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The Medieval World
Far from being a time of darkness, the Middle Ages was an essential period in the grand narrative of Western history. But what was it like to actually live in those extraordinary times? Now you can find out.
These 36 lectures provide a different perspective on the society and culture of the Middle Ages - one that entrenches you in the daily human experience of living during this underappreciated era. Drawing on history, literature, the arts, technology, and science, these lectures will deepen the way you understand not only the Middle Ages but everything that came afterward: From the Renaissance, to the Enlightenment, to your own world.
Filled with amazing insights, this series brings you closer than ever before to life as it was lived and felt. You'll meet the likes of William Caxton, England's first printer who not only printed and distributed a variety of works but also often had to translate them himself; learn about Hugh of Payns and the role of his Knights Templar - organized for the protection of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem - in the creation of the first modern bank; see how communities dealt with marriage in a time when the church had not yet drawn this institution into its orbit; and much more.
Rich with information and period detail (including revealing examples of medieval literature from the English, French, Norse, Icelandic, and Italian worlds), these lectures will dramatically increase your understanding of how lives in the Middle Ages were really lived.
These 36 lectures provide a different perspective on the society and culture of the Middle Ages - one that entrenches you in the daily human experience of living during this underappreciated era. Drawing on history, literature, the arts, technology, and science, these lectures will deepen the way you understand not only the Middle Ages but everything that came afterward: From the Renaissance, to the Enlightenment, to your own world.
Filled with amazing insights, this series brings you closer than ever before to life as it was lived and felt. You'll meet the likes of William Caxton, England's first printer who not only printed and distributed a variety of works but also often had to translate them himself; learn about Hugh of Payns and the role of his Knights Templar - organized for the protection of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem - in the creation of the first modern bank; see how communities dealt with marriage in a time when the church had not yet drawn this institution into its orbit; and much more.
Rich with information and period detail (including revealing examples of medieval literature from the English, French, Norse, Icelandic, and Italian worlds), these lectures will dramatically increase your understanding of how lives in the Middle Ages were really lived.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Dorsey Armstrong
17 books233 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 - 30 of 86 reviews
July 17, 2023
Good overview of Western Europe from 500 - 1500. Ish.
As Armstrong points out, most social changes are gradual so it's not like people went to bed in Medival times then just woke up the next morning and started Renaissanceing.
Ok, so I've seen several reviewers who got pretty annoyed that Ms. Armstrong felt she had to read passages or quotes in Ye Olde English first and then give the modern-day translation. And yeah. To be fair, she did sound like that Sweedish Chef on the Muppet Show.
Flergin dirgin bork, bork, bork!
The first few times I thought it was kinda cool to hear the differences in the language. And you could sometimes understand the gist, especially as we got closer to the end of the time period. But girl. Her warbling pronunciation was a bit painful to listen to after a while, mostly due to the cringey realization that it's one of those things pretentious people do to show off. Like that person who can't just pronounce a word in another language correctly, they have to do it with the accent, too?
Linda, you're from Georgia. Knock it off.
Ok. But other than that, I thought this was an excellent introduction for anyone who is looking to branch out and maybe learn a thing or two about a somewhat misunderstood time period. She covers 1,000 years in 36 lectures, so you're not going to get super in-depth about anything. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you're already a medieval buff there might not be much for you in this.
Me? I'm fairly ignorant, so it made for interesting listening.
Recommended.
As Armstrong points out, most social changes are gradual so it's not like people went to bed in Medival times then just woke up the next morning and started Renaissanceing.
Ok, so I've seen several reviewers who got pretty annoyed that Ms. Armstrong felt she had to read passages or quotes in Ye Olde English first and then give the modern-day translation. And yeah. To be fair, she did sound like that Sweedish Chef on the Muppet Show.
Flergin dirgin bork, bork, bork!
The first few times I thought it was kinda cool to hear the differences in the language. And you could sometimes understand the gist, especially as we got closer to the end of the time period. But girl. Her warbling pronunciation was a bit painful to listen to after a while, mostly due to the cringey realization that it's one of those things pretentious people do to show off. Like that person who can't just pronounce a word in another language correctly, they have to do it with the accent, too?
Linda, you're from Georgia. Knock it off.
Ok. But other than that, I thought this was an excellent introduction for anyone who is looking to branch out and maybe learn a thing or two about a somewhat misunderstood time period. She covers 1,000 years in 36 lectures, so you're not going to get super in-depth about anything. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you're already a medieval buff there might not be much for you in this.
Me? I'm fairly ignorant, so it made for interesting listening.
Recommended.
December 28, 2024
These are delightful lectures by a professor who not only knows her subject but knows how to teach it. I really appreciated her repeated insistence on how these were not the “dark ages” but were centuries full of discovery, humanity’s joys and sorrows, and creative literature. I’m following up these lectures by her course on The Black Death.
Shelved as 'tbr-cbm-audio'
April 12, 20184/11/18 - Since GR seems to have decided this is NOT A BOOK, and removed the author's name, I found it at Audible, for those who may care.
The Medieval World (Great Courses, #8280) Created by and narrated by Professor Dorsey Armstrong.
The Medieval World (Great Courses, #8280) Created by and narrated by Professor Dorsey Armstrong.
May 1, 2019
This is a very encompassing history of medieval Europe. Think of it as a survey course. Armstrong presents a new theme each "class" so you can deicide what you like best and then find more information on it. There are some wonderful lesser known Medieval history stories here which makes it worth a lesson. Prof. Armstrong clearly loves her topic.
October 4, 2018
Armstrong helps one understand this period of history by understanding how they thought about themselves during the time period. Those who work, those who pray, those who fight and as well as those who lead are covered in these lectures and anyone who listens to these will understand just a little bit more about who we are today.
May 8, 2018
This lecture series irritated me enough to do bullet points on my thoughts as I listened to it:
- This is the most general overview in a great courses series I've ever listened too.
- Dear God if this woman speaks in Old English one more time I think I might chunk this series out a window. I get it you speak Old English, but reading in it does not help the listener understand the topic.
- This course is not on a college level it is basic to the point of absurdum on some subjects.
- This course would be better titled: English Medieval world thoughts told through my thorough studying of Chaucers and Caxton.
- Authors obsession with Chaucer is annoying and distracting, we get it you are expert on Medieval English lit. STOP!
- Holy crap is she obsessed with English literature.
- I would of stopped listening to this but I'm going to have to go with my own version of sunken cost fallacies and just plug along because I have way to much time invested in this crap, Who knows maybe it will get better.
- Didn't get better.
- One of the worst non-UFO/Conspiracy Great Courses lectures I've ever listened to.
-I learned possibly two things I didn't know and one of them is that the lecturer cant her me correct them loudly in my car while I'm driving to work. 2 stars because I learned Caxton was the person who brought the printing press to England and his first book was on Chess.
If you know absolutely nothing about medieval Europe, you might want to check this lecture series out for anybody else avoid it like this it's the 1340s and you can see a tick infested rat.
- This is the most general overview in a great courses series I've ever listened too.
- Dear God if this woman speaks in Old English one more time I think I might chunk this series out a window. I get it you speak Old English, but reading in it does not help the listener understand the topic.
- This course is not on a college level it is basic to the point of absurdum on some subjects.
- This course would be better titled: English Medieval world thoughts told through my thorough studying of Chaucers and Caxton.
- Authors obsession with Chaucer is annoying and distracting, we get it you are expert on Medieval English lit. STOP!
- Holy crap is she obsessed with English literature.
- I would of stopped listening to this but I'm going to have to go with my own version of sunken cost fallacies and just plug along because I have way to much time invested in this crap, Who knows maybe it will get better.
- Didn't get better.
- One of the worst non-UFO/Conspiracy Great Courses lectures I've ever listened to.
-I learned possibly two things I didn't know and one of them is that the lecturer cant her me correct them loudly in my car while I'm driving to work. 2 stars because I learned Caxton was the person who brought the printing press to England and his first book was on Chess.
If you know absolutely nothing about medieval Europe, you might want to check this lecture series out for anybody else avoid it like this it's the 1340s and you can see a tick infested rat.
February 3, 2015
A very interesting course, but perhaps not all that interesting if you already know a thing or two about the Middle Ages. This is all very basic, but in a way that's good, because even if you may know a lot about one aspect of the Middle Ages (say, warfare), what do you know about cooking, clothing, or childhood?
Parts of the content in this course is really a cut&paste operation from another Dorsey Armstrong course I listened to, so I guess she reuses a lot of material (word by word). She also speaks extremely slowly, but if you use the 2xspeed function in Audible, that's no problem at all.
I may have dozed off a bit when she came to the 100 year war and the French and English and their respective kings. That part was seriously boring. And it's sad there's so little focus on anything but Spain, France, Italy and England. She even talks about medieval church buildings and how so few of them have been conserved because the building material was often wood and HELLO?! Norwegian stave churches?? Not even mentioned! (And they are absolutely gorgeous.)
Here's one (if images feel like working today).
Parts of the content in this course is really a cut&paste operation from another Dorsey Armstrong course I listened to, so I guess she reuses a lot of material (word by word). She also speaks extremely slowly, but if you use the 2xspeed function in Audible, that's no problem at all.
I may have dozed off a bit when she came to the 100 year war and the French and English and their respective kings. That part was seriously boring. And it's sad there's so little focus on anything but Spain, France, Italy and England. She even talks about medieval church buildings and how so few of them have been conserved because the building material was often wood and HELLO?! Norwegian stave churches?? Not even mentioned! (And they are absolutely gorgeous.)
Here's one (if images feel like working today).
July 19, 2017
There was more background history than I expected, though now that I think about it I'm not sure why this was the case. There should be history in this lecture series. I guess I had expected more about everyday life and the arts and less about the history. (There were lectures on those aspects too. Just not as many as there were on history.)
The lecturer also has a lot of places where she stumbles over a word and then says it again - as you would expect in an actual lecture, but not generally considered to be ok for an audio book. (This aspect really annoyed me.)
In addition, she reads a lot of quotes from period manuscripts. (This makes sense.) She tends to read them in the original language and then translate them into modern English. This made sense the first few times, but gradually came to feel like showing off that she speaks and can translate Old English. (It probably isn't, since I know the original language has nuances that translations don't, but it got annoying.)
Anyway. It's a good series of lectures with a lot of information in them. But maybe space them out and only listen to one lecture at a time instead of letting the audio play through multiple lectures at once.
The lecturer also has a lot of places where she stumbles over a word and then says it again - as you would expect in an actual lecture, but not generally considered to be ok for an audio book. (This aspect really annoyed me.)
In addition, she reads a lot of quotes from period manuscripts. (This makes sense.) She tends to read them in the original language and then translate them into modern English. This made sense the first few times, but gradually came to feel like showing off that she speaks and can translate Old English. (It probably isn't, since I know the original language has nuances that translations don't, but it got annoying.)
Anyway. It's a good series of lectures with a lot of information in them. But maybe space them out and only listen to one lecture at a time instead of letting the audio play through multiple lectures at once.
June 29, 2017
I use the Great Courses on my I-phone as sleeping pill substitutes. That means I absorb a lot of them in eight minute increments, about the amount of time in which focusing my mind away from everyday concerns between the hours of midnight and seven will put me back to sleep. Yes, I am a "broken periods" sleeper.
But this pattern, with a course like this one, seems to provide some pleasant learning and review of things exposed to from many different perspectives across a lifetime. A course like this tends to put pieces in relationship to each other and to provide a sense of chronological order that previous exposures to individual stories may not have done. (I was a STEM person rather than history/literature. But have done a lot of diverse reading through the years.)
This one was pleasant listening. See the reviews of others here for more detail about it. I rank it three stars, but if I weren't so stingy about rankings, I might well have given it four, which would have been high praise on my scale for attempting to evaluate books and courses.
But this pattern, with a course like this one, seems to provide some pleasant learning and review of things exposed to from many different perspectives across a lifetime. A course like this tends to put pieces in relationship to each other and to provide a sense of chronological order that previous exposures to individual stories may not have done. (I was a STEM person rather than history/literature. But have done a lot of diverse reading through the years.)
This one was pleasant listening. See the reviews of others here for more detail about it. I rank it three stars, but if I weren't so stingy about rankings, I might well have given it four, which would have been high praise on my scale for attempting to evaluate books and courses.
February 7, 2023
A very pleasant course about medieval life (mostly in Europe).
Read
February 8, 2023Expired before I could finish it. Probably would have given it four stars. I like Prof. Armstrong's work.
September 5, 2015
Professor Dorsey Armstrong teaches us about life in the Medieval World in this great overview course of the Middle Ages from Great Courses. The course is 18 hours in 36 lectures of half an hour each.
The first dozen lectures give a brief history of the Medieval era. (For a more in depth look at the history, Great Courses also offers a 3 part series on the Middle Ages by Pr. Philip Dialeader). She first reviews how the Roman empire fell apart, and how Christianity and the Church spread its influence over Europe. The Merovingians and the Carolingians who ruled much of what is now France get a couple lectures and then the Byzantium Empire and the rise of Islam gets a quick chapter. The most epic Vikings get chapter 9 as they extract Dengeld from the English until they are stopped by King Alfred in Lecture 10. If you have taken the Great Course The Vikings with Kenneth Harl or The Story of Medieval England from King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest with Professor Jennifer Paxton, you will know the full story, but here Prosessor Dorsey gives some fun highlights such as the Vikings visit to the peaceful monks at Lindsifarne or the ill fated Battle of Maldon up to Alfred's defeat of Guthrie in 894. In the final chapter covering history, Professor Armstrong takes us through the events described in the Bayeux Tapestry outlining King Harold II and his short reign in 1066. I think we all know what happened in 1066. If you don't the Norman Conquest is covered in fun detail and the results thereof.
The series gets more into the life in Medieval times. She discusses her personal favorite topic, King Arthur and his legend in Lecture 12. Pr. Armstrong is a specialist in King Arthur legends and has an entire Great Course on King Arthur, as well as several books on the subject. The three classes of Medieval Society are the subject of Lecture 14, i.e. the peasants, the monks, and the nobility. Chaucers tales aka pilgrimages and sainthood made for an interesting chapter. Many folks liked to travel to Canterbury, Rome or even Jerusalem on pilgrimage. One entire lecture was on knights and their heralds. It was expensive to be a knight. The lecture on Gothic Cathedrals probably could have used some visuals, so I went online after listening to this chapter.
This course covered a lot about daily life and what it was like to live in the middle ages. Three lectures are on daily life in a nobles house, a village and a medieval city. Lets just say it was better to be rich then too. The middle ages also seemed like they would be very smelly times, as peasants kept their animals in their yards and even in their homes and sanitation hadn't been perfected yet. Professor Dorsey devotes whole lectures on food, music, dress, medicine, childhood, marriage, art, science and warfare.
She speaks very well, and she makes the daily life of folks then quite interesting, and I learned a lot of interesting things. Other important subjects are covered like the Magna Carta, (not as important as we are led to believe, as it was largely ignored after being signed) and of course no Middle Ages lecture would be complete without the Black Plague!
Life wasn't as miserable as we may have surmised in medieval times, and Professor Dorsey did an excellent job of bringing the age to life. I also very much applaud Audible.com for now including PDF files of the syllabus and written materials for each great course. If you order any Great Course audio book you will now get the written materials as well.
If you find history fascinating, fancy Chaucer's Tales or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, check out The Medieval World.
In addition you may want to watch Terry Jones 8 part series on the Middle Ages which although not related to this lecture series it does nicely compliment it and reinforced many of the things I learned.
The first dozen lectures give a brief history of the Medieval era. (For a more in depth look at the history, Great Courses also offers a 3 part series on the Middle Ages by Pr. Philip Dialeader). She first reviews how the Roman empire fell apart, and how Christianity and the Church spread its influence over Europe. The Merovingians and the Carolingians who ruled much of what is now France get a couple lectures and then the Byzantium Empire and the rise of Islam gets a quick chapter. The most epic Vikings get chapter 9 as they extract Dengeld from the English until they are stopped by King Alfred in Lecture 10. If you have taken the Great Course The Vikings with Kenneth Harl or The Story of Medieval England from King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest with Professor Jennifer Paxton, you will know the full story, but here Prosessor Dorsey gives some fun highlights such as the Vikings visit to the peaceful monks at Lindsifarne or the ill fated Battle of Maldon up to Alfred's defeat of Guthrie in 894. In the final chapter covering history, Professor Armstrong takes us through the events described in the Bayeux Tapestry outlining King Harold II and his short reign in 1066. I think we all know what happened in 1066. If you don't the Norman Conquest is covered in fun detail and the results thereof.
The series gets more into the life in Medieval times. She discusses her personal favorite topic, King Arthur and his legend in Lecture 12. Pr. Armstrong is a specialist in King Arthur legends and has an entire Great Course on King Arthur, as well as several books on the subject. The three classes of Medieval Society are the subject of Lecture 14, i.e. the peasants, the monks, and the nobility. Chaucers tales aka pilgrimages and sainthood made for an interesting chapter. Many folks liked to travel to Canterbury, Rome or even Jerusalem on pilgrimage. One entire lecture was on knights and their heralds. It was expensive to be a knight. The lecture on Gothic Cathedrals probably could have used some visuals, so I went online after listening to this chapter.
This course covered a lot about daily life and what it was like to live in the middle ages. Three lectures are on daily life in a nobles house, a village and a medieval city. Lets just say it was better to be rich then too. The middle ages also seemed like they would be very smelly times, as peasants kept their animals in their yards and even in their homes and sanitation hadn't been perfected yet. Professor Dorsey devotes whole lectures on food, music, dress, medicine, childhood, marriage, art, science and warfare.
She speaks very well, and she makes the daily life of folks then quite interesting, and I learned a lot of interesting things. Other important subjects are covered like the Magna Carta, (not as important as we are led to believe, as it was largely ignored after being signed) and of course no Middle Ages lecture would be complete without the Black Plague!
Life wasn't as miserable as we may have surmised in medieval times, and Professor Dorsey did an excellent job of bringing the age to life. I also very much applaud Audible.com for now including PDF files of the syllabus and written materials for each great course. If you order any Great Course audio book you will now get the written materials as well.
If you find history fascinating, fancy Chaucer's Tales or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, check out The Medieval World.
In addition you may want to watch Terry Jones 8 part series on the Middle Ages which although not related to this lecture series it does nicely compliment it and reinforced many of the things I learned.
July 26, 2018
This course is a general overview of Medieval History in Europe, particularly England and France, so if you’re looking to learn about medieval life outside of those two main countries, I would look elsewhere.
When I started listening to the course, I was bored; so bored, in fact, that I didn’t pick the course back up for many months and when I finally did, I discovered, to my surprise, that it had been almost a year. However, in the end I rated it 3 stars because the later chapters were much more specific and thus more interesting. I actually learned things that I hadn’t known, such as that folks generally were married (more like hand-clasped) *outside* of the church until sometime in this period; previous to this, religion and the church had nothing to do with marriage.
Despite my initial boredom (which may have simply been due to my mood at the time), this is a pretty good overview of the subject.
When I started listening to the course, I was bored; so bored, in fact, that I didn’t pick the course back up for many months and when I finally did, I discovered, to my surprise, that it had been almost a year. However, in the end I rated it 3 stars because the later chapters were much more specific and thus more interesting. I actually learned things that I hadn’t known, such as that folks generally were married (more like hand-clasped) *outside* of the church until sometime in this period; previous to this, religion and the church had nothing to do with marriage.
Despite my initial boredom (which may have simply been due to my mood at the time), this is a pretty good overview of the subject.
January 5, 2016
Not as passionate Daileader's Early Middle Ages but very informative and well structured. I particularly enjoyed learning about the differences in health, marriage, and religion between people who lived in the Medieval world and now. I am reading historical fiction about Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Louis VII, and King Henry II. Learning a bit of the period in which they lived makes the historical fiction even more enjoyable.
February 27, 2021
Although this book answered many of the questions I had regarding life in the middle ages and gave me a more graceful outlook into the centuries past deemed by many to be dark and cruel (though that can't be said to be untrue, but not fully satisfying to understand the character of the people in these times).
The medieval era was a time of poverty, war, plague, famine, strife, and superstition. But the population of those earlier times was as much human as we are humans today. Some fully capable of rational thought, some far superior to the masters of philosophy in our day and age, and some as backward as many of the commoners we encounter on a day-to-day basis. But the humanity of the citizens of that era remains intact. And by such humanity, humanness is closer to the point than the modern spirit of the word.
The book covers a very wide array of topics, from clothing to art to technology to warfare to religious belief to culture in the different cities, towns, villages, and even in the different empires of the medieval era at different times. But one thing which I felt a little bit lacking in this exposition was a further exploration of the ideas of the thinkers of the middle ages.
The lectures are divided into half-hour segments, each segment talks about a specific topic to deliver a general idea. This is a spectacular course in medieval history, and I am very happy to have read (listened to) this book.
The medieval era was a time of poverty, war, plague, famine, strife, and superstition. But the population of those earlier times was as much human as we are humans today. Some fully capable of rational thought, some far superior to the masters of philosophy in our day and age, and some as backward as many of the commoners we encounter on a day-to-day basis. But the humanity of the citizens of that era remains intact. And by such humanity, humanness is closer to the point than the modern spirit of the word.
The book covers a very wide array of topics, from clothing to art to technology to warfare to religious belief to culture in the different cities, towns, villages, and even in the different empires of the medieval era at different times. But one thing which I felt a little bit lacking in this exposition was a further exploration of the ideas of the thinkers of the middle ages.
The lectures are divided into half-hour segments, each segment talks about a specific topic to deliver a general idea. This is a spectacular course in medieval history, and I am very happy to have read (listened to) this book.
February 11, 2023
I just finished this wonderful series on Audible. All 18 hours of it! Starting with a little background on ancient Rome and proceeding through the fall of the Roman empire to the “dark ages“, a term that historians no longer use much because the middle ages were actually a time of great innovation and invention despite what the stereotypes may be. If you are a little murky about the roughly 1000 years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, this is the series for you. Never boring, always fascinating, extremely listenable. Narrated by a professor from Purdue, I think it’s basically her lectures to her students which she has recorded and she has all done us a great service!
I’m interested in the middle ages and I wouldn’t call myself an expert but I probably know more than the average person just because I’ve read so much. What’s so great about this series is that it’s perfect for the beginner as well as someone who is more well-read for the period. It covers virtually everything: royalty, governing, culture, status of women and children, religion, warfare, daily life, castles, Crusades, Chivalry, knighthood, and everything else! If anything it has only further whetted my appetite for more from this time: my “to read“ list is full of medieval history and historical novels from the period. I just can’t get enough!
I’m interested in the middle ages and I wouldn’t call myself an expert but I probably know more than the average person just because I’ve read so much. What’s so great about this series is that it’s perfect for the beginner as well as someone who is more well-read for the period. It covers virtually everything: royalty, governing, culture, status of women and children, religion, warfare, daily life, castles, Crusades, Chivalry, knighthood, and everything else! If anything it has only further whetted my appetite for more from this time: my “to read“ list is full of medieval history and historical novels from the period. I just can’t get enough!
May 17, 2019
The Great Courses are exactly what they say they are: A Lecture Series. So when starting one of these, you must keep that in mind. They are structured more like a college lecture class than as a story.
The Medieval World lecture series provides a surprisingly comprehensive survey of the Medieval period including such topics as childhood and medicine, two topics not often covered. Armstrong's choice of using the original language for some examples (specifically in regards to literature) can be both interesting and pretentious. Giving a listener an example of Chaucer's original text was interesting, but the repeated use throughout the series was also irritating as it distracted from the meaning of the text. Overall, the series was detailed without getting bogged down. When there were varying scholarly interpretations on a topic, Armstrong presented them and gave reasoning for them as well. If you are looking for a good introduction to the medieval world, then The Medieval World is a great place to start.
The Medieval World lecture series provides a surprisingly comprehensive survey of the Medieval period including such topics as childhood and medicine, two topics not often covered. Armstrong's choice of using the original language for some examples (specifically in regards to literature) can be both interesting and pretentious. Giving a listener an example of Chaucer's original text was interesting, but the repeated use throughout the series was also irritating as it distracted from the meaning of the text. Overall, the series was detailed without getting bogged down. When there were varying scholarly interpretations on a topic, Armstrong presented them and gave reasoning for them as well. If you are looking for a good introduction to the medieval world, then The Medieval World is a great place to start.
January 1, 2021
I recommend this book if one wants to learn more about how people lived in the medieval world, as well as to learn the changes and innovations that occurred during this time. Some of the topics covered are the establishment of universities and formal places of learning, the roles and lives of knights, the lives of nobles and commoners, the establishment of guilds and the training of tradesmen, and the social structure of society. Even though this book covers major historical events too, such as the Carolingian Renaissance, the Crusades, the Black Death, and the Magna Carta, those events were very lightly covered, and many other books covers those events with more considerable detail. This is one of the few books that are easily accessible to the layman that teaches about the life of that time period, and in my opinion, one of the best in that regard.
March 22, 2018
After absorbing so much history of other parts of the world, I felt like I had to do something more with European history. Also, I ran out of lecture series for other parts of the world to listen to.
Anyway, this was an enjoyable though fairly basic overview of Medieval (European) history and culture. The culture part is quite nice in fact, and a fair amount of attention is given to overturning inaccurate stereotypes, and also establishing some sense of the basic material culture and lifeways of people of the period. (I know there is a DVD version of this course as well, and wonder if the visuals it provides are even more helpful).
There is also a fair bit of historical narrative, especially at the beginning of the course and establishing the basis of Medieval culture and society. I found this a bit disappointingly heavily weighted towards France and England, whose histories I am already somewhat familiar with. The professor argues that France was the locus of Medieval culture, especially with early empires centered on it providing a sort of template for future developments, and that is a fair argument. But I get the impression that England wasn't super important or powerful for much of the period covered, and I think think the heavy bias towards it reflects linguistic and cultural familiarity, as well as a sort of dependency to project its later importance back into the past. I know relatively little of the history of Central Europe and would have appreciated at least a sort of broad summary or overview in a lecture or two.
One thing that stuck out as an inaccuracy is the claim that knights relied on the stirrup for their position; my understanding of military history is that the mounted lance charge preceded the introduction of the stirrup to Europe, it just became even more devastating afterwards.
Anyway, this was an enjoyable though fairly basic overview of Medieval (European) history and culture. The culture part is quite nice in fact, and a fair amount of attention is given to overturning inaccurate stereotypes, and also establishing some sense of the basic material culture and lifeways of people of the period. (I know there is a DVD version of this course as well, and wonder if the visuals it provides are even more helpful).
There is also a fair bit of historical narrative, especially at the beginning of the course and establishing the basis of Medieval culture and society. I found this a bit disappointingly heavily weighted towards France and England, whose histories I am already somewhat familiar with. The professor argues that France was the locus of Medieval culture, especially with early empires centered on it providing a sort of template for future developments, and that is a fair argument. But I get the impression that England wasn't super important or powerful for much of the period covered, and I think think the heavy bias towards it reflects linguistic and cultural familiarity, as well as a sort of dependency to project its later importance back into the past. I know relatively little of the history of Central Europe and would have appreciated at least a sort of broad summary or overview in a lecture or two.
One thing that stuck out as an inaccuracy is the claim that knights relied on the stirrup for their position; my understanding of military history is that the mounted lance charge preceded the introduction of the stirrup to Europe, it just became even more devastating afterwards.
October 13, 2018
I've been working my way though Western History across several great courses. They've all been good. This one is a little different than the others; it's the only one (so far) taught by a woman, for one thing, and it's focus is a little different. There's less here about war and more about culture. It wasn't as exciting, but still pretty interesting. I didn't like it quite as much as the others I've listened to, but that might just be my preferences rather than the quality of the course.
July 2, 2019
Did you know that marriage was a purely secular thing until the 1300s? The only reason the church got involved was to exert more influence during the time of the late crusades. One of the many facts I had learned in these series of lectures that I was able to use when the religious nuts told me that marriage was invalid since marriage has always been with the church.
The lectures are great, the professor clear and entertaining. I can't recommend it enough if you want to know more about the medieval world.
The lectures are great, the professor clear and entertaining. I can't recommend it enough if you want to know more about the medieval world.
February 29, 2020
One of the best lecture series you could have on this topic. It goes about as far as possible to humanizing & democratizing its subject matter as one could (a lot of works promise to do this & then spend 99% of their time talking about some battle or political maneuvering). She really gives a glimpse of life into people of various professions & social positions, e.g. in a detailed take on The Canterbury Tales. One of the few works that has made me feel connected to a group of people from long ago, much more understanding of their struggles for status and contentment.
January 12, 2021
Enjoyable and largely topical study of the Middle Ages. It isn't quite as good as Philip Daileader's work on the period but he is a tough act to follow. If you already have some background in the subject, you will know a good portion of what is coming. Still the lectures are pleasant and there are bits and pieces about the Medieval world that you might not have known as it focuses more on life in the time period than straight history.
March 4, 2023
Ya he escuchado varios audiolibros de Dorsey sobre la epoca medieval y su fascinación con el Rey Arturo, y realmente la admiro muchísimo, no solo por el conocimiento y años de estudio que posee, sino porque lo transmite con una pasión admirable.
Siempre me llamó la atención la Edad Media, y este libro tiene un nivel de detalle asombroso. Toca todos los puntos que uno quiere saber, y otros que capaz no tenía idea, es muy completo.
Siempre me llamó la atención la Edad Media, y este libro tiene un nivel de detalle asombroso. Toca todos los puntos que uno quiere saber, y otros que capaz no tenía idea, es muy completo.
October 17, 2020
I started out enthusiastic about this course, but I was mainly bored with it by the half way point. I can't put my finger on it, but the material just didn't grab me much. I think maybe it was a lot of repetition, she refers back to other lessons quite often.
I've listened to many of these great courses, and this one just wasn't on par with the rest.
I've listened to many of these great courses, and this one just wasn't on par with the rest.
February 9, 2023
I enjoy the Great Courses so much even if it’s a topic I already know well! I enjoy this professor and feel she does a nice job of presenting the basics in an easy to understand way. Of course there is debate on some of her points, it’s history, there’s always debate! But overall I thought it was well done and she has a nice presenting voice, a joy to listen to!
May 22, 2017
Some of these were easier to follow than others. The later lectures that were about specific topics such as food, warfare, or marriage were very interesting. Lectures toward the beginning were a little harder for me to pay attention to, but still well done.
October 21, 2017
Best Great Course series I've listened to so far. Professor Armstrong's delivery is excellent, and the lectures include a great combination of historical events and interesting insights into everyday life in the medieval times.
December 27, 2017
A fascinating overview of Medieval History, concentrating on France, England, and Germany. I especially appreciated the lectures that focused on medieval life, art, architecture, literature, and tournaments, etc. rather than specific events and dates
December 2, 2017
I listened to the audio version of this lecture series (all 18 hours of it) and really enjoyed it. I found the first few lectures fairly slow, but once we got out of the Romans, things picked up. I love these lectures and have really enjoyed the opportunities they present to continue learning.
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