A History of the Middle Ages

By: Crane Brinton, John Christopher, Robert Wolff

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 19 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

A History of the Middle Ages is the amazing story of European man in transition. It is a dramatic chronicle of 1,000 years of political, social, and economic transformation beginning with the dissolution of the classical Mediterranean civilization and ending with the first flowering of the Renaissance. It is also the story of two new religions, Christianity and Islam, both of which were destined to dominate the mind of every person in those new civilizations arising in their wake. This was the great Age of Faith, a time of darkness and a time of enlightenment...a time of lords and vassals, popes and kings, and commerce and cathedrals.

This great history starts with a survey of Christianity, then continues with an exploration of the "dark ages" following the fall of Rome, before proceeding with an explanation of how Europe coped with, and absorbed, the barbarians who overran the Empire. It goes on to trace the development of feudalism and Islam, and describes the harrowing survival of Byzantium throughout the brutal chaos that swirled about the Eastern Roman Empire during the 9th and 10th centuries. Discover how national monarchies and the modern nation state came into being, how the West responded to the Islamic invasions, and how Christianity penetrated into the farthest reaches of Northern Europe. Understand the dramatic repercussions of the Great Schism in Christianity and how economic change in the West almost destroyed the church. Finally, discover the events which gave rise to the magnificent flowering of the Gothic Age and the explosion of knowledge which subsequently paved the way for the Renaissance. The Middle Ages were the precursor to everything which we in the west consider "modern." This beautifully written history tells you why.

©2004 Audio Connoisseur (P)2004 Audio Connoisseur

Fascinating!!!

Very comprehensive read, dealing with the full range of human life in the middle ages including politics, culture, religion and chronology.
Very vibrant and existing period in human history, too often dismissed as 'dark' and thus unimportant - now. after this read, I beg to differ!

Excellent Overview: A Good Start

I found this book to be an excellent start for one that has limited knowledge of the Middle Ages. It covers a lot of ground, and frankly will leave you lost if you try and grab onto every word. Its best treated as an encyclopedia of sorts. If only the chapter listing was listed properly it could indeed serve this function.

Focused heavily on European and Mediterranean areas during the period. There is no mention of Asians, Africans or Indigenous Americans at all. Glanced over Islam and went heavily into Christianity. This is not a knock, there is some cross over but if you want to read about Islam's influence in depth, you will need to supplement.

The readers clinical/scholarly voice did not irritate me as it did others.

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

What did you like best about this story?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

Which scene was your favorite?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

Any additional comments?

I just want to give a star rating. If you force me to say more, I will give you this tripe.

History middle ages

If you could sum up A History of the Middle Ages in three words, what would they be?

Good information, in some cases waters down, the violent spread of Islam, comment like the Jiza, just a tax, well a lot more than that, and some comments that are modern day interpretations. But very good information.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Covers the hole history well.

Heavy reading, but very informative

Awesome run-down of some of the most important aspects of the Middle Ages. Recommended for anyone interested in history of 850-1500.

Pros:
- covers a wide variety of topics from war to politics to finance.
- backs-up assertions with facts and recognizes counterarguments.
- you will absolutely learn something listening to this, and you’ll probably want more information on certain topics

Cons:
- extremely heavy reading; listen only when you are doing a mindless activity like highway driving, otherwise you’ll lose track of what the narrator is saying.
- covering almost 700 years of history requires sacrificing depth; be ready to want more information on certain topics.
- the text could benefit from pictures or diagrams that we obviously can’t see on an audiobook.

Overall great book. Recommended.

the dreaded Masterpiece Theatre effect...

This history is unexceptionable. A thorough journey through the so-called Middle Ages of Europe, superbly written and full of interest, especially for the general reader who wants to deepen their knowledge of the cultural sources of the Western World. Unfortunately, the narration is pretty close to being fairly described as awful. The obviously fake thick British accent grates on the ears. Strange accents and overemphasis of words (lending a vaguely CaMel-cAsE-ish flavor to the sentences) make it hard to maintain continuity of attention. Why is it thought that academic books like this need to be narrated by a tweed jacketed pipe smoking Oxford don (in this case a badly faked one...)? (This guy sounds great with an American accent by the way, but he needs to drop the hammy British routine from his repertoire...) I know it will never happen, but I really wish this could be redone with a normal sounding narration.

Foundations to our modern times

What made the experience of listening to A History of the Middle Ages the most enjoyable?

While this is not a general history but quite a learned text its depth is not overwhelming. It is broken up into chapters and parts that concentrate on different geographical areas eg England, France, Byzantine Empire and compares and contrasts them. It is exciting to discover that the Middle Ages were a time of dynamic change and the foundation of our modern times.

What other book might you compare A History of the Middle Ages to and why?

Having just listened to The Popes by John Julius Norwich it was fascinating to hear the secular side of the most turbulent age of the papacy.

What three words best describe Charlton Griffin’s performance?

Pompous irritating annoying

Any additional comments?

Charlton Griffin had a very annoying accent and habit of mispronouncing words which spoiled my enjoyment of the book although the content remained of great interest to me. Sometimes the mispronunciation would cause me to lose the thread of the discussion and I would have to go back and relisten to a section - if I hadn't been so interested in the subject matter I think I might have given up purely due to my annoyance at Charlton's performance. HIs accent is a very curious mix of BBC English, Yorkshire and something I haven't identified but it leaves you with with the wish he would have a sherry, relax and not be so pompous!

A Fantastic Survey of the middle ages

The book provides a very comprehensive survey of the middle age Europe in a very clear style. It is good for students interested in the History of Europe between 1000-1500, since more emphasis were placed on those period.

The narration is a little monotonous, but I thoroughly enjoyed the contents.

I will listen again, it's that good

The only drawback is the unorthodox pronunciations--I am more comfortable with non-British narrations but can tolerate it better if the words are close to how most of the academy speaks.

Great History Overview

Would you listen to A History of the Middle Ages again? Why?

Yes! A History of the Middle Ages really gives one a great overview of this fascinating period.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I believe Charlemagne would be by favorite as he helped move along Western Europe to advance the continent.

What does Charlton Griffin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great diction of the English language.Comes across as a professor presenting a lecture on the subject of the period.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions.I walked away having a better understanding of how important the period was to our civilization even to this day.

Any additional comments?

This one is a must to own for all Middle Ages history lovers.