24
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
Long Shadows and the Dark Ages
Though the Early Middle Ages and the world of Late Antiquity that preceded them are often little studied, the questions they raise about why Rome fell and why Christianity replaced paganism as Europe's dominant religion remain important and controversial.
1.
Long Shadows and the Dark Ages
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13.
Rise of the Carolingians
The Carolingians finally depose the last Merovingian king in 751 A.D., bring all of Francia under their control, and even begin to intervene in Italy, reversing the power balance established during the Roman Empire.
13.
Rise of the Carolingians
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2.
Diocletian and the Crises of the Third Century
During the 3rd century, the collapse of a reeling Roman Empire is staved off for a few centuries by the transformative changes introduced by an otherwise conservative emperor named Diocletian.
2.
Diocletian and the Crises of the Third Century
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14.
Charlemagne
The Carolingian Empire reaches its territorial and military high watermark during the very long reign of Charlemagne, who makes the Empire the most powerful Christian state on the European continent and gains for himself the revived title of emperor.
14.
Charlemagne
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3.
Constantine the Great—Christian Emperor
Constantine's military victories gain him control of the entire Roman Empire and begin the process of transforming Christianity from a minority, illegal religion to the majority, official religion of the Empire.
3.
Constantine the Great—Christian Emperor
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15.
Carolingian Christianity
Carolingian rulers are deeply involved in the affairs of the Christian Church, dictating policy, sponsoring missionaries, and supporting ecclesiastical reform in a number of ways.
15.
Carolingian Christianity
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4.
Pagans and Christians in the Fourth Century
The accession of Julian the Apostate causes brief hopes—or fears—of a pagan restoration. But his reign is short-lived, and by 400 A.D. it is clear that the tide has permanently turned toward Christianity within the Roman Empire.
4.
Pagans and Christians in the Fourth Century
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16.
The Carolingian Renaissance
The fear that educational deficiencies were jeopardizing the salvation of souls and interfering with the ability of people to call on God for help drives a century-long period of educational reform known as the Carolingian Renaissance, the impact of which is felt to this day.
16.
The Carolingian Renaissance
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5.
Athletes of God
With the conversion of Constantine and the end of imperial persecutions, and with martyrdom no longer readily available, those seeking new ways to excel in their faith turn to new ways of achieving Christian heroism.
5.
Athletes of God
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17.
Fury of the Northmen
Beginning in the 8th century, Scandinavians fan out from their homeland in a diaspora that stretches from Newfoundland to Russia, involving settlement, the forging of new trading networks, and relentless violence.
17.
Fury of the Northmen
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6.
Augustine, Part One
This is the first of two lectures about perhaps the most influential thinker of the later Roman Empire, whose life and career encapsulate some of the broad changes that were taking place.
6.
Augustine, Part One
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18.
Collapse of the Carolingian Empire
Discredited by its inability to deal with Viking attacks, the Carolingian dynasty falls prey to battles over succession and its consequent civil wars and ultimately crumbles.
18.
Collapse of the Carolingian Empire
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7.
Augustine, Part Two
In reaction to a theology that argued for the ability of humans to obey God's commands without the assistance of divine grace, Augustine develops a theology that emphasizes human helplessness and the inability to achieve happiness in this world.
7.
Augustine, Part Two
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19.
The Birth of France and Germany
The collapse of the Carolingian Empire results in the emergence of the Capetians and Ottonians as the new ruling dynasties in West and East Francia, whose differing paths ultimately reshape them as the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Germany.
19.
The Birth of France and Germany
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8.
Barbarians at the Gate
A chain of events set into motion by the Gothic migration of 376 A.D. ultimately leads to the formal end of the western half of the Roman Empire a century later.
8.
Barbarians at the Gate
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20.
England in the Age of Alfred
Viking attacks on Britain produce very different results from those on the continent, with large sections of England settled. The ultimate result, after the Norman Conquest of 1066, is that a group of Christianized, French-speaking Viking descendents becomes the ruling class in England.
20.
England in the Age of Alfred
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9.
Franks and Goths
An examination of the Gothic kingdoms and the kingdom of the Franks shows that while the deposing of the last Roman emperor in the west might have been significant from a political standpoint, the administrative, cultural, social, and economic impacts were minimal.
9.
Franks and Goths
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21.
Al-Andalus—Islamic Spain
Islamic Spain becomes one of the most dynamic and developed areas of the continent. Despite the brutality of its high politics and religious restrictions on Jews and Christians, its flourishing economy, trade, and intellectual ferment make it an important center of cultural exchange.
21.
Al-Andalus—Islamic Spain
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10.
Arthur’s England
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of England substantially transforms England's language and the god or gods worshipped there. By the 7th and 8th centuries, Irish and Anglo-Saxon monks have become the leading educators and intellectuals of the day.
10.
Arthur’s England
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22.
Carolingian Europe—Gateway to the Middle Ages
This lecture makes the case that, during the Carolingian period, Europe stepped decisively out of its classical past and into its medieval present.
22.
Carolingian Europe—Gateway to the Middle Ages
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11.
Justinian and the Byzantine Empire
The eastern half of the Roman Empire—known to historians as the Byzantine Empire—survives the Western Empire by roughly a millennium, managing to preserve classical culture and urban life even as its official language passes from Latin to Greek.
11.
Justinian and the Byzantine Empire
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23.
Family Life—How Then Became Now
The family underwent a number of structural changes during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, and these changes illustrate how Roman and Germanic culture fused to become the medieval world.
23.
Family Life—How Then Became Now
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12.
The House of Islam
An emerging Arab Empire conquers the Persian Empire, large sections of the Byzantine empire, and even parts of continental Europe, including most of the Iberian peninsula. But an Arab raiding party's insignificant defeat provides the key moment in the ascent of Europe's next great dynasty.
12.
The House of Islam
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24.
Long Shadows and the Dark Ages Revisited
This final lecture examines how historical research has modified the ideas of Gibbon and Pirenne about the transition from the ancient to the medieval world, particularly as they explain the Roman Empire's demise.
24.
Long Shadows and the Dark Ages Revisited
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36
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
From Britannia to Britain
A discussion of how the geography of Britain has shaped political events over the centuries introduces you to the significance of English history between the 5th-century fall of the Roman Empire and the 1485 advent of the Tudor dynasty.
1.
From Britannia to Britain
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19.
Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade
View the reign of Richard the Lionheart primarily through the lens of his experience as a crusader, with implications focusing on the position of Jews in England, the development of royal administration in his absence, and the ambitions of his brother.
19.
Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade
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2.
Roman Britain and the Origins of King Arthur
The collapse of Roman rule, arrival of barbarian raiders and settlers, and resistance to Germanic immigration serve as a backdrop to a tantalizing mystery. Examine the evidence as to whether the unidentified champion who temporarily halted the advance of the barbarians could have been the King Arthur of later legend.
2.
Roman Britain and the Origins of King Arthur
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20.
King John and the Magna Carta
Experience the disastrous reign of King John. His technical violation of a feudal oath to the French king led to the loss of Normandy and several expensive efforts to regain his lost land—efforts that ultimately led to the signing of the Magna Carta.
20.
King John and the Magna Carta
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3.
The Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms
See how the victories of the shadowy figure possibly identified with Arthur offered only temporary stability, with the initiative soon shifting to the Germanic immigrants. Examine what we know about the societies that produced them and how their laws and culture were transformed by contact with Britain's.
3.
The Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms
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21.
Daily Life in the 13th Century
Another pause in the political narrative allows for a close look at life in a 13th-century English village—life that had changed materially for the better since the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods.
21.
Daily Life in the 13th Century
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4.
The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
Follow the parallel stories of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity and the emergence of England's seven preeminent regional kingdoms. Those kingdoms drew—depending on their location—upon two different sources of Christian influence and custom.
4.
The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
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22.
The Disastrous Reign of Henry III
A key theme of the course comes into sharp focus as you see how Henry's many ill-advised foreign ventures created a never-ending need for money to be provided by England's barons. Their frustration triggered a revolt and the nucleus of what would ultimately become Parliament.
22.
The Disastrous Reign of Henry III
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5.
Work and Faith in Anglo-Saxon England
Plunge into the substance of daily life for Anglo-Saxons of all social levels, including illness and mortality, the transition from paganism to Christianity, farming, trade, or even raiding. What is clear is that there is tremendous variation in the economic and religious experience of the population.
5.
Work and Faith in Anglo-Saxon England
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23.
The Conquests of Edward I
Explore the reign of Henry's far more talented son, Edward I, from the perspective of both his military career—as a crusader and in Scotland, Wales, and France—and his role as a lawgiver, including greatly expanding the role of Parliament in making statute law.
23.
The Conquests of Edward I
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6.
The Viking Invasions
Watch as the one- or two-boat raids of the late 8th century grew into vast armies of 50 ships or more by the middle of the 9th. Intent on settling permanently, the invaders' influence in eastern England would be profound, with patterns of landholding, legal institutions, and even language altered forever.
6.
The Viking Invasions
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24.
Edward II—Defeat and Deposition
Step into the life of a king whose reign was one of great controversy. Edward is beset by intimations of sexually based patronage given to a favored knight, growing baronial resentment, an infamous defeat by the Scots, deposition by his own wife, and ultimately his murder.
24.
Edward II—Defeat and Deposition
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7.
Alfred the Great
Explore the career of Alfred the Great, who led the heroic resistance that kept Wessex free of Viking control. Separate fact from legend in the life of the man who would create the Wessex dynasty that would eventually become the first ruling house of a united England.
7.
Alfred the Great
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25.
Edward III and the Hundred Years' War
See how repeated trade conflicts with the French drove Edward to claim the French throne. What would become the Hundred Years War produced both stunning victories and years of stalemate and plundering that left the French countryside impoverished but made the fortunes of many English knights and soldiers.
25.
Edward III and the Hundred Years' War
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8.
The Government of Anglo-Saxon England
Grasp the well-organized ways in which the Anglo-Saxon state became perhaps the most successful in Christian Europe, with sophisticated coinage and access to the court system by all levels. Although crude by modern standards, it functioned quite well compared to its contemporaries.
8.
The Government of Anglo-Saxon England
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26.
The Flowering of Chivalry
Learn the intricacies of the tournament and the practice of heraldry as you observe the evolution of the knight. What was once little more than a noble's hired thug evolved into a figure expected to participate in knightly culture and maintain new standards of proper, often heroic, behavior.
26.
The Flowering of Chivalry
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9.
The Golden Age of the Anglo-Saxons
Learn why the 10th century is often referred to as the Golden Age of the Anglo-Saxons. It produces not only vernacular literary masterpieces like Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon but inspiring sermons, monastic reform, and an artistic renaissance encompassing book production, metalwork, and needlework.
9.
The Golden Age of the Anglo-Saxons
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27.
The Black Death
England, already weakened by a series of famines, was devastated by the disastrous epidemic that swept across Europe and arrived on its shores in 1348. It left in its wake social, economic, and religious effects that would endure for many decades.
27.
The Black Death
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10.
The Second Viking Conquest
The Golden Age ended as the Wessex dynasty was overturned by a second wave of Viking invaders, with Denmark's King Cnut seizing the throne and marrying the Wessex queen. See how the well-organized Wessex state functioned until Edward the Confessor restored the "legitimate" dynasty in 1042.
10.
The Second Viking Conquest
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28.
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381
Grasp how both religious frustrations and economic grievances stemming from the dislocations of the Black Death combined to bring about the most significant event in Richard II's early reign: the Middle Ages' most serious revolt against the English crown.
28.
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381
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11.
The Norman Conquest
Learn the reasons behind the overturning of the Anglo-Saxon regime by external invasion. This tightly focused lecture examines both the battle to succeed Edward the Confessor, who died childless, and the defeat of his successor by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.
11.
The Norman Conquest
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29.
Chaucer and the Rise of English
A journey through some selected works, including Piers Ploughman and The Canterbury Tales, highlights the rise of vernacular English poetry in the 14th century, with English also becoming a principal vehicle for religious writing.
29.
Chaucer and the Rise of English
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12.
The Reign of William the Conqueror
Witness an extraordinary consolidation of power as William used the military to overcome early resistance to his rule, systematically expropriated the nobility to install his own followers, and used both legal and administrative measures to fortify his position.
12.
The Reign of William the Conqueror
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30.
The Deposition of Richard II
Appreciate the extraordinary turns history can often take. Richard II's reign, which once seemed so promising, disintegrates in factional fighting and disputes so bitter they ultimately led not only to his deposition but to judicially sanctioned murder.
30.
The Deposition of Richard II
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13.
Conflict and Assimilation
Open a window on what life was like in post-conquest England through a variety of sources, including the famous Domesday Book compiled at William's order. This extraordinary compilation offered the king an unprecedented survey of English landholding and thus very exact information about wealth and the ability to pay taxes.
13.
Conflict and Assimilation
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31.
Daily Life in the 15th Century
Examine how the population losses of the plague years finally produced the low rents and high wages that were once the goal of the Peasants' Revolt. The position of the gentry could also be precarious, with landowners often forced to defend their holdings in court or at sword point.
31.
Daily Life in the 15th Century
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14.
Henry I—The Lion of Justice
Examine the reign of Henry I in a lecture ranging from his many administrative innovations—including the development of royal accounting at the Exchequer—to the legendary temper that led to the castration of all the royal moneyers discovered to be cheating the treasury.
14.
Henry I—The Lion of Justice
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32.
Henry V and the Victory at Agincourt
Resume the chronology of England's evolution as war with France is renewed and Henry V wins a historic victory at Agincourt in 1415. But gains of this great triumph of the Hundred Years War would ultimately prove only temporary.
32.
Henry V and the Victory at Agincourt
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15.
The Anarchy of Stephen's Reign
Experience the 14 years of civil war that erupted 4 years after Henry's death in 1135, with his daughter and nephew battling over Stephen's throne—largely because England's barons had no wish to be ruled by a queen.
15.
The Anarchy of Stephen's Reign
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33.
Henry VI—Defeat and Division
The tensions over dynastic succession were made even more problematic by a multitude of ambitious royal cousins and were forced to the surface by growing discontent over the failing campaign in France. They ultimately led to the Wars of the Roses between the Yorkists and Lancastrians.
33.
Henry VI—Defeat and Division
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16.
Henry II—Law and Order
See how England returned to order as Henry II razed castles built without the crown's permission, consolidated justice in royal hands, and standardized its operations. But he also raced toward a fateful and ultimately deadly confrontation with his former chancellor and best friend, Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury.
16.
Henry II—Law and Order
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34.
The Wars of the Roses
Take a look at the reign of the Yorkist Edward IV and the last effort of the Lancastrians to unseat this popular but notoriously lazy king, whose unexpected marriage to a socially inconsequential widow alienated many of his most important followers.
34.
The Wars of the Roses
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17.
Henry II—The Expansion of Empire
With Becket dead and martyred, Henry faced the difficult task of keeping a secure hold on his many continental dominions and managing his children's futures. Learn how the many royal titles created by his family's politically intertwined bloodlines created just as many possible conflicts.
17.
Henry II—The Expansion of Empire
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35.
Richard III—Betrayal and Defeat
Let yourself be riveted by one of history's most dramatic chapters, highlighted by the imprisonment of Richard III's two nephews in the Tower of London and their probable murder, and a battlefield demise immortalized—though with considerable license—by Shakespeare himself.
35.
Richard III—Betrayal and Defeat
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18.
Courtly Love
Take a pause from political intrigue to look at the culture that flavored the royal and princely courts, with a focus on the rise of courtly love, the music and poetry that were its backdrop, and the creation of a rich tradition of vernacular Arthurian romances.
18.
Courtly Love
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36.
England in 1485
Process everything you have learned in a final lecture that explains what England had become at the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. A thorough integration of the course's major themes leaves you with a clear understanding of what has taken place and a solid foundation for understanding the future of what would become the world's most powerful and influential nation.
36.
England in 1485
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