The Medieval World

Ancient Greece 01 - Early Writing Cultures

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:01:00 -0400

There is something magical about the written word. It connects us to the past in a way no other technology can. With the advent of writing, the historian's profession was born. In this chapter, we will be exploring the earliest writing cultures. Throughout the chapter, pay particular attention to how environment shapes writing. We will look closely at twowriting cultures: Mesopotamia and Crete. It should be noted, my intention in this chapter is not to present a chronological history of these regions but rather present an examination of the writing culture of each respective place. If you would like a more chronological treatment of these regions, please see the links at the end of the chapter.

Ancient Greece 02: The Ancient Mediterranean

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:02:00 -0400

Welcome to the Ancient Mediterranean. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with it because it's going to be our home for many lectures to come. It is impossible to study Rome without first contextualizing its place within the Mediterranean and the reason for this can be explained by simply analyzing the name of this body of water. Mediterranean. Stop and think about this word. Have you ever considered what it means? If you go to Saudi Arabia and ask what it is called, the Arabic word will be a cognate of the same word in all Western languages. It is Latin in origin and those who speak Italian, French, or Spanish may find a few familiar words embedded within its name. Mediterranean is a combination of two Latin words: medius, which means middle, and terra which means land, world, earth. Roughly translated Mediterranean means "the middle of the world."

Ancient Greece 03: The Dark Ages and Homeric Society

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:03:00 -0400

After the Mycenaean culture collapsed, Greece entered into a period where no written record exists. This would become known as the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1200-900 BCE). During this period, historians are entirely dependent upon archaeological records. Our historical records are circumspect at best because they were written centuries after the period. Nevertheless, they are valuable. These sources shall frame our discussion.

Ancient Greece 04: The Greek Renaissance

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:04:00 -0400

When the Dark Ages end in the eighth century BCE, we enter a new period of Greek history. Historians call this period Archaic Greece. It will last from the reemergence of writing in the 8th century to c. 480 BCE. The reason why we enter a new period is because of this reemergence of writing. Writing is not, however, the only change that occurs. It is the symptom of political, economic, and social changes that occurred during the eighth century. The changes of the eighth century shall frame our discussion.

Ancient Greece 05: The Polis

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:05:00 -0400

At the end of the Dark Ages, a new system was firmly entrenched across Ancient Greek. This new system was that of the poleis, the plural of polis. You have heard this term numerous times in previous lectures. Polis, as you should know by now, is often translated as "city-state". It is dangerous to use this term, however. The polis does not have a true definition in modern English. That is because the concept of the ancient Greek polis does not survive in the English speaking world. City-state is merely a close translation. To rectify this problem, I recommend thinking about the polis in Greek terms by asking a fundamental question. What was a polis? This question will frame our entire lecture.

Ancient Greece 06: Ancient Greek Geography and Military

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:06:00 -0400

In an earlier lecture, I emphasized the role of geography in the Ancient Mediterranean in general. In this lecture, I want to zoom in on Ancient Greece and study its geography. As we will see throughout this lecture, geography and proximity to water defined how certain civilizations developed in Ancient Greece. I also want to expose you to the names of Ancient Greek locations, i.e. the Peloponnese, Attica, etc. These will be vital for future lectures, so as we go through this lecture make sure to take time and familiarize yourself with these terms. In addition to this, I want to also discuss the general way in which Ancient Greek militaries organized themselves. In the previous lecture, I spoke of how the polis organized the military and declared war. In this lecture, I am more interested in what battle formations looked like and how the militaries of various poleis were generally structured. As will become clear in future lectures, the way in which the Ancient Greek poleis organized themselves militarily was both a strength and a weakness, so great a weakness, in fact, that it would ultimately lead to their downfall when Macedonia, a kingdom in the north moves southward to conquer them.

Ancient Greece 07: Sparta

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:07:00 -0400

This lecture on Sparta is the beginning of a few lectures in which we explore some of the poleis of Ancient Greece. As we saw in the previous lectures, the Ancient Greek world had many different poleis with many forms of government. In this lecture, I want to look at one specific polis, Sparta. In this lecture and the next two on Thebes and Athens, I want to pay particular attention to what made each polis unique. In other words, what made Sparta, Sparta and what made a Spartan, a Spartan.

Ancient Greece 10: The Persian Wars

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:10:00 -0400

In the past few lectures, we have seen how certain poleis structured their government and we have learned a bit about Ancient Greek geography and military organization. In this lecture, we begin discussing the fifth century. We are going to focus in this lecture on the Persian Wars. I will spend very little time discussing the salient elements of the Persian Wars. Instead, I will provide a quick overview so that I can discuss the effects of the war. In the next lecture, we will be looking at the Peloponnesian War. The way in which the Persian War ended and the subsequent decades of political changes to Ancient Greece sets the stage for the Peloponnesian War.

Ancient Greece 11: The Peloponnesian War

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:11:00 -0400

In the last lecture we witnessed the Persian Wars. We saw that the Greeks ultimately defeated the Persians as they advanced into Greece twice during the early fifth century. We also saw that these invasions resulted in three chief shifts in Greece. First, the Greek poleis were temporarily unified in the Delian League. Second, we saw that Athens took advantage of the Delian League to expand their own empire. And third, Sparta challenged Athenian authority and formed the Peloponnesian League. All of this took place between the 480s and 440s. By the 430s, the divisions in Greece were so strong that civil war had become inevitable. This civil war is called the Peloponnesian War and it shall be the focus of this lecture. This was the most pivotal war in Ancient Greek history because it will set the Greek poleis up for failure and invasion from Macedonia.

Ancient Greece 15: Hellenism

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:15:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we saw the rise and fall of Alexander the Great. This lecture will be quiet brief as I am less interested in historical events and people and more interested in a concept that spread after the death of Alexander the Great. This concept his Hellenism.

Ancient Greece 20: The Pyrrhic War

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:20:00 -0400

In my lectures on Rome, I detail the rise of Rome in the Italian Peninsula. This lecture is one of three designed to discuss Rome in the contexts of Hellenism. Remember, when Greek power waned and even after the death of Alexander the Great, Hellenism remained very much alive. In these three lectures, we will be examining how Rome interacted with Greek kingdoms by examining a series of wars, The Pyrrhic War, the Macedonia Wars, and the Achaean War. This lecture studies the first of these, the Pyrrhic War.

Achilles - Strings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100463 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Ancient Greece 21: The Macedonian Wars

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:21:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we examined the Pyrrhic War between Rome and King Pyrrhus of Epirus. I noted that this was the first war in which Rome came into contact with Hellenistic and Greek military tactics on the battlefield. In this lecture, we are going to pick up nearly 60 years after its conclusion in 272 with the Macedonian Wars which will begin in 214 and not end until 148 BCE.

Ancient Greece 22: The Achaean War

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:22:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we saw Rome go to war with Macedonia in four separate wars. After Rome finally defeated the region after the Fourth Macedonian War, they quickly faced an uprising in 146 known as the Achaean War. It was a war that pitted Rome against an alliance of Greek poleis in Achaea and the Peloponnese. In many regards, this was rather like a final stand against the Roman Republic. While this war was very short, it is worth exploring it in full.

Rome 01: Early Writing Cultures

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:01:00 -0400

Rome 02: The Ancient Mediterranean

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:02:00 -0400

Rome 03: The Ancient Italian Peninsula

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:03:00 -0400

In the past lectures, I spoke about the Ancient Mediterranean. We saw that this was a belligerent political arena fraught with peril. We saw that the annual calendar was developed around agriculture. Men fought with neighboring communities in the Summer but returned home to tend to their crops in the Fall. Today we are going to zoom in and look more closely at the Italian Peninsula in particular just before Rome began to dominate its neighbors. What is the geography of the Italian Peninsula? What kind of crops are particularly suited to grow there? How was early Italy divided? What was the chief form of government on the peninsula? What languages were spoken? Why was Rome particularly suited to grow effectively? These are some of the questions that shall frame our discussion.

Rome 04 - The Mythical Origins of Rome

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:04:00 -0400

In this lecture we are going to explore how Rome viewed their earliest history and how that balances against fact. Early cultures rarely have an accurate view of their earliest past.

Rome 05: The Institutions of the Roman Republic

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:05:00 -0400

After the Rome's regal period, they entered into what is known as the Roman Republic. The word republic comes from the Latin words res publica, which literally translates to "the public thing." The republic was, by definition, a system that belonged to the people. In this lecture we are going to explore what a republic is, what it meant to the Romans, its strengths and weaknesses, and some of the important institutions and social structures that constituted the Roman Republic. While our chief concern will be the offices of the government and military, we will pay special attention to the ways in which the Romans categorized and classified their people. Because we are dealing with Roman terms, many of the key words you encounter in this lecture will be Latin. There is, unfortunately, no way around this. Nevertheless, I will try to keep these terms to a minimum.

Rome 06: The Conquest of Italy

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:06:00 -0400

In the past few lectures, we have contextualized Rome and its place within the Mediterranean Sea generally and the Italian Peninsula specifically. Today we are going to be looking at how Rome grew to conquer the Italian Peninsula. More importantly, we are going to look at how they handled those they conquered and some of the remedies Rome came up with to handle their rapidly expanding empire. I want to again emphasize this term empire. You are going to hear me use it regularly. If you are reading this lecture, then you will notice I am using a lowercase "e". This is intentional. When we speak of the Roman Empire with a capital "E", we are speaking about the period of Roman history known as the Empire which begins after Augustus. For right now, we are using a lowercase "e" because Rome had an empire long before Augustus' reforms. Think about that word "empire". Any idea where it comes from? It comes from a Roman term imperium , which means "command". As Rome grew to dominate other people, they began to have an empire throughout which they commanded over various peoples. And their empire begins in this lecture as they conquer the Italian Peninsula.

Rome 07: The Punic Wars

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:07:00 -0400

In the last lecture we saw the rise of Rome on the Italian Peninsula. In this lecture, I want to focus on the first major encounter Rome had with a non-Italian adversary. This foe was Carthage.

Rome 08: The Social and Political Changes

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:08:00 -0400

In the past few lectures, we have discussed the ways in which Rome expanded. We saw them first attack their neighbors and expand their empire across Italy. Next, we saw them turn their attention to Sicily resulting in the First Punic War. The First Punic War forced Rome to rapidly and effectively produce a navy capable of defeating the chief naval power of the Mediterranean, Carthage. With a navy and the control of important islands, Rome began to expand into the western and then eastern portions of the Mediterranean through the Second and Second Punic Wars and the Macedonian Wars. At the end of these lectures, I tried to briefly discuss some of the radical changes these wars and this expansion wrought. I would like to expand on these ideas during this lecture.

Rome 09: Scipio Aemilianus and the Gracchi

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:09:00 -0400

This Rise of the Individual, as I call it, is both the natural result of Roman expansion and increased wealth and a testament to the strength of the Roman Republic but it is also the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. Beginning in the second century, Rome had outgrown the institutions that it had. One theme that I will continue to emphasize over the next eight lectures is that Rome would not, or more likely, could not change their political and social structures quickly enough to accommodate for their rapid expansion. As a result, that would allowed them to emerge so quickly in the Western Mediterranean as a dominate force would ultimately be their undoing as they drifted into civil war at the end of the first millennium. This lecture marks the beginning of that story.

Rome 10: Second Century Military Changes

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:10:00 -0400

In the past lectures, we’ve seen the political results of these developments. In this lecture, I want to focus on the militaristic results, that is, how these changes in Rome affected the military. Remember, to be in the Roman military, one had to be somewhat wealthy because it was a self-funded enterprise. What will happen to the military when their ranks dwindle because fewer can join? This is a question Rome faced in the second century and one that we shall discuss in this lecture.

Rome 11: Marius and Sulla

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:11:00 -0400

In this lecture, I want to discuss the immediate effects of these reforms by looking at two individuals, Marius, the man responsible for these reforms, and Sulla. If humans have archenemies, Sulla was Marius’. In other words, we are going to look at the effects of these Marian Reforms and the reaction to those effects. What should become clear by the end of this lecture, is that Romans used the precedents of the second century, specifically the events surrounding Scipio Aemilianus and the Gracchi, to gain personal glory, honor, power, and wealth. In other words, they placed the individual over the state.

Rome 16: The Age of Augustus

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:16:00 -0400

In the previous lectures, we saw the rise and fall of the First Triumvirate and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Caesar came to power through civil war, in which he challenged the Roman state and campaigned against his former ally, Pompey. In the end Caesar was successful, that is, until he was assassinated by his fellow Roman aristocrats who viewed him as a threat to the state. Remember, Rome still viewed their system of a Republic as intact, despite the fact that Caesar declared himself dictator in perpetuity. Even after his death, they still viewed the Republic as salvageable. What they did not realize, is that they had far outgrown the bounds of the Republic. In this lecture (and the next), we see how one man comes to power and changes the Roman state to better facilitate its size. Such changes require a single individual to have central authority. This lecture marks the beginning of Rome’s transition from Republic to Empire under Augustus, the aristocrat formerly known as Octavian.

Rome 17: The Reforms of Augustus

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:17:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we saw the rise of Augustus. We saw how a young, adopted son of Caesar out-smarted some of the greatest minds the Roman state had to offer. He and Mark Antony briefly allied in the Second Triumvirate to avenge the death of Caesar, but their alliance was short lived. While Antony ruled in the East, Augustus ruled in the West. This dichotomy and Antony’s love for Cleopatra and Alexandrian life, allowed Augustus to lure the Roman elites away from Antony. After a brief war, which culminated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE (followed by the suicide of Antony), Augustus became the sole ruler of Rome. In this lecture, I want to speak a bit more about the reforms Augustus instituted. We spoke briefly in the last lecture about Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, a period of stability that Augustus brought about. During this period of peace, Augustus was able to reform the Roman state and make necessary changes that set it up for its full transformation to an Empire. These reforms are roughly categorized into a few forms: Moral, Bureaucratic, Financial, Architectural, and Religious. In this lecture, I want to highlight the moral, bureaucratic, and architectural reforms in particular.

Rome 18: The Julio-Claudians

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:18:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we examined the reforms that Augustus instituted during his reign. In this lecture, I want to look at the final years of his life and the beginning of the so-called Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman emperors. As we will see, Augustus was something of a zenith in the early years of the Roman Empire. In this lecture, we are going to examine those who followed Augustus as Princeps of Rome. The period that we are looking at in Roman history is often referred to as the Early Principate, that is, the early period of what we call the Roman Empire. What does the term Principate mean? It comes from the Latin word Princeps, which literally means “The First.” This is the title that the Julio-Claudians assumed. They were the “First among Citizens.” The Principate is the realm that the Princeps oversees. In other words, Princeps, is the Emperor, and Principate is the government of the Empire.

Rome 19: The Year of the Four Emperors

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:19:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we saw the rise and fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was the last in this line. His suicide was welcomed by the Roman elites, but it also created a new host of problems that would lead to civil war, the first civil war since the death of Antony some 80 years earlier. This civil war would be short lived, it would begin shortly after Nero’s death in 68 and continue until the rise of Vespasian in 69. Between this short period, just one year, four Romans would become emperor. Three would die shortly after and one, Vespasian, would usher in a new dynasty, the Flavians.

Rome 20: The Flavians

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:20:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we examined the Year of the Four Emperors, a period in which four Roman emperors vied for power. This was the result of the power vacuum after Nero’s death in 68 and lasted until Vespasian came to the throne in December 69, having been declared emperor by the Senate and the people. Vespasian ushered in a period known as the Flavian dynasty. They shall be the subject of this lecture. While this dynasty was short-lived, it was both effective and good for the Roman state. As we shall see Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian actively tried to improve the Roman state and brought in a period of peace and stability after nearly a year of civil war up until the assassination of Domitian.

Rome 21: The Nerva-Antonines

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:21:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we saw the end of the Flavian dynasty with the death of Domitian. In this lecture, we pick up where we left off and begin with a new dynasty that would rule for 180 years, the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. The first five of these emperors were termed by Edward Gibbon “The Five Good Emperors.” The final emperor in this dynasty was an apple that would fall far from the tree, a man named Commodus, whose death, as we shall see, would put Rome on a path for civil war.

Rome 23: The Crisis of the Third Century

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:23:00 -0400

In the previous lectures, we’ve seen the relatively good rule of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. In this lecture, we turn to the third century. Unfortunately for Rome, this is a period known as the Crisis of the Third Century. The reason is rather similar to the crisis we saw in 69 when there were four emperors in a single year, just stretched out over much of a century. The crisis was the result of economic, militaristic, and egoistical problems that emerged all at once. Power became divided and the manners of ascension became inconsistent and decentralized.

Rome 24: The Rise of Christianity

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:24:00 -0400

Before reading this chapter, STOP. Take a moment and think about what your perceptions are of the medieval Church. What came to mind? The Pope, corruption, scandal, power, controllers of Europe, manipulators of kings? These popular images of the medieval Church and the Papacy are not unfounded. But these images and notions are, for the most part, that of a Church developed. In the Early Middle Ages the Papacy was only a few hundred years old. Christianity was only made legal in the the early fourth century by Emperor Constantine and not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until 380 by Emperor Theodosius. What did the Church look like before this? How much power did it wield after? And how did it function after the "fall" of the Roman Empire in the West in the late fifth century? These questions shall frame this lecture.

Rome 26: The Celts

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:26:00 -0400

In the past few lectures, we’ve seen the rise of Christianity and its acceptance in Rome. In this lecture, I want to look at another theme, the people whom Romans called “barbarians.” This will be the first of a few lectures that address this group of people. As we shall see, there were roughly two categories of the so-called barbarians: the Celtic Tribes and the Germanic tribes. In this lecture, we explore the former.

Rome 27: The "Germanic" Tribes

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:27:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we met the Celts, a diverse people who inhabited Gaul, modern-day France, and Ireland primarily. In this lecture, we will examine another major group of people who are collectively referred to as “Germans” or “Germanic” tribes. Like the classification of the Celts as Celts, Germanic tribes are classified by culture and language. But also like the Celts, these people were quite diverse and resided in regions from Scandinavia to Bavaria and from eastern Europe to England. In this lecture, we will meet some of the more important Germanic peoples with whom the Romans came into contact.

Rome 28: The Goths

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:28:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we got a sense of what Europe looked like as Rome expanded northward and westward. It was a diverse region with many different peoples, separated roughly into two groups: the Celtic and the “Germanic” tribes. In this lecture, I want to zoom in and examine, more closely a “Germanic” tribe called the Goths. The reason for this is because the Goths will largely be responsible for maintaining some of the institutions of the Roman Empire once it “falls” in the West.

Rome 29: The End of the Western Roman Empire?

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:29:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we saw the Goths rise up and overthrow the last Roman Emperor in the West. In this lecture, we ask a single, simple question. Did the Roman Empire in fact fall? The answer, as we shall see, is more complicated than it may seem.

Medieval Europe 01: The Barbarian Kingdoms (476-533)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:01:00 -0400

Welcome to the Middle Ages. If you are coming to these lectures having just finished my lectures on Rome, there will be some minor overlap here. If you have not listened to my lectures on Rome, I recommend listening to the last few so that you can begin these lectures with a running start.

In the coming lectures, we will be looking at Europe’s transition from the fifth to the fifteenth century. This lecture begins by looking at the so-called “barbarian” kingdoms after the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman Emperor in the West formally recognized as Roman Emperor by the Roman state. This will lay the groundwork necessary for understanding the next lecture in which we explore the early sixth century invasions of western Europe by the Eastern Roman Emperor, Justinian.

Heavy Interlude by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100515 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Medieval Europe 02: The Gothic War (535-554)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:02:00 -0400

In the previous lecture we looked the Barbarian Kingdoms that popped up across Europe in the fifth century. As we saw, these “barbarians” were heavily Romanized. In my final lecture on Rome, I explained why it is quite complicated to simply say that the Roman Empire fell with the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476. One of the reasons, I said, was because the Roman Empire continued on in the East until it finally fell nearly 1,000 years later. In this lecture, we will meet one of the more significant Eastern Roman Emperors, a man named Justinian.

Medieval Europe 03: The Early Medieval Church (30-604)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:03:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we saw the Byzantine Empire try and regain its holdings in the West. These attempts, while initially successful, ultimately failed. With the Roman state largely gone in the West and the fractured nature of Europe with barbarian kingdoms, there really was one final authority in the West, the Church and this is the subject of this lecture. We will be looking at the Church from the death of Jesus up to the death of Pope Gregory the Great. This lecture will lay the foundations necessary for discussing the Church and its interactions with various kings in the future lectures as we explore Anglo-Saxon England, Ireland, and Merovingian Gaul.

Medieval Europe 04: Monasticism

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:04:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we saw the rise of the early medieval Church. We saw the solidification and concentration of power under the Papacy of Gregory the Great. In this lecture, we are going to explore another Christian phenomenon, monasticism, which is the processes of experiencing the Christian faith as a monk, be it as a hermit or in a communal living space called a monastery. Throughout this lecture, I answer a fundamental question, what was monasticism and how did it develop? In addition to this, I also address how it functioned inside and outside of the Church.

Medieval Europe 05: Lombard Italy (533-774)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:05:00 -0400

In an earlier lecture, I discussed the Gothic War in which the Byzantine Empire invaded Italy to try and reconquer the Italian Peninsula, which had once been the heartland of the Roman Empire. Ultimately, they were unsuccessful. The result of this invasion was the destruction of Italy and the weakening of the political states and actors, most importantly, the Goths. This weakened political state left Italy exposed. In this lecture, we pick up with one group of people who will take advantage of that exposure, the Lombards who established a kingdom in northern Italy.

Medieval Europe 06: The Frankish World

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:06:00 -0400

In the previous few lectures, we have examined the Church and Christianity and the Lombards of Italy. In this lecture, I will be looking at the Franks. We will have several lectures that address the Franks which are, perhaps, the most important people north of the Alps as they define the boundaries roughly between the two modern-day countries of France and Germany. And they are the original rulers of these respective regions and conquer much of western Europe between 500 and 840. Because of the importance of the Franks and because we will meet them many times in future lectures, it is worthwhile to detail the Frankish world here.

Medieval Europe 07 - Visigothic Spain (400-711)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:07:00 -0400

If you have heard my lectures on Rome or listened to my earlier lecture on the Gothic War, then you should be somewhat familiar with the Goths. The term “Goths” is a collective term to refer to many different people who, by the fifth century, largely coalesced into two distinct groups: the Visigoths who fled the Hunic invasions a century earlier and become heavily Romanized as foederati and the Ostrogoths who entered the Roman Empire a bit later. While the Ostrogoths would form a kingdom in Italy, the Visigoths would form a kingdom in modern-day Spain, or the Iberian Peninsula. In this lecture, we explore the Visigoths more closely during period of a Spanish history known as Visigothic Spain which lasts from roughly 400 up to 711. In this brief lecture, we will see the rise and fall of the Visigoths in the region. As I cannot do their history justice in a single lecture, I will be narrowing my discussion to the main themes of Visigothic history and the significant cultural elements of the Visigoths to explain their downfall in the early eighth century at the hands of the Umayyad invaders, whom we will meet in the next lecture.

Medieval Europe 08: The Umayyad Invasions (711-732)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:08:00 -0400

In the previous lectures, we the rise of the so-called “barbarian kingdoms” across Europe and how they began to forge new political boundaries across Europe. We also saw how the Papacy grew as an institution in the early middle ages. In this lecture, I want to begin examining outside influences to this new dichotomy that existed across Western Europe after the so-called “fall of the Western Roman Empire.” We have already seen one such outside influence, that is the Gothic War with the Byzantine Empire’s failed invasion of Italy during the sixth century. In this lecture, we look at a new external influence, that of Islam brought to southwestern Europe via the Umayyad Invasions in the Iberian Peninsula, modern-day Spain and Portugal via the Straits of Gibraltar, in the early eighth century. This invasion is perhaps one of the most significant events in the history of Western Europe, despite the fact that it receives so little attention in most courses on Western Europe. It radically altered Europe politically, economically, socially, and religiously.

Medieval Europe 09: The Early Carolingians (688-760)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:09:00 -0400

In a previous lecture, we looked at the Frankish World. We now return to that world by looking at a specific dynasty, or family, the Carolingians. We met briefly the Merovingian dynasty. The Carolingian family was the dynasty that overthrew the Merovingians and it was the family that some have called the architects of Europe, that is, they are largely responsible for the rough national boundaries in modern Europe. This lecture is the first of several on this family. Their importance cannot be overstated. We will see their rise in this lecture, their reforms in the next lecture, and their fall in the lecture after that. Throughout these three lectures, I ask simple but important question: why were the Carolingians so important?

Medieval Europe 10: The Carolingian Renaissance

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:10:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we met the Carolingian family. In this lecture, we are going to look closely at the most important member of this family, a man named Charlemagne. We are going to examine briefly his years of warfare, but our chief concern here is not Charlemagne the belligerent, but rather the Charlemagne who was heavily invested in cultivating learning and education. In this lecture, we ask what was the Carolingian renaissance and was it, in fact, a renaissance.

Medieval Europe 11: The Later Carolingians (814-926)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:11:00 -0400

In the previous lecture, we looked at Charlemagne and the so-called Carolingian renaissance. I only briefly laid out Charlemagne’s life because I am producing a whole series of lectures on him. If you’d like to learn more about him, please listen to that lecture series. I am now turning away from Charlemagne here and looking at the later Carolingians, beginning with his son, Louis the Pious, up through the reign of his grandsons Charles the Fat and Charles the Simple with whom the Carolingian family’s control wanes and dies. While Charlemagne is certainly the most important Carolingian, we will see that it is, in fact, the later Carolingians that begin to roughly define the boundaries between modern-day European countries.

Medieval Europe 12: Early Medieval Ireland

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:12:00 -0400

In this lecture, we explore early medieval Ireland. As we will see, Ireland was a much more diverse place in the medieval period that is today. Today, the island of Ireland is divided between two countries: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom). In the early middle ages, however, Ireland was divided between hundreds of different kingdoms with shifting alliances. The goal of this lecture is to give the listener a sense of the culture and peoples of early Ireland up to the arrival of the Vikings in the eighth century.

Medieval Europe 13: The Anglo-Saxons (500-750)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:13:00 -0400

In this lecture, we meet the Anglo-Saxons who were the combined groups of the Angles, the Saxons, and a few smaller groups, such as the Jutes. All of these groups were Germanic tribes who hailed from the northern parts of Europe, specifically modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, and northern Germany.

Medieval Europe 14: The Vikings

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:14:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 15: The Anglo-Saxons (770-1066)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:15:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 17: The Year 1000

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:17:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 18: The Investiture Controversy (1075-1077)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:18:00 -0400

Lecture 19: The Gregorian Reforms (1073-1085)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:19:00 -0400

Lecture 20: The Rise of the Normans

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:20:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 21: The First Crusade (1095-1099)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:21:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 22: The Plantagenets, Part I (1154–1216)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:22:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 23: The Plantagenets, Part II (1216-1327

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:23:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 24: The Capetians (1165-1328)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:24:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 25: The Avignon Papacy (1309-1376)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:25:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 26: The Hundred Years War, Part I (1327-1386)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:26:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 27: The Black Death (1347-1351)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:27:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 28: The Western Schism (1378-1417)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:28:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 29: The Hundred Years War, Part II (1415-1453)

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:29:00 -0400

Medieval Europe 30: The End of the Middle Ages

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 01:30:00 -0400

Charlemagne 01: The Frankish World

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:01:00 -0400

Charlemagne is an oddity in the early medieval world. He’s odd not because of the things he did or how he acted. He’s odd because it is possible to construct an entire course around him. It is possible to do this because of the immense level of documentation we have about him and his time as king and emperor. In the next thirty or so lectures, we will explore the world of Charlemagne, his life, from boyhood, to his death. We will touch on his legacy and heir, his only surviving son, Louis the Pious. By the time these lectures are complete, you will have a clear understanding of who Charlemagne is and the world in which he operated. In this lecture we begin by contextualizing the man against the backdrop of his environment, that is, the Frankish world.

Charlemagne 02: The Institutions of the Frankish Kingdom

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:02:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we saw some of the salient features of the Frankish world. Towards the end, I noted the rise of an important family, that is, the dynasty of the Merovingians. Under the Merovingians, Clovis would unify much of Western Europe. In this lecture, I want to zoom in and examine the salient institutions that made up the government and bureaucracy of the Frankish kingdom of the Merovingians. It is important to discuss this because these are the institutions in which Charlemagne’s grandfather, Charles the Hammer, and father, Pippin the Short operated. And these are the institutions that his family inherited when they overthrew the Merovingians.

Charlemagne 03: The Carolingian Family

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:03:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we examined some of the key institutions of the Frankish realm. I briefly touched on some of the earlier figures of the Carolingian family. In this lecture, I want to take a closer look at the history of the Carolingian family up to Charles the Hammer. This will contextualize this Frankish family that would come to rule most of western Europe. Full disclosure for this lecture and the many to come.

Charlemagne 04: Charles the Hammer

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:04:00 -0400

In the last lecture, we looked at the history of the Carolingian family up to Pippin of Herstal. In this lecture, we zoom in and look at the life of his son, Charles the Hammer, Charlemagne’s grandfather. As we will see, Charles rose to prominence because of his military prowess. He is largely regarded as one of the greatest medieval generals for, among other things, his halt of the Umayyad dynasty’s advance into southern France.

Charlemagne 05: Pippin the Short (751-768)

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:05:00 -0400

Charlemagne 06: Boyhood (742-755)

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:06:00 -0400

Ep. 01: Medieval Murder (The Murder of a Pope)

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 08:35:33 -0400

In this episode, we look at the assassination of Pope Boniface VIII at the hands of Philip IV of France and his cronies in 1303.

Ep. 02 - Medieval Beasts (Cynocephaly)

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 11:21:48 -0400

In this episode, our subject is Medieval Beasts. We look at a species of beasts known as Cynocephaly, or dog-headed men. No, these aren't werewolves.

Ep. 03: That Time a Viking Kissed a Foot

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 11:49:46 -0400

In this episode we look at the time Rollo had one of his Viking friends kiss the foot of King Charles the Simple of Francia.

Music:

Ep. 04: The Song of Roland (Medieval Tale)

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 08:08:22 -0400

This is a dramatization of the Song of Roland. It takes the entire epic and reduces it to just a 7 minute reading.

Key Figures:

Roland

Oliver

Ganelon

Bishop Turpin

Charlemagne

Saracen King

Ep. 05: The Case of a Criminal in a Church

Tue, 05 May 2020 11:07:24 -0300

In this episode, we look at a famous case of an escaped criminal who hides in a church. Can he legally be extradited from a church? We find out in this episode.

Books referenced:

Samuel W. Collins, The Carolingian Debate over Sacred Spaces (Palgrave: 2012).

Music:

Ep. 06: Murder in a Church

Fri, 08 May 2020 15:33:38 -0300

In this episode, we look at murder (and a battle) in the Basilica of Saint-Martin in Tours, France.

Music:

Ep. 07: Dirty Riddles and Farts

Sun, 17 May 2020 13:06:51 -0300

In this episode, we look at some dirty riddles from Anglo-Saxon England and a fart so powerful that it blinded a man.

For translation and commentary on the riddles, see:

https://theriddleages.wordpress.com/riddles-by-number/

For a good book on the Exter Book, check out:

https://amzn.to/3dT4jr9

For a cheap translation of the Canterbury Tales, here:

https://amzn.to/3dUeuMm

For updates on episodes, follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/wjb_mattingly

If you want to reach me, my email is themedievalworldpodcast@gmail.com

Music:

Ep. 08: Hobgoblin in the Ninth Century (Medieval Beasts)

Fri, 22 May 2020 14:39:41 -0300

In this episode, we look at an account of a hobgoblin in ninth-century France. This account comes from a ninth-century Carolingian author named Notker who wrote a biography of Charlemagne.

For a copy of Notker's biography, see:

https://amzn.to/2zXobLl

I also reference the M.A. Thesis of a certain Klayton Amos Tietjen at the University of Tennessee. For this thesis, see:

https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4784/

For updates on episodes, follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/wjb_mattingly

If you want to reach me, my email is themedievalworldpodcast@gmail.com

Music:

Ep. 09: Medieval Birds in Thought

Thu, 28 May 2020 20:13:39 -0300

In this episode, we look at birds generally as they existed in the minds of medieval people. We talk about the different ways in which medieval people hunted, ate, used, and envisioned birds.

For Valerie Garver's book, Women and Aristocratic Culture in the Carolingian World, see:

https://amzn.to/36D8Bk6

For updates on episodes, follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/wjb_mattingly

If you want to reach me, my email is themedievalworldpodcast@gmail.com

Music: