Professor Philip Daileader of The College of William and Mary returns in this 24-lecture series to give you new insight into the Dark Ages, the era which spanned the decline and fall of Rome's western empire and lingered for centuries. Discover what findings modern archaeology has unearthed, and look into the fascinating personalities and events of this once-lost era.
The Early Middle Ages
Shed light on the Dark Ages with this absorbing course that relates the often surprising true story of how Rome ended and Western civilization began.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Musical MD from
Great Lecturer and Course!
Professor Daileader is a fantastic lecturer. His rare display of wit is dry and so very satisfying. His command of the subject seems exhaustive. I highly recommend this lecture, and more so the entire 3-part series on the Middle Ages by Daileader! If this subject is of interest to you, you will not be disappointed and will be very pleased.
Date published: 2024-11-13
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Pendragon from
early middle ages
I just completed this course and the course material is excellent. Professor Daileader is absolutely wonderful...the material, the presentation and the balance are beyond reproach.
Date published: 2024-09-23
Rated 2 out of
5
by
bob23 from
The sound is appalling
It's so bad, it's hard to make out what's said in places. There is no excuse for this.
Date published: 2024-09-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JulianMe from
Interesting subject. Engaging, funny teacher
Interesting subject, about an era that isn't well-known to most of us. Engaging, funny teacher
Date published: 2024-07-04
Rated 4 out of
5
by
EngineerinVA from
Shedding Light on the Dark Ages
This course walks us through Western European history from the end of the Roman Empire in Europe to the Carolingian Empire, of which the most prominent monarch was Charlemagne. Along the way, Dr. Daileader discusses Augustine (all right, technically Augustine was an African), feudalism, and common life as well as external pressure from Franks, Goths, the Byzantine Empire, Vikings, and Islam. He dismisses the common notion that Rome “fell” and instead presents evolution of life over the 600 years constituting the Early Middle Ages.
Dr. Daileader is an enthusiastic and agreeable lecturer although his nasal voice can be somewhat of a distraction. He presents his material in an orderly manner that is easily followed. His scholarship is even-handed although not detailed given the survey nature of this course.
The course guide is average by The Great Courses (TGC) standards. It is in paragraph format as opposed to bullet or outline format. It averages less than 4 pages per lecture, which is probably about half of TGC standards. It has no useful graphics in the lecture sections although the appendix does have six useful maps, a timeline, a useful glossary, good biographical notes, and a bibliography.
I used an old audio streaming version, which I had downloaded some time ago. As of 2023, the course is available only in video streaming and DVD. I found the audio quite adequate although I would probably purchase the video version if I were to do it over again.
The course was published in 2004.
Date published: 2024-01-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Hoatzin from
Terrific Introduction to a Great Series
The three courses on the Middle Ages by Professor Philip Dieleader is a wonderful series, and I highly recommend all of them. I watched them starting with the Early Middle Ages, then The High Middle Ages, and finally The Late Middle Ages, but that is not the order in which they were produced. The High Middle Ages was produced in 2001, the Early Middle Ages was produced in 2004, and the Late Middle Ages in 2007. The only reason this may be relevant is that watching them as I did was a tiny bit odd since Professor Dieleader appeared even younger in the High Middle Ages without his glasses!
In general, this review applies to all three courses. The selection of material is laudable, and the organization facilitates learning. These courses do not have lots of visual material, but they do have portraits of key figures, often drawn centuries after the fact, very useful maps, relevant illustrations often drawn from medieval sources, and virtual chalkboards on which key concepts are written as reinforcement. The professor’s delivery is fluid and occasionally punctuated by a droll sense of humor. I have one observation which may bother some consumers. Professor Dieleader tends to sway back and forth during his delivery, and when one camera follows this motion, it can get rather annoying. The other camera is fixed and doesn’t present this problem. That being said, these courses are not heavily dependent on visual material and just listening to the lectures is enjoyable.
Of the three courses, The Early Middle Ages covers the greatest time span, from about 300 to 1000 AD. This is mostly a product of a comparative paucity of source material. While basically taking a chronological approach, Professor Dieleader carefully weaves in lectures dedicated to the driving influences of religion, both Christianity and Islam, and as much information about Franks, Goths, Vandals, and Vikings as can be crammed in the allotted time. I found the lectures on these “barbarian” tribes especially interesting. England is the focus of two lectures, and I believe this was far preferable to trying to jump back and forth between the continent and the island over a long time span. Lecture 23 on family life and households was fascinating.
The Course Guidebooks are designed to briefly cover the material and are not condensed versions of the lectures. The lectures contain far more information. The questions posed in the guidebook at the conclusion of each lecture are very thought-provoking, not merely a nudge to see if one was paying attention. All guidebooks contain a Timeline, Glossary, and short biographical sketches of major figures. The Early Middle Ages guidebook also contains maps.
Date published: 2023-08-03
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Schooled from
Fast Talker
Phillip is very knowledgeable! BUT, I have met or heard few people that speak so fast! It is difficult to comprehend and follow his thoughts and information. Purchase with caution. You will need to listen to each lecture several times. He talks FAST!!!!!!
Date published: 2023-05-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dancedoc from
Great course. Good lecturer.
Lots of good information, well delivered. Dr. Daileader also inserts personal and sometime humorous asides from time to time. Really excellent and insightful.
Date published: 2023-04-12
Overview
About
Philip Daileader is a Professor of History at William & Mary. He earned his PhD in History from Harvard University. He is the author of two historical monographs: True Citizens: Violence, Memory, and Identity in the Medieval Community of Perpignan, 1162–1397, and the award-winning Saint Vincent Ferrer, His World and Life: Religion and Society in Late Medieval Europe. He is the coeditor of French Historians 1900–2000: New Historical Writing in Twentieth-Century France, and The Princeton Review named him one of the 300 best professors in the US.
Trailer
01: 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.
32 min
02: 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.
31 min
03: 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.
31 min
04: 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.
30 min
05: 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.
31 min
06: 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.
31 min
07: 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.
31 min
08: 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.
31 min
09: 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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
30 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
31 min
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.
32 min
