Audiobook22 hours
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
Written by Susan Wise Bauer
Narrated by John Lee
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the T'ang Dynasty, from the birth of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled.
In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and the twelfth centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right thus replaces might as the engine of empire.
Not just Christianity and Islam but the religions of the Persians and the Germans, and even Buddhism, are pressed into the service of the state. This phenomenon-stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan-changes religion, but it also changes the state.
In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and the twelfth centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right thus replaces might as the engine of empire.
Not just Christianity and Islam but the religions of the Persians and the Germans, and even Buddhism, are pressed into the service of the state. This phenomenon-stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan-changes religion, but it also changes the state.
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Reviews for The History of the Medieval World
Rating: 4.426470588235294 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
68 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What I really like about this book is the accessible language. Wise Bauer does not, like many academics, pepper the text with words that, once you look them up, turn out to mean something really simple. This is something I often find annoying with academics (and I have been a student for more years than I care to admit). The accessibility of the text is one of its clear strengths. That said this is definitely a book you need to study rather than read. You need to have a notebook at hand and keep a personal timeline (there are timelines in the book but for your own reference I suggest making one for yourself when people are mentioned). You need the maps and you need to be able to flip back a forth to different maps to keep people, places and armies apart. Each chapter has a short summary (two to three indented lines). I am in two minds about these. On the one hand it is helpful to know what the chapter is about. On the other hand I like finding that out for myself. Part of me is left to wonder if the author things she should do my job for me. Although the book contains several parts about religions other than Christianity but I find that Christianity is the main focus of the book. Although I know that there are reasons for this, much of the politics in Europe were tied to the church at this time I wish that especially the first two sections had been a bit more balanced with regards to Europe-Asia. As a Scandinavian I also wish that there had been more information about the Vikings and not just them sacking Europe. Overall I found this book to be a fair introduction to this period in time but I would want to read other sources as well.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A tremendous book, which included more than just Europe in its scope. Well worth the time to read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The author took on a very difficult chore talking about the events of the medieval times around the world. I found the book insightful, interesting and easy to follow.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great coverage of history! Loved it. Only complaint was around chapter 56; there were several dead spots.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you are ever tempted to complain about politics, your job, noisy neighbors, or having nothing good to watch on TV, read this book. Your perspective will change. Welcome to the medieval world--a time, not really all that long ago, when deceit, betrayal, corruption, bribery, and assassination were common means of gaining power. A time when rape, slavery, mutilation, mass murder, and genocide were practically everyday occurrences. Over time and distance the names of the people, empires, gods, and religions change, but the story is always pretty much the same. During these 800 years of nearly constant warfare, almost nothing of any lasting significance was accomplished. Lives, resources, and time were squandered as people fought one another with about as much foresight, empathy, and ethical consideration as a troop of rabid baboons vying to be top monkey.
I like to think we've learned a few things since then.
That's the summary. Susan Wise Bauer covers some of the details in the 700 pages of this well-written book. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was an amazing romp through the Middle Ages. Bauer's swift, deft description of the events (documented from a variety of sources) gets to the heart and soul of the timeline. The only gripe is that everything happens so fast that details, interesting ones, seem to be skipped over. Nevertheless, this is a commendable book- truly a great work. 4 stars!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs. Bauer is going to tell you just how good you have it. Or better yet. She is not going to tell you how good you have it, she is going to make you feel like a dunce for taking your life or anything else in the world for granted. If you think your life sucks and if you want to complain about day to day events......then by all means take this trip with her. Human life is so precarious and things can change before you know it. If I was told that or knew that I was in a position to rule a kingdom in this time frame.....I would have taken the first boat out of dodge. Which is exactly what some of these preemptive rulers did. And heaven help then when the powers that be and karma caught up to them. Unless you were in the 1 percent someone was going to kill you, gouge out your eyes, slit your nose, castrate you or even worse. No one was safe and nothing was predictable. Incredible volume on a pivot point in history that determined so much of the future.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not the easiest read for me but the fact that the chapters remained short and the timelines were better than excellent, made this book a must read for any medieval history buff. The scope of book was large both geographically and from a length of timeline, but the pages were filled with readable interesting and cogent information that did not get bogged down nor did I feel that any region of the world was slighted. A very good read. The only reason I did not give it a fifth star, is that I try to reserve those books that are or I think will be classics. Very worthwhile reading.