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

Grand Overview of a Vast Historical Period

Unfortunately the narrator of this book was not to my liking, far to stilted, in fact the overwrought British accent sounded somewhat fake. In any case the content did win out and I ended up really enjoying this book. It was a great way to follow The Tudors as it filled in the period leading up to there. The fascinating thing about the middle ages is how that is the period the world as we know it today was really formed, the nations, their characters and habits all derive from here. For that reason I find it much more interesting than modern history, it goes back to the source of why modern history unfolded that way. There are so many facets of this period that are complete blanks for me I was happy that the book was so expansive covering the history of all civilised peoples of the middle ages. Well worth it!

A Stunning Achievement

The middle ages is one of those cloudy subjects that most people, including me, usually steer clear of. It doesn't seem to have the dash and intellectual allure of the classical periods that preceeded it. Bu that was merely my perception. This long and detailed history of the 1,000 years of history spanning the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance was honestly one of the most entertaining pieces I have ever listened to. Call me ignorant, but I just did not know how interesting this period actually was. I note with amusement that some listeners objected to the chapter on Christianity, though for the life of me I don't understand their objections. I was brought up a Christian but have not practised any religion in several decades. However, I found the explanation of how Christianity developed to be incredibly fascinating. It's hard to really understand the passions and disputes that occurred in the middle ages without some compass of what made those people tick. I also found the chapters on Islam and Byzantium extremely informative, as well as the chapters that covered the establishment of nationlist monarchies and the achievements of the late Gothic period. All in all, I was hugely impressed by this great work and would recommend it to all but the few zany anti-religious types who probably would never get past the first chapter anyway. There is also wonderful medieval music here and the narrator, Charlton Griffin, is truly superb.

real history

This is beautifully done, using music and other sound effects to transition from one section to another of this extremely well-written volume. But the expert in history will value it more than the amateur, for the detail will likely cause the mind of the ordinary reader to wander.

Excellent for bed

I too didn't realise just how interconnected everything was in Europe - and how the seeds for recent wars (from WW1 to Kosovo) were sown over 2,000 years ago when the Roman Empire collapsed. Even the Cold War and Russia's/Moscow's view of its position in the world dates back to the end of Rome. An excellent book for bedtime - I keep it running and dip in and out as I wake up during the night

Very interesting look at the middle ages

Where does A History of the Middle Ages rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a very solid book. Part of the problems that I have with books like this is that I come in with very little background in the history of the parts of the world I am not familiar with (anything other than the US and the UK). This book did a good job of tying together the various strands of the politics/religion/culture, etc. for all parts of the world in a coherent picture. It was still hard for me to keep up with some of the historical discussions of areas was not familiar with -- but that's not the book's fault!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how the authors would take one era, break down that era by area of the world and then break it down even further by specific areas of discussion (religion, politics, etc.). I thought it very helpful.

Which scene was your favorite?

I like how the authors toward the end tied the way we think about some things today to their roots in the middle ages. That was need.

Any additional comments?

If you are interested in this topic, it is worth a listen. If you are not, you will get bored. That's probably true of all history books.

Medeival History for beginners

Would you consider the audio edition of A History of the Middle Ages to be better than the print version?

The audiobook version of this kind must necessarily suffer from the inaccessibility of names, places and technical terminology. So, I'd say no.

Would you recommend A History of the Middle Ages to your friends? Why or why not?

No, too boring, and will likely put them to sleep.

How could the performance have been better?

Absolutely, the deep low masculine voice is ill suited to historical narratives.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Bad Idea!

Any additional comments?

The book is useful as far as being a beginner's guide to medieval history is concerned, it does not go into detail, just jumping from one theme to another, so those interested in particular themes can do further research. It also suffers from the all too often a problem of Eurocentrism, the thousand year between the Fall of Western Roman Empire 472 a,d and the fall of Eastern Roman Empire in 1454 in China is between Tang and Ming Dynasty. a lot of things happened there too. In short, it's a folly to try to squeeze a thousand years in a 18 hour history book.

Comprehensive view of history

This book was overwhelming in scope, covering hundreds and hundreds of years of history, culture, religion, and human development, from the end of the Roman Empire, up until the fall of Byzantium, the beginning of the Ottoman empire, and the beginning of the renaissance in Europe. Way too much to remember past the completion of the book past, at least for my mind

Loved it!

Very informative, and an in depth analysis of the period. I would highly recommend you give this a listen if you are interested in medieval history.

About half the book is good audio

A History of the Middle Ages (2004) - Brinton, Christopher, and Wolff ****
This work seems to be only available as an unabridged audiobook (rather than a book also). The information is useful and enlightening, and well worth the time. About half the book is perfect for the audio format. However, much doesn't lend itself well to the audio format, and charts and diagrams showing interrelationships of the discussed civilizations would help. There is insufficient explanation about what the structure of the book is, and how each section relates to the others. In some parts a bewildering barrage of specific information is provided, assuming a familiarity which many readers don't share. The parts that lend themselves well, however, to this format are valuable and interesting, and changed my understanding of the world for the better.

Full of history, well read

I love history and the medeival time period especially, because so much of our culture and language formed during that time. This book covers many topics and does a good job of relating them to modern society, especially in the epilogue. There is much information here and many interesting side stories. However, I found the beginning far too preachy. I understand Christianity was important to Europe and through it people accomplished great things, but all religions have been used as an excuse for almost every war in human history. Pious Christians were no better. This side was not given much airtime and thus the opening chapters seemed slanted. Also, the narrative often jumped over time and space, which was sometimes confusing. I would have preferred it to be more chronological (which it was, mostly). The narrator sounded like a history professor, which was perfect, except for his way of saying "pewnishment", which was distracting.