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Turning Points in Medieval History
For an accurate picture of how the political, social, and religious structure of present-day Europe came to be - and even why we're speaking English today - studying the key events between the years 500 and 1500 is of critical import. These 24 gripping lectures deliver an unparalleled look at these moments that profoundly changed the arc of history, and they weave the era's vast array of disparate events into an interconnected tapestry that illuminates why nothing exists in a vacuum.
Among the events you'll experience: the moment in 711 A.D. when Tariq ibn Zayid conquered Spain and created the unusually tolerant society of Al-Andalus; the 1152 marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet, which led to the Hundred Years' War and the War of the Roses; and the composition of Fibonacci's Liber Abaci in 1202, which transformed the medieval world of business, banking, and commerce.
These are just three of the many turning points in the history of medieval Europe that prove the Middle Ages were far from "dark." Throughout these lectures, you'll investigate events, such as the Norman conquest of England in 1066, where the impact was immediate and tangible. In others, like the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches, the importance was not recognized for years; some developments had effects so gradual that their significance can only be recognized from the vantage point of history.
Methodical and meticulous in its approach to a labyrinthine age, these lectures will help you understand why the West's transition from the classical to the early modern was a fluid, ongoing process rather than the result of a single pivotal moment.
Among the events you'll experience: the moment in 711 A.D. when Tariq ibn Zayid conquered Spain and created the unusually tolerant society of Al-Andalus; the 1152 marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet, which led to the Hundred Years' War and the War of the Roses; and the composition of Fibonacci's Liber Abaci in 1202, which transformed the medieval world of business, banking, and commerce.
These are just three of the many turning points in the history of medieval Europe that prove the Middle Ages were far from "dark." Throughout these lectures, you'll investigate events, such as the Norman conquest of England in 1066, where the impact was immediate and tangible. In others, like the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches, the importance was not recognized for years; some developments had effects so gradual that their significance can only be recognized from the vantage point of history.
Methodical and meticulous in its approach to a labyrinthine age, these lectures will help you understand why the West's transition from the classical to the early modern was a fluid, ongoing process rather than the result of a single pivotal moment.
Unknown Binding
First published October 1, 2012
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About the author
Dorsey Armstrong
22 books260 followersDr. Dorsey Armstrong is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Literature at Purdue University, where she has taught since 2002. The holder of an A.B. in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Medieval Literature from Duke University, she also taught at Centenary College of Louisiana and at California State University, Long Beach. Her research interests include medieval women writers, late-medieval print culture, and the Arthurian legend, on which she has published extensively, including the 2009 book Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur: A New Modern English Translation Based on the Winchester Manuscript and Gender and the Chivalric Community in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, published in 2003. In January 2009, she became editor-in-chief of the academic journal Arthuriana, which publishes the most cutting-edge research on the legend of King Arthur, from its medieval origins to its enactments in the present moment. Her current research project-Mapping Malory's Morte-is an exploration of the role played by geography in Malory's version of the story of King Arthur.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 13, 2025
The more I learn about Medieval Europe, the less I think of it as some dank episode in history filled with smelly religious nuts and peasants farming rocks.
In this lecture, Armstrong hits the big moments that caused ripple effects all the way down through history. And then she goes on to explain why they were so important and whether or not it had much (if any) effect on the lives of the people living through it.
Black Death - yes.
Printing press - yes.
The King Arthur Legend - ish.
Magna Carta - not so much.
But each of these things (and many more that she covers) changed the course of history in big ways and sent the Middle Ages hurtling toward the Renaissance and beyond.
The future is built brick by brick of large and small changes, put into place by unusually interesting personalities and the groups of average Joes who come together to make great and terrible decisions.
So while things in our present (soon to be the past) might seem to be spinning out of control and toward the edge of a cliff, I think it helps to take the long view of the future. It comforts me to know that our time on this spinning rock isn't special. We're not good or evil.
We're just the newest generation of humans to try to navigate politics and finances and different cultures and family values and terrifying sickness and...life.
I've said it before, but Dorsey Armstrong is an excellent lecturer and always captivates my attention when she talks about her preferred subject. You can just tell this is 100% her jam.
Highly Recommended.
In this lecture, Armstrong hits the big moments that caused ripple effects all the way down through history. And then she goes on to explain why they were so important and whether or not it had much (if any) effect on the lives of the people living through it.
Black Death - yes.
Printing press - yes.
The King Arthur Legend - ish.
Magna Carta - not so much.
But each of these things (and many more that she covers) changed the course of history in big ways and sent the Middle Ages hurtling toward the Renaissance and beyond.
The future is built brick by brick of large and small changes, put into place by unusually interesting personalities and the groups of average Joes who come together to make great and terrible decisions.
So while things in our present (soon to be the past) might seem to be spinning out of control and toward the edge of a cliff, I think it helps to take the long view of the future. It comforts me to know that our time on this spinning rock isn't special. We're not good or evil.
We're just the newest generation of humans to try to navigate politics and finances and different cultures and family values and terrifying sickness and...life.
I've said it before, but Dorsey Armstrong is an excellent lecturer and always captivates my attention when she talks about her preferred subject. You can just tell this is 100% her jam.
Highly Recommended.
April 26, 2023
Wow! 1000 years of history summarized by Professor Armstrong. This wasn’t my first course from her (nor will it be the last). I love how she continuously reminds us of the significance of events to the people at that time (even if it wasn’t a big deal) as well as to the renaissance, enlightenment, and sometimes even present day. I found her lectures on religion and the treatment of Jewish people to be the most fascinating.
September 30, 2023
Dorsey Armstrong made this book come to life! I really enjoyed listening to her.
I'm glad I've listened to other books about this time period. Some things she doesn't go into that much. Other things she talk about a lot!
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I found even more interesting things the second time I listened to this book.
I'm glad I've listened to other books about this time period. Some things she doesn't go into that much. Other things she talk about a lot!
-------
I found even more interesting things the second time I listened to this book.
October 9, 2016
The lectures were organized and delivered clearly by an accomplished scholar, and covered interesting material. However, I felt relatively disappointed by this, in comparison to other medieval history audiocourses that the "The Great Courses" has released.
The main issue, I think, is that the lecturer is not a historian, but rather an expert of English & medieval literature. (Her specialty is Arthurian legends/literature.) As such, her overall approach towards the history seems a bit uncomplicated and at times even naive. The challenges of interpreting source texts or archeological evidence for understanding events (even for something as debatable as the existence and activities of the historical King Arthur ) aren't really discussed. There's also a tendency to explain events largely as a combination of "serendipity"and "the singular will of a powerful individual," which seems kind like something one might hear from a historian 100 years ago than one today. Dorsey also frequently ascribes signficance to events by emphasizing their literary impact in later centuries-- and there's something kind of odd about repeatedly hearing references to Shakespeare's works in a course ostensibly on the middle ages.
To put it another way, the overall approach is something like what might you might very well expect from a literary scholar who studied medieval history extensively-- but did so primarily as "background" for understanding literature, rather than from a historian for whom making sense of that history on its own, and wrestling with primary sources and traditions of historiography and interpretation, was the primary task.
As a tangential criticism, these lectures were bit too popularizing for my personal taste. On the one hand, sure, all of the Great Courses audiocourses are aimed a popular audience-- not a scholarly one. And that's fine. I'm not an academic myself-- just an interested layman. But I felt that in some ways, this particular course was aimed at a target audience with a slightly lower threshold of sophistication. The kinds of language and metaphors used (e.g. talking about Charlemagne's 'awesomeness' or calling Peter Abelard 'the rock star of medieval Europe') just seemed well, almost kind of pandering, like they were being aimed at junior high or high-school students, rather than at college students or adults.
Don't get me wrong here-- I still found these lectures entertaining enough, and I did learn some things from them. But, for those interested in medieval history, I would recommend a few other offerings by The Great Courses above this. I would specifically recommend Philip Dailader's "The Early Middle Ages" and "The Late Middle Ages", Jennifer Paxton's "The Story of Medieval England", and Kenneth Harl's "The Vikings," "The Byzantine World," and "The Era of the Crusades."
The main issue, I think, is that the lecturer is not a historian, but rather an expert of English & medieval literature. (Her specialty is Arthurian legends/literature.) As such, her overall approach towards the history seems a bit uncomplicated and at times even naive. The challenges of interpreting source texts or archeological evidence for understanding events (even for something as debatable as the existence and activities of the historical King Arthur ) aren't really discussed. There's also a tendency to explain events largely as a combination of "serendipity"and "the singular will of a powerful individual," which seems kind like something one might hear from a historian 100 years ago than one today. Dorsey also frequently ascribes signficance to events by emphasizing their literary impact in later centuries-- and there's something kind of odd about repeatedly hearing references to Shakespeare's works in a course ostensibly on the middle ages.
To put it another way, the overall approach is something like what might you might very well expect from a literary scholar who studied medieval history extensively-- but did so primarily as "background" for understanding literature, rather than from a historian for whom making sense of that history on its own, and wrestling with primary sources and traditions of historiography and interpretation, was the primary task.
As a tangential criticism, these lectures were bit too popularizing for my personal taste. On the one hand, sure, all of the Great Courses audiocourses are aimed a popular audience-- not a scholarly one. And that's fine. I'm not an academic myself-- just an interested layman. But I felt that in some ways, this particular course was aimed at a target audience with a slightly lower threshold of sophistication. The kinds of language and metaphors used (e.g. talking about Charlemagne's 'awesomeness' or calling Peter Abelard 'the rock star of medieval Europe') just seemed well, almost kind of pandering, like they were being aimed at junior high or high-school students, rather than at college students or adults.
Don't get me wrong here-- I still found these lectures entertaining enough, and I did learn some things from them. But, for those interested in medieval history, I would recommend a few other offerings by The Great Courses above this. I would specifically recommend Philip Dailader's "The Early Middle Ages" and "The Late Middle Ages", Jennifer Paxton's "The Story of Medieval England", and Kenneth Harl's "The Vikings," "The Byzantine World," and "The Era of the Crusades."
August 18, 2022
Was an absolute delight
June 2, 2022
Amazing professor and overview. And I’m so enthralled with this time period. Absolutely loved.
January 3, 2017
This course is well worth the investment (when on sale with a coupon). It's not a definitive, historical treatment of the Middle Ages...it's a collection of sometimes unrelated occurrences in the the period of time from the fall of the (western) Roman Empire to the Renaissance, about 1000 years that, in the opinion of Dorsey Armstrong, changed the course of history, either immediately or over the long term.
These lectures are clearly and pleasantly delivered, and present many things to think about and many avenues to research further...this, I feel, is a true measure of a good set of lectures...that spark of interest that makes a person want to learn more. Particularly interesting was the effect of the introduction of Hindu/Arabic numerology on society...the advent of climate change (warming AND cooling) and the effect on population and agriculture advances...the overall effects of the Black Death (aka mass mortality) on western civilization, both long- and short-term.
Finally, the final lecture's discussion of Greenblatt's book, 'The Swerve', which deals with the 15th century discovery of Lucretius's 'On the Nature of Things' (De rerum natura), makes the course earn the four stars I awarded it.
Good job, Dorsey, you made me think!
These lectures are clearly and pleasantly delivered, and present many things to think about and many avenues to research further...this, I feel, is a true measure of a good set of lectures...that spark of interest that makes a person want to learn more. Particularly interesting was the effect of the introduction of Hindu/Arabic numerology on society...the advent of climate change (warming AND cooling) and the effect on population and agriculture advances...the overall effects of the Black Death (aka mass mortality) on western civilization, both long- and short-term.
Finally, the final lecture's discussion of Greenblatt's book, 'The Swerve', which deals with the 15th century discovery of Lucretius's 'On the Nature of Things' (De rerum natura), makes the course earn the four stars I awarded it.
Good job, Dorsey, you made me think!
January 8, 2024
I absolutely love listening to lectures by Dr. Armstrong! Can I start there? Is it wrong to fangirl a little about a medieval literature professor?
Arguably, I have a decent understanding of the medieval time period, and yet I couldn't wait to listen to this series. Dr. Armstrong injects a contemporary humor and wit to events that by their very nature are often sad, grave, and tragic. When binge-listening to audio lectures (12 hours worth), that touch of levity and perspective helps keep the listener from zoning out. Overall, I found the choice of events were excellent, so that wasn't a problem at all!
My only criticism to this series was actually at the very end wherein it becomes a very fixated rebuttal to another modern work I've never read. Maybe that's on me, but it felt out of sync with the rest of the lectures which truly focused on the history.
Overall, I loved it!
Arguably, I have a decent understanding of the medieval time period, and yet I couldn't wait to listen to this series. Dr. Armstrong injects a contemporary humor and wit to events that by their very nature are often sad, grave, and tragic. When binge-listening to audio lectures (12 hours worth), that touch of levity and perspective helps keep the listener from zoning out. Overall, I found the choice of events were excellent, so that wasn't a problem at all!
My only criticism to this series was actually at the very end wherein it becomes a very fixated rebuttal to another modern work I've never read. Maybe that's on me, but it felt out of sync with the rest of the lectures which truly focused on the history.
Overall, I loved it!
November 26, 2020
Dr. Dorsey Armstrong did an outstanding job with this Great Course and I very much enjoyed pretty much all of the content within this and her speaking as well.
A lot of this was overlap material from other Great Courses or books that I have completed, which I am totally okay with! More common and frequently discussed subjects such as the Roman empire, Charlemagne, Vikings, Genghis Khan, Papacy, and the Black Death, etc., were very nice 'revisits' for me and great refresher material and also picking up a few new things here and there.
Newer/more unfamiliar topics for me that she covered included Muslim Spain in 711 AD (very interesting lecture), King Author, the Crusades, Peter Abelard (ouch), Ottoman Empire (I will say, this was too brief for my liking, which there would have been a little more here), the Book of the Abacus, the Magna Carta, and the persecutions of Jews around 1096.
I highly recommend this to any history buffs who want to learn more about the medieval period of history.
A lot of this was overlap material from other Great Courses or books that I have completed, which I am totally okay with! More common and frequently discussed subjects such as the Roman empire, Charlemagne, Vikings, Genghis Khan, Papacy, and the Black Death, etc., were very nice 'revisits' for me and great refresher material and also picking up a few new things here and there.
Newer/more unfamiliar topics for me that she covered included Muslim Spain in 711 AD (very interesting lecture), King Author, the Crusades, Peter Abelard (ouch), Ottoman Empire (I will say, this was too brief for my liking, which there would have been a little more here), the Book of the Abacus, the Magna Carta, and the persecutions of Jews around 1096.
I highly recommend this to any history buffs who want to learn more about the medieval period of history.
November 4, 2018
One of the best collections in the Great Courses that I've experienced thus far! Dorsey Armstrong provides 24 key events that connect the end of the Roman Empire through the beginning of the Renaissance one millennium later. I found this very illuminating, explaining not only how history traversed from one era to another, but also the root of how so many things (specifically religious practices and beliefs) were shaped.
June 18, 2022
Huge fan of The Great Courses. Have listened to at least 20….all (ex this one) have been 4 - 5 stars. This author’s course on William the Conqueror was 5 star. However, this is, by far, the worst one. It seemed like the author didn’t really explain why exactly the turning point is of import. I think I could have learned more in a Wiki article. It also didn’t help that the first 5 minutes of each lecture was a synopsis of the last lecture.
March 2, 2023
A wonderful book. This is the third book I read by Armstrong and her works are consistently good – deep scholarship and entertaining delivery. I love how her lectures are interlinked, how she builds them up as a developing narrative of historical processes, and how smoothly she moves between succinct summaries and vivid details (such as the process by which books used to be made of animal – and sometimes even human – skin).
October 18, 2020
The lecture series looks at a multitude of different kinds of events and processes that shaped history during the Middle Ages, whether sudden or gradual. It moves across a great deal of time and space but rigorously maintains a theme and a cohesion. The lecturer is pleasant to listen to, although she sometimes comes across a little bit as though reading out loud from a book. Well worth a listen.
June 11, 2024
Armstrong might not be the most esteemed research scholar, but she does a really great job making this material engaging. This is a really excellent course for anyone who wants a broad overview of medieval history, free of excessive detail.
Armstrong's overall delivery is excellent. I would be very happy if I had her as a professor.
Armstrong's overall delivery is excellent. I would be very happy if I had her as a professor.
February 27, 2023
As always, highly instructive, with a tone that makes everything easy to understand and retain. I loved the balancing act of defining turning points while at the same time always insisting on the idea that events work on feedback loops, that everything causes everything else.
February 28, 2023
An interesting and engaging course covering a variety of important events, personalities and developents of the medieval era. Good overview of the period, though there wasn't much here that I wasn't familiar with from various other courses and other sources. Armstrong is excellent as ever.
June 27, 2023
Very good setup of the scaffolding you need to begin to understand this very long 1000 years. Bonus was the last lecture on Greenblatt's book on Lucretius-adding that to the top of my pile now. Interesting throughout.
April 17, 2024
This was a great lecture series that examined different points in medieval history. It was engaging and easy to follow. Apart from specific events or people, I think she does a great job painting the picture of life during this period in Europe.
March 6, 2021
A truly fascinating exploration of the immensely complex web of medieval history and the impact it has had and continues to have on the turning of the world!
September 12, 2021
Excellent course to anchor you solidly in medieval history so you can start exploring it more in depth in other courses.
April 9, 2023
eh... this is a good list of big events but delivered poorly
November 9, 2023
Listened on audiobook. A bit nerdy, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
November 14, 2023
For all of us who used to think the medieval history is a morass of depravity, loss of innovation, and loss of identity. Well, this history goes into the successes and the triumphs that lead to our modern age.
February 1, 2022
Pedestrian, plus a few factual errors. I was hoping for something more in‐depth, but appreciated the review of The Swerve in the final lecture.
September 9, 2021
A good overview of the history of Europe in this time period.
April 27, 2016
Really great but short. Each lecture could have been its own course, as Armstrong herself points out. For example, the Norman Conquest of 1066, the persecution of the Jews, the Black Death, etc. She spent quite a bit of time constantly reviewing everything she just said and describing her 4 types of turning points. I found that a bit annoying but didn't subtract too much from such a great course.
July 10, 2025
I learned quite a bit from this lecture series while also revisiting some other more familiar historical turning points. I'd certainly give this a five-star review if I hadn't caught a few (admittedly) minor historical errors in a few of the lectures. Overall, Professor Armstrong's lectures have greatly enhanced my understanding and appreciation of medieval history and the way that turning points can (together and separately) have unexpected and lasting impact on our development.
April 9, 2015
For all of us who used to think the medieval history is a morass of depravity, loss of innovation, and loss of identity. Well, this history goes into the successes and the triumphs that lead to our modern age.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews