The Great Courses - High Middle Ages - Philip Daileader, Ph.D. Audiobook

Written by Philip Daileader, Ph.D.
Read by Philip Daileader, Ph.D.
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 07-08-13

As the last millennium dawned, Europe didn’t amount to much.

Illiteracy, starvation, and disease were the norm.

In fact, Europe in the year 1000 was one of the world’s more stagnant regionsóan economically undeveloped, intellectually derivative, and geopolitically passive backwater.

Three short centuries later, all this had changed dramatically. A newly invigorated cluster of European societies revived city life, spawned new spiritual and intellectual movements and educational institutions, and began, for reasons both sacred and profane, to expand at the expense of neighbors who traditionally had expanded at Europe’s expense.

The Revival of Europe

In this course you examine how and why Europeans achieved this stunning turnaround. By its conclusion, you will be able to describe and analyze the social, intellectual, religious, and political transformations that underlay this midsummer epoch of the medieval world.

But why were “the Middle Ages”óthe period from 1000 to 1300óso designated?

Petrarch, writing in the 1300s, defined the period of “literary and artistic rot” in Europe after the sack of Rome in A.D. 410 as an Age of Darkness. The idea of the Middle Ages originates with Petrarch’s concept, even though he did not use the term himself. The Latin term “medium aevum” (the Middle Age) first appeared in the 15th century.

Themes and Topics You’ll Cover

The first eight lectures treat medieval society: the warrior aristocracy of knights, castellans, counts, and dukes; the free and unfree peasants whose work in the fields made the existence of medieval society possible; and the townspeople, the artisans and merchants who represented the newest arrivals on the medieval scene.

Lectures 9ñ16 examine the intellectual and religious history of high medieval Europe. You study monks and the monastic life, charismatic preachers such as Francis of Assisi, and theologians such as Thomas Aquinas. You examine the lives of those who found themselves outside the religious mainstream, especially the heretics and Jews of high medieval Europe.

The final eight lectures discuss the major political developments and events between 1000 and 1300, including the First Crusade, the Norman Conquest of England, and the granting of Magna Carta.

The key events, entities, and personalities you will learn about include:

The demographic, climatic, and technological changes that set the stage for Europe’s resurgence
The three groupsó”those who work, those who fight, and those who pray”ówho formed the backbone of medieval society
An in-depth look at the renewed world of cities, artisans, merchants, and commercial exchange that shaped the high-medieval scene in crucial ways
The ongoing struggles between popes and emperors
The significance of figures as diverse as William the Conqueror, Pope Gregory VII, Abelard, Emperor Frederick II, King Philip II Augustus of France, Saint Benedict, Bernard of Clairvaux and Hildegard of Bingen
The institutions of knighthood, feudalism, the church and monasticism, the Scholastic university, and the urban guild
The situations of marginalized groups such as peasants, urban workingfolk, women, Jews, and heretics.
Attention to Detail Makes the Difference

Professor Philip Daileader’s course is filled with memorable details as he unfolds this story. For example:

Europe’s population doubled between 1000 and 1300. Life expectancies were probably not much higher than age 25 around 1000, but closer to 35 by 1300. In addition to the unexplained disappearance of bubonic plague and dry, warm climatic conditions known as the “little optimum,” the most important factors in this growth spurt were simple farming implementsóthe newly introduced heavy plow and the horse collar. This allowed a growing population to have enough to eat for the first time ever.

The aristocracy’s violence, especially its private wars and robbery and treatment of peasantry, was one of the great social problems of the High Middle Ages. To tame and civilize the warrior aristocracy, medieval clergy devised various methods such as the Peace and Truce of God movements, that granted immunity from nobles’ violence to certain defenseless groups. Such movements were generally ineffective because clerics had to rely on religious sanctions and, ultimately, the nobles’ own consciencesópledges for good behavior were generally forgotten almost immediately.

Around the year 1000, to become a knight one merely had to secure the necessary equipment. The original tournaments for knights were nothing but huge and deadly free-for-alls held in open areas with no regard for any nearby personal property. Chivalry was invented to diminish this violence. By 1300, the European nobility was a largely hereditary class with specific legal privileges. Nobles proudly proclaimed their bloodlines through coats of arms and family names (which had not existed in 1000). Knighthood was restricted to those who had undergone a specific dubbing ceremony.

The first books for manners were called “courtesy books” and written by clergy trying to curb the nobility’s revolting table manners. Unfortunately, hardly anyone the books were meant for could read, so they were a complete failure.

Professor Daileader comments on the question: “Why study medieval history?”

“This question might be, and has been, answered in many ways. Let me suggest just one:

“To understand what is truly distinctive about the world in which we live, you need to know what came before.

“The modern world is the product of the medieval world. … It is impossible to understand the thoughts and actions of Luther, Galileo, or Voltaire, for example, without understanding that in the Middle Ages all were very conscious of medieval history, and the medieval period informed what they wrote and did.

“Likewise, in order to understand such important modern events as the French Revolution or the 19th-century unifications of Germany and Italy, one must understand the Middle Ages as well, because these events were informed by the medieval past and were attempts to deal with its legacy.

“Most importantly, I hope that by the end of this course, you will share my own desire to learn and understand more about the Middle Ages, and that you will use this course as a springboard from which to launch your own deeper investigations into medieval history.”

Harold McFarland, editor of Readers Preference Reviews, writes: “In a series of 24 well-crafted lectures, Philip Daileader, a professor at the College of William and Mary, leads the listener on a fascinating trip through the facts and fables of the history of the High Middle Ages. An excellent lecturer whose knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject shows through at all times, it was a pleasure to listen to the lectures.”

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Course Lecture Titles
1. Why the Middle Ages?
2. Demography and the Commercial Revolution
3. Those Who FoughtóThe Nobles
4. The Chivalric Code
5. Feudalism
6. Those Who WorkedóThe Peasants
7. Those Who WorkedóThe Townspeople
8. Women in Medieval Society
9. Those Who PrayedóThe Monks
10. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan Movement
11. Heretics and Heresy
12. The Medieval Inquisitions
13. Jews and Christians
14. The Origins of Scholasticism
15. Aquinas and the Problem of Aristotle
16. The First Universities
17. The People’s Crusade
18. The Conquest of Jerusalem
19. The Norman Conquest
20. Philip II of France
21. Magna Carta
22. Empire versus Papacy
23. Emperor Frederick II
24. Looking Back, Looking Forward

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by Philip Daileader (Biography)
The following materials are provided to enhance your learning experience. Click the links below for free information including a professor-authored course summary, recommended web links, and a condensed bibliography.

Course Summary - Professor’s written description of the course.
Professor Recommended Links
Condensed Bibliography - Prepared by the professor for this course.

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Course Summary

This course of twenty-four lectures will examine the history of a period known as the High Middle Ages. During the three centuries under consideration here, Europe ceased to be an economically underdeveloped, intellectually derivative, and geopolitically passive part of the world. Instead, a newly invigorated medieval society experienced a revival of urban life; it witnessed the birth of new philosophical movements and educational institutions; and it expanded at the expense of neighbors who traditionally had expanded at Europeís expense. We will examine how and why Europe experienced this reversal of fortune and analyze the social, intellectual, religious, and political transformations that, taken together, constituted the flowering of medieval civilization. In addition, we will also study the very concept of “the Middle Ages” to understand how the period came to be so designated.

The lectures fall into three groups. The first eight lectures treat medieval society: the warrior aristocracy of knights, castellans, counts, and dukes; the free and unfree peasants whose work in the fields made the existence of medieval society possible; and the townspeople, both artisans and merchants, who represented the newest arrivals on the medieval scene. Lectures Nine through Sixteen examine the intellectual and religious history of high medieval Europe. We will study monks and the monastic life; charismatic preachers, such as Francis of Assisi; and theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas. Attention will also be paid to those who found themselves outside the religious mainstream, especially the heretics and Jews of high medieval Europe. The final eight lectures discuss the major political developments and events between 1000 and 1300, including the First Crusade, the Norman Conquest of England, and the granting of Magna Carta.

The general educational level of this material is intermediate. Each lecture could easily be expanded into a dozen; many other issues and geographical areas could be substituted for the ones that we will explore. Nonetheless, by examining one subperiod in the Middle Ages, we will be able to delve into our topics and problems with a reasonably high degree of specificityóand certainly with more specificity than is possible in the broadest of survey courses. I hope that this course will make students familiar with the major figures and developments of the High Middle Ages and that students will gain an understanding of the connections among the social, religious, and political phenomena of this period. Most important, I hope that by the end of this course, students will share my own desire to know and understand more about the Middle Ages and that such students will use this course as a springboard from which to launch their own investigations into medieval history.

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Professor Recommended Links
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
http://www.the-orb.net/
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Condensed Bibliography

These selected titles from the reading list are now available on Amazon.com. Click here for more information and/or to order them.

Bredero, Adriaan. Bernard of Clairvaux: Between Cult and History

Fascinating examination of Bernard both as an individual and as an object of veneration.

Bloch, Marc and L.A. Manyon (translator). Feudal Society: Social Classes and Political Organization

Probably the most important book on medieval history written by a modern historian. Approaches feudalism from a sociological, rather than a legal, point of view.

Flanagan, Sabina. Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179: A Visionary Life

I highly recommend this superbly written and eminently sensible study.

Bynum, Caroline Walker. Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women

A brilliantly conceptualized study of female religiosity in high and late medieval Europe. Although its complexity makes for challenging reading, this book is well worth the effort.

Peters, Edward. Inquisition

Places the inquisition in a broad historical context and examines its history beyond the Middle Ages.

Holt, James. Magna Carta

An invaluable examination.

Lawrence, C.H.. Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages

A solid, basic introduction to the medieval monastic life.

Lopez, Robert. The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages, 950-1350

Perhaps the most influential work on medieval economic history; especially good on developments in business techniques.

Moore, R.I.. The Formation of a Persecuting Society: Power and Deviance in Western Europe, 950-1250

One of the most influential studies on the subject of heresy.

Duby, George and Richard Howard (translator). William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry
A short book, intended for a general audience, that examines one individualís life in some detail.

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Philip Daileader
The College of William and Mary
Ph.D., Harvard University

Professor Philip Daileader is an Associate Professor of History at The College of William and Mary. He received his B.A. in History from Johns Hopkins University and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from Harvard University.

Before taking his position at William and Mary, he taught at the University of Alabama and the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Professor Daileader received William and Maryís 2004 Alumni Fellowship Award for excellence in teaching. As a graduate student, he was a four-time winner of the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching.

Dr. Daileader is the author of True Citizens: Violence, Memory, and Identity in the Medieval Community of Perpignan, 1162ñ1397. His research focuses on the social, cultural, and religious history of Mediterranean Europe.

Courses by this professor:
Early Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages