Heart of Europe

A History of the Holy Roman Empire

By: Peter H. Wilson

Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan

Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire quipped that it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter H. Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states.

Heart of Europe traces the empire from its origins within Charlemagne's kingdom in 800 to its demise in 1806. By the mid-tenth century, its core rested in the German kingdom, and ultimately its territory stretched from France and Denmark to Italy and Poland. Yet the empire remained abstract, with no fixed capital and no common language or culture. The source of its continuity and legitimacy was the ideal of a unified Christian civilization, but this did not prevent emperors from clashing with the pope over supremacy. Though the title of Holy Roman Emperor retained prestige, rising states such as Austria and Prussia wielded power in a way the empire could not. While it gradually lost the flexibility to cope with political, economic, and social changes, the empire was far from being in crisis until the onslaught of the French revolutionary wars.

©2016 Peter H. Wilson (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Hugely impressive...Wilson is an assured guide through the millennium-long labyrinth of papal - imperial relations." ( Literary Review)

Dense

This is an interesting history but quite dense. An admirable scholarly effort but difficult to completely follow without a map in front of you as the names of principalities, noble families, regions and titles are easy to confound.

It's good

The narrator does jump around in the time line but it all comes together. And I liked to listen to it.

Dense but enjoyable book

Well researched and written on the subject matter. narration is easy to follow and enjoyable. The book can be difficult to follow at times since it is organized by topics such as culture or economy rather than chronologically, but the author makes that clear going into the book. it just means you may have to go back and re-listen a little closer at some points. The book is worth the listen though.

Decent book, Narrator Easy to Tune Out

This book is not as bad as some of the other reviewers are saying. Because of the range of time and distance that this book challenges itself to cover, if it were laid out in a straightforward, chronological manner, it would be thousands of pages loner and likely a snooze fest. The author actually does a good job with the performance, and I never though he sounded monotone or uninspired. However, something in the timbre of his voice lends itself to tuning it out. I would frequently find myself having missed a few lines of text when listening in the car simply because his voice just blends in with the background noise of the world. I don’t think it is his fault or that there is anything wrong with the performance. Worth a listen for those interested in the HRE, but do not expect to walk away having memorized each line of Kings and all major historical events. The format of this book simply does not make any one person or event particularly memorable. You simply walk away with a sense of understanding about why the HRE existed, the space and time period it occupied, and the factors that led to its demise.

Excellent book, brilliantly read.

I'm delighted with the marvellous presentation of a very complex subject whose range and scope one seldom finds in a history book. It especially heartening to see the use of foreign terms to describe central European institutions without giving the reader som tame English equivalent, which is often misleading.

Mr. Napoleon Ryan is a splendid reader, and he displays just the right degree of gravitas one would expect when listening to a work of this high calibre. His pronunciation of German terms is very good, and this makes it easy to understand what the author has in his mind. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as I found to my disgust in listening to a Bismarck biography. I am happy to recommend this book to any reader interested in his European heritage.

Not a linear history

While well written, it can be difficult to follow as a topic such as judicial structure of the empire is covered from beginning of empire to end before a new topic is started. Handy for dealing with individual concepts but hard for the casual reader to keep monarchs/time periods in line.

A weighty history dragged down by its narrator

I’ve read my share of serious history books, and I’m familiar with how challenging it can be for historians to capture the complexity and nuance of any period and society in a way that keeps a readers interest. This kind of writing also presents its own challenge to readers. That’s why I love reading and listening to them. But I’ve never had the experience of a narrator placing sound ahead of sense. Ryan’s narration throughout is all grave tones, entirely burying the meaning and substance of the events, trends, and persons being discussed by the author. He certainly goes to great lengths to pronounce his place names accurately. But not once did I get the impression that he had even a cursory understanding of or care for what the author had intended to communicate about the history of this extraordinary polity; instead he seemed solely interested in enunciating each and every sentence in the most long-winded and ponderous way imaginable. Bizarre, self-absorbed and, most unforgivably, dull. I’d rather not have given any stars for performance.

A Great Work

A very detailed and informative volume on many facets of an immense subject. It is not a linear narrative but more of a series of analyses ranging from daily life, law and order, governance, etc. that jump from century to century. The author was very thourough and tried to convey a objective light on what has and continues to be a nationalistic topic.

I would highly recommend this book to any lover of European history.

Vital Info for the Student of history

I learned so much listening to this book that I listened to it again. As a public school student, I was taught a lot of bullet points in European History. The topics covered in this book filled in a lot of gaps for me on the HRE, Central Europe and moments in history that shaped the present day. This was a vital read for me in my quest to wrap my head around European History and the way it shapes my world.

Pay close attention or you’ll get lost

This is one book that requires very close attention. If you’re listening while doing something, it is very easy to get confused. The book skips around a lot too, time wise. It’s not chronological at all. That’s not a problem, it just makes for a necessity to truly listen. Napoleon Ryan is just right for this book’s narrator. This will definitely require a second listen to make sense of all the information.