor would have to say or write about the Middle Ages. When one is listening to an audiobook, one wants to be informed but one also ones to listen to someone who gets his point across in a winsome and entertaining way, and that is certainly to be found here. The author even closes with a recap of what he introduced with, and that is a discussion of the viewpoints of some notable and famous historians who have pontificated on the history of the Middle Ages, most notably Edward Gibbon and a more obscure Belgian historian whose views have fared better. The author is particularly pointed in his critique of Gibbon's mistaken view that Christianity weakened the Western Roman Empire and made it vulnerable to destruction, and any historian who is willing to give a fair shake to Christianity is always welcome here.
In terms of its contents, this particular audiobook manages to provide a great deal of interesting material, even if it is heavily slanted towards particular areas. Starting with the rise of the Carolingians, the professor then spends a lecture on Charlemagne along with lectures on Carolingian Christianity and the supposed Carolingian Renaissance based on the attempts of clerics during his time to raise the level of Latin understanding and recover as much as possible of the useful classical texts in achieving that aim. After this the author discusses the fury of the Northmen and the damage they inflicted on Western European society, with a particular look at France, the British Isles, as well as their explorations ranging from the Middle East to North America. A discussion of the collapse of the Carolingian Empire due to infighting follows before the author then discusses the resulting birth of France and Germany as nations and the differences in how these early nations fared during the last part of the early Middle Ages, with a fair amount of foreshadowing as to their distinct fates in the High Middle Ages. After this comes a discussion of England during the time of Alfred all the way to 1066, before the author turns to a lecture on what was going on in Muslim Spain through the fall of the Umayyads and the raise of the taifa states and the entrance of North African rulers to attempt to roll back gains by Christian kingdoms, another instance of foreshadowing. The professor then moves on to discuss Carolingian Europe as the gateway to the Middle Ages and looks at family life, the trial by ordeal, the rise of feudalism and the replacement of slavery by serfdom before looking at the long shadows of the early Middle Ages on contemporary life.
Although I greatly enjoyed this course, there is at least a little bit that I found lacking in this course. Although the book is about the early Middle Ages, the information is pretty heavily slanted towards Western Europe. Perhaps this is a matter of sources and the author's interest in looking at what most people are interested in, but I must admit that I would have enjoyed it had the author given at least a bit more discussion to Eastern Europe (the author gives no discussion of the revival of Byzantine fortunes during the reign of the Macedonian dynasty, for example). Even so, what is included is certainly worthwhile and the author does give a detailed description of the role of the Vikings in aiding connection between Western Europe and the Middle East during the early Middle Ages, an area of economic history that few people may be aware of, unless they read a great deal about the subject or visited some of the Viking trade entrepots of the area like Saaremaa (a large island off the coast of mainland Estonia [2]). Likewise, the professor's discussion of Al-Andalus is also interesting and a bit of a break from the norm as far as the history of the Middle Ages is concerned, so even though the author focuses on Western Europe, he at least appears interested in covering all of it, which is something to appreciate.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
July 10, 2014
I genuinely enjoyed this set of lectures and have to give high prize both to the content, structure and presentation of the material. Professor Daileader's narrative converts potentially dry and boring material into a coherent story that is not only educational, but often quite entertaining.
Material covered by twenty-six 30 minute long lectures included in this set start with Rome during the so called crisis of 3rd century and continue on the familiar track - collapse of Western Roman Empire, barbarian conquests, resurrection of Roman glory in form of Byzantine empire, creation of Germanic states, impact of Islamic expansion, creation of Frankish/Carolingian state, effects of Viking raids and developments on British Isles. A lot of time is also dedicated to analysis of early history of Christianity and its impact on period in question, both on religious as well as secular front.
Couple of words regarding the level of the material. The Teaching Company, which produced this set of lectures likes to say that its productions are on college level. I'm not sure that it's true in this case and if it is, then professor Daileader keeps things at 101 introductory course level. For a history enthusiast such as myself most of the stuff should be familiar ground, although I do admit that in my case the lectures did fill in a lot of blanks. So keep your expectations at appropriate level.
If there is one objection to be raised against this otherwise excellent introduction to the period, then it's because of the fact that it's almost ridiculously Western Europe-centric. Based in materials above, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Central and Eastern Europe is pretty much irrelevant during this period. Yet, it is during this period that Slavic and Magyar people show up in territories vacated by Germanic tribes and permanently settle there. Initial stages of creation of states such as Hungary, Bulgaria, or Poland do take place not long thereafter, during 9th century AD. I'm aware of the fact that most anglo-speaking historians tend to regard anything that happens beyond Elbe river as irrelevant, but it is nevertheless disappointing that professor Daileader decides not to break this rather annoying tradition.
Material covered by twenty-six 30 minute long lectures included in this set start with Rome during the so called crisis of 3rd century and continue on the familiar track - collapse of Western Roman Empire, barbarian conquests, resurrection of Roman glory in form of Byzantine empire, creation of Germanic states, impact of Islamic expansion, creation of Frankish/Carolingian state, effects of Viking raids and developments on British Isles. A lot of time is also dedicated to analysis of early history of Christianity and its impact on period in question, both on religious as well as secular front.
Couple of words regarding the level of the material. The Teaching Company, which produced this set of lectures likes to say that its productions are on college level. I'm not sure that it's true in this case and if it is, then professor Daileader keeps things at 101 introductory course level. For a history enthusiast such as myself most of the stuff should be familiar ground, although I do admit that in my case the lectures did fill in a lot of blanks. So keep your expectations at appropriate level.
If there is one objection to be raised against this otherwise excellent introduction to the period, then it's because of the fact that it's almost ridiculously Western Europe-centric. Based in materials above, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Central and Eastern Europe is pretty much irrelevant during this period. Yet, it is during this period that Slavic and Magyar people show up in territories vacated by Germanic tribes and permanently settle there. Initial stages of creation of states such as Hungary, Bulgaria, or Poland do take place not long thereafter, during 9th century AD. I'm aware of the fact that most anglo-speaking historians tend to regard anything that happens beyond Elbe river as irrelevant, but it is nevertheless disappointing that professor Daileader decides not to break this rather annoying tradition.
June 17, 2016
Everything we know today starts with the middle ages: the main religions, cities, commerce...punctuation! Mr. Daileader lectures with some dry humor, which is welcome as we learn about centuries of expanding and shrinking empires. The kings come and go. I liked the Vikings and would have liked to learn more the Bubonic plague (is it wrong to wish for one now?). Also, more about how the common people lived: what they ate, how they dressed, what they did all day. But otherwise, it is a great overview and amazing how he can sum up 1,000 years. The puny lifespan of our country is just a pin prick. Take the long view - who knows where we'll be 700 years from now.
August 3, 2018
Fascinating look at how Europe went from the first Roman sanctioning of Christianity, to the fall of the western Rome empire, and then from the chaos of dissociated tribes to manage to form kingdoms of France, Germany, and England. It looks at the profound look that the birth of Islam had on the world, but especially Europe as a generation of Arabs conquered many lands including most of the Iberian peninsula, noting how much Arab influence on the country that later became known as Spain. Daileader covers the last few Roman emperors, King Arthur, Charlemagne, Arthur the Great, and much more from the 4th through 10th centuries.
November 16, 2023
Too brief but very interesting. I had studied most of what is covered but I’d forgotten a lot. It was more information than analysis but still enjoyable. I had forgotten the thesis about the actual reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. It left me wanting more.
July 23, 2024
Some of the best lectures on the early Middle Ages you will find. Daileader knows this often forgotten part of history well.
May 20, 2022
The early middle ages, medieval era or dark ages were interestingly not so much a time of fear and shortsightedness (although there was plenty of that going on, but not necessarily more than what goes on today), as it was a time for Europe to figure itself out. Everybody was testing their limits and all too often for their own tastes finding themselves seriously lacking, yet still willing to continue to explore until life was taken. I don't necessarily think we've moved past that stage just yet myself, but it was fascinating then because it all must have seemed so new. The classical way of thinking was being lost during this time and people really wasn't sure what it should be replaced with or even if it should be replaced at all. It is a time that I think should be learned about as well as possible. Unfortunately there is so little that has survived from the time that it is easier said than done. Nevertheless, there has been some amazing strides made within the last while that truly paints a much more complete picture than before.
May 29, 2025
Even handed account on late antiquity and the transition to the middle ages. The focus overall is on the political dimensions, but not in the statemans history kind of style, but always in dialogue with what it meant in the concrete social context and what it meant for the wider historical context. Daileader is keeping up a virtuous epistemology, or so it seemed to me, neither trying not to interpret at all, but always acknowledging uncertainties and not trying to speak as if everything had been figured out to completion.
Overall I learned much more than I thought I would.
Overall I learned much more than I thought I would.
November 16, 2019
This audiobook is the first entry in a series of three audiobooks that cover the Middle Ages. I greatly enjoyed this audiobook!
The author covers various trends throughout the period such as: political and economic trends, spiritual/religious trends, as well as various understandings and interpretations of the Middle Ages throughout history (the history of history is referred to as historiography).
The lectures are organized narratively, with each subsequent lecture discussing the events that followed the previous lecture.
Overall, this audiobook proved to be a great examination of the early Middle Ages, and I look forward to listening to the remaining audiobooks in the series.
The author covers various trends throughout the period such as: political and economic trends, spiritual/religious trends, as well as various understandings and interpretations of the Middle Ages throughout history (the history of history is referred to as historiography).
The lectures are organized narratively, with each subsequent lecture discussing the events that followed the previous lecture.
Overall, this audiobook proved to be a great examination of the early Middle Ages, and I look forward to listening to the remaining audiobooks in the series.
June 13, 2022
Good content. Not sure what was going on with the presenter in this one, but he seemed out of breath and anxious in this one. It was a little distracting. He's much more relaxed in his other two courses.
August 1, 2017
Very interesting.
May 21, 2020
24 lectures. Medieval history. 1 lecture on Vikings and 2 on England. So yea....
Disappointed. Waste of money. Saturated with the nailed god.
Disappointed. Waste of money. Saturated with the nailed god.
August 12, 2020
3.5. Detailed enough and funny enough, really good as a *first* read.
September 9, 2020
This was delightful. I learned so much and the lecturer is really quite funny. I can't wait to look up more of these great courses!
February 2, 2024
Excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with the early Middle Ages & for those looking for a quick refresher on the period. Wouldn’t recommend to academics seeking any depth as this is mere overview of many different topics.
July 1, 2015
I found these lectures on the early middle ages quite fascinating. It is an era in history that we don't know a lot about and classes usually skip or skim over. I talked about the fall of the Roman empire and presented interesting theories on the subject. I learned about the Frankish and Holy Roman Empire both of which I did not know a lot about. Daileader talked about the Muslims (mostly though in Spain), Vikings and the regular life in these times. I find that after listening to these lectures that I would love to learn more about this time. So I highly recommend this to all history buffs.
June 30, 2016
Not the most nuanced or sensitive interpretation of history I have encountered. The theories put forth to explain various historical phenomena don't seem to be taking advantage of the full range of social sciences.
August 5, 2016
This is one of "The Great Courses" -- a series of recorded lectures. This took me weeks -- well, months, really to get through but all in all, I learned quite a bit about the middle ages, early Christianity and Islam, etc.
December 30, 2023
For me, these lectures by Philip Daileader about the Dark Ages from 300-1000 AD ignited a general curiosity about the Middle Ages up to around 1300. Swords and sandals were never my thing in the past, especially the Vikings or Carolingian rulers, who sound too much like our impersonators today—ignorant and arrogant about it as they cover their ignorance with bluster, intimidation, and violence. But that similarity is just what made this series come to life. Completed in 2004, Daileader didn’t intend this message. Still, it is a historical example of how humans behave, struggle, and strive to reestablish order, purpose, and meaning when all of the above have been lost. Hence, Daileader’s lectures seemed like a crystal ball, seeing someone else’s past (and a real one) as a possible future of our own—though today with more tech.
There’s always a sizable fraction of any human population receptive to chaos: people preyed upon, belittled, outcast, or failures in the established order, whatever it is. While Constantinople lived on in the East, with the collapse of western Rome—by then a failing militaristic, authoritarian state—such people came out of the woodwork, just as they do today as weak men fan the flames of grievance, “to get even for the little guy.” Per Daileader, Rome became a kind of Christian theocracy during the initial decline, torching the pagans and their temples as consequences of those quests for belonging and scapegoating in the usual “us-ism” of that us-versus-them posture. And just as today, Jesus becomes a warrior (and a bloody one), not for the faith, but for politics.
After a series of incompetent Roman rulers and periodic plagues where over half the population vanished, the stage was set for a new cast of little guys: illegal foreigners—the shunned, dismissed, and very aromatic Vandals, Goths, and Visigoths, who then tried to adopt Roman ways with inferior outcomes, solidifying the Dark Ages for centuries to come. While it’s become politically incorrect to call the Dark Ages the Dark Ages, western Europe had lost the recipe for Roman concrete, returning to stone and timber for building materials, and almost no one could read or write: a Dark Age. Hence, Daileader notes, documentation from that era is hard to come by, so there’s greater reliance on archeology than documents.
The primate, tribal nature of superstitious humans with their wild irrationality as compensation was on full display then in this series, as it is now on the nightly news. I could listen to these people’s stories and translate their core message to the present as China rises in the East; for them, it was Islam. Given the land’s lower carrying capacity without tech, their overpopulations were minor compared to ours but still forced mass migrations of illegals across borders. And the incompetent leadership was a bit too similar to stomach. We’ve even got the rise of Christian Nationalism setting the stage for theocracies bolstered by conspiracy theories that panic the gullible on asocial media. Through the past, the future looks really ugly, “nasty, brutish, and short.”
There’s always a sizable fraction of any human population receptive to chaos: people preyed upon, belittled, outcast, or failures in the established order, whatever it is. While Constantinople lived on in the East, with the collapse of western Rome—by then a failing militaristic, authoritarian state—such people came out of the woodwork, just as they do today as weak men fan the flames of grievance, “to get even for the little guy.” Per Daileader, Rome became a kind of Christian theocracy during the initial decline, torching the pagans and their temples as consequences of those quests for belonging and scapegoating in the usual “us-ism” of that us-versus-them posture. And just as today, Jesus becomes a warrior (and a bloody one), not for the faith, but for politics.
After a series of incompetent Roman rulers and periodic plagues where over half the population vanished, the stage was set for a new cast of little guys: illegal foreigners—the shunned, dismissed, and very aromatic Vandals, Goths, and Visigoths, who then tried to adopt Roman ways with inferior outcomes, solidifying the Dark Ages for centuries to come. While it’s become politically incorrect to call the Dark Ages the Dark Ages, western Europe had lost the recipe for Roman concrete, returning to stone and timber for building materials, and almost no one could read or write: a Dark Age. Hence, Daileader notes, documentation from that era is hard to come by, so there’s greater reliance on archeology than documents.
The primate, tribal nature of superstitious humans with their wild irrationality as compensation was on full display then in this series, as it is now on the nightly news. I could listen to these people’s stories and translate their core message to the present as China rises in the East; for them, it was Islam. Given the land’s lower carrying capacity without tech, their overpopulations were minor compared to ours but still forced mass migrations of illegals across borders. And the incompetent leadership was a bit too similar to stomach. We’ve even got the rise of Christian Nationalism setting the stage for theocracies bolstered by conspiracy theories that panic the gullible on asocial media. Through the past, the future looks really ugly, “nasty, brutish, and short.”
October 11, 2025
b>A Review of the Audio Edition
Published in 2013 by The Great Courses.
Lectures delivered by the author, Philip Daileader.
Duration: 12 hours, 32 minutes.
Unabridged.
The idea behind The Great Courses is that anybody can have access to high quality college instructors who are truly experts in their fields. In this course the focus is the Early Middle Ages (roughly 300 CE to 1000 CE).
Daileader starts with the start of the decline of the Roman Empire, somewhere around the year 300 CE. He looks at the trends of the late Roman Empire and how they led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (Rome, not Constantinople) and how those trends led to the political and economic systems that typify the time period we know as the Middle Ages.
There is a heavy focus on what is now France, which is well-deserved since Charlemagne is one of the biggest historical figures of this era. But, other areas get a fair amount of attention, like Ireland, Spain, and the Islamic world. The sudden appearance of the Vikings contributed a lot as well. The Byzantine Empire
Church doctrine and politics play a prominent role throughout.
I found this series of half hour lectures to be interesting, but not riveting. The section on the political machinations that eventually led to the rise of Charlemagne's empire was slow - necessary but tedious until it finally pays off and you just sit and wonder how it all worked out the way it did.
I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2025...
Published in 2013 by The Great Courses.
Lectures delivered by the author, Philip Daileader.
Duration: 12 hours, 32 minutes.
Unabridged.
The idea behind The Great Courses is that anybody can have access to high quality college instructors who are truly experts in their fields. In this course the focus is the Early Middle Ages (roughly 300 CE to 1000 CE).
Daileader starts with the start of the decline of the Roman Empire, somewhere around the year 300 CE. He looks at the trends of the late Roman Empire and how they led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (Rome, not Constantinople) and how those trends led to the political and economic systems that typify the time period we know as the Middle Ages.
There is a heavy focus on what is now France, which is well-deserved since Charlemagne is one of the biggest historical figures of this era. But, other areas get a fair amount of attention, like Ireland, Spain, and the Islamic world. The sudden appearance of the Vikings contributed a lot as well. The Byzantine Empire
Church doctrine and politics play a prominent role throughout.
I found this series of half hour lectures to be interesting, but not riveting. The section on the political machinations that eventually led to the rise of Charlemagne's empire was slow - necessary but tedious until it finally pays off and you just sit and wonder how it all worked out the way it did.
I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2025...
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