very misleading

i love history . culture is part of history . a big part . However the medieval period is more than culture . it is politics wars etc. she only talks about religion and culture . im not sure she mentioned 1 conflict or 1 political discord between nations outside of the crusades and hastings . i wanted to know who was king what they did who they liked etc . if you like medieval culture and religion by all means . but im looking for a chronological telling of events and figures like frederick barbarossa and his barons . or even 1 succession crisis for any nation . there is a knight with lance on the cover.

43 people found this helpful

Good Overall

The instructor is clearly an expert on Medieval History but her analysis of both Islamic and Roman History as they relate to the Medieval world is oversimplified and somewhat misleading. Additionally, instead of just presenting history as it happened she takes a clear political stance which judges history by modern standards. I have listenned to about 15 courses from the teaching company and this one was the most biased and least objective. Even though I have some criticisms, I still think it is worth listenning too and it is a good overview of the Medieval world with the exceptions mentioned above.

27 people found this helpful

Prof. Armstrong is an rockstar. Loved her class.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Medieval World to be better than the print version?

Its a University course, so no print version - and the audio version is awesome.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Medieval World?

Many great moments, especially the various debunkings of myths everybody holds about the middle ages. I loved the chapter on the Plague, and how its consequences are explained both in a socio-cultural way and an economic way.

What about Professor Dorsey Armstrong’s performance did you like?

Clear, compelling, energetic. If I could go back to school, I'd love to learn from her.

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

Its a bit long for one sitting, but I've listened to it for hours in a row.

Any additional comments?

If you like Prof. Drout's courses from the Modern Scholar, you will love this course.

45 people found this helpful

A good start

Any additional comments?

While I found this book a bit of a disappointment, that is only because of the amount of study I have given this period over my life time. For someone wishing to begin a study of the Medieval period this lecture series is a good start. Her lectures are well organized, clear and easy to follow. Even better, the information is accurate. Great care is taken to caution the modern listener from trying to apply modern concepts of morality and thought onto the Medieval world.
Most enjoyable for me was to hear early English actually spoken by someone who has taken the time to learn this dead language.
What I missed most in this series was a bibliography of source material and list of suggested reading. If a pdf file with this information was included, I would give this five stars.

68 people found this helpful

An Entertaining Overview

This is an excellent overview of Medieval life, culture, and history. The speaker debunks some popular misconceptions as she explores various aspects of the time, and does an excellent job of tying together all the various trends and showing how they evolved into the modern. As someone who has read extensively about Medieval times, I didn't learn much, but there were some interesting details I hadn't encountered previously. The presentation is very engaging and it held my attention.

10 people found this helpful

Interesting mix.

Play this at double speed if you want a normal speech rhythm! Very interesting course, but a lot of the material is a word by word repetition of what Armstrong talks about in her Great Minds of the Medieval World course...

21 people found this helpful

Well Organized and Entertaining

I listened to this lecture series while teaching Art History I. The first half of the course is roughly chronological, and the second half is more topical. This seemed to be a good way to organize things, and I appreciated getting some cultural history as well as the political history.

The course is very easy to listen to, and I'm pretty sure I'll listen to parts again whenever I need a refresher.

7 people found this helpful

Very Easy to Listen To

What made the experience of listening to The Medieval World the most enjoyable?

The way the Professor presented each of the lectures make listening to "lectures" very easy and enjoyable.

What does Professor Dorsey Armstrong bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

In my opinion, you can tell she enjoys her subject matter. She paraphrases easily and with enough substance you don't feel like your missing anything. And where she thought you actually would be missing something, she told you so.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this set of lectures and from that I will order more. Hopefully they are all as well presented as this one.

14 people found this helpful

Excellent introduction to Medieval History!

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

This lecture series is an excellent introduction to the nuances of the Medieval World. The series is well detailed and interesting - enticing the listener to continue on to learn more about the progression of the Medieval World.

Which character – as performed by Professor Dorsey Armstrong – was your favorite?

The lecturer was easy to listen to. She made Medieval History, which could have been rather dry, come alive, allowing the listener to actually see, hear, smell, and feel the lives and environments of those living in Medieval times.

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

I would have loved to have been able to listen to this lecture series in one sitting, but the length prevented this. I certainly would not have wanted the lecture to be shorter, and listening in more than one sitting allowed for better absorption of the material.

Any additional comments?

Professor Armstrong is a lecturer I will be looking for in future lecture series, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her bring the Medieval World come alive.

28 people found this helpful

Absolutely a must!

As Dorsey Armstrong says, "most people think of the middle ages as a dark period between the Roman Empire and the Renaissance". So did I. But, in this gem of a series, she shows that the Middle Ages is a very interesting and period, full of colorful characters (King Arthur, for example), adventures (the crusades), achievements (the gothic cathedrals) and much, much more.
Prof Armstrong's narration is very appealing. She is articulate, warm, funny at times, and her pronunciation is easy to follow.

12 people found this helpful