Early Middle Ages
By Paul H. Freedman
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Description
Major developments in the political, social, and religious history of western Europe from the accession of Diocletian to the feudal transformation. Topics include the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, the "Dark Ages," Charlemagne and the Carolingian renaissance, and the Viking and Hungarian invasions.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
16. Splendor of the Abbasid Period | In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled the Islamic Caliphate beginning in 750. | 6/17/2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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2 |
10. Clovis and the Franks | Professor Freedman begins his discussion of Gregory of Tours’ history of the Merovingian kings. This history differs markedly from the classical invective style used by Procopius. | 5/13/2013 | Free | View in iTunes |
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3 |
22. Vikings / The European Prospect, 1000 | In the first part of this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the emergence of the Vikings from Scandinavia in the ninth and tenth centuries. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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4 |
12. Britain and Ireland | In this lecture, Professor Freedman considers the importance of the British Isles in the early Middle Ages, both in their own right and as an example of a post-Roman frontier society. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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5 |
19. Charlemagne | In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Carolingian dynasty from its origins through its culmination in the figure of Charlemagne. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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6 |
21. Crisis of the Carolingians | In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the crisis and decline of Charlemagne’s empire. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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7 |
17. The Crucial Seventh Century | In the first half of this lecture, Professor Freedman continues the previous lecture’s discussion of the Abbasids. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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8 |
11. Frankish Society | Professor Freedman considers the Merovingians as an example of barbarian kingship in the post-Roman world. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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9 |
20. Intellectuals and the Court of Charlemagne | In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Carolingian Renaissance, the revival of learning sponsored by Charlemagne and his successors. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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10 |
18. The Splendor of Byzantium | In this lecture, Professor Freedman surveys major trends in Byzantine history from the sixth to eleventh century, dividing the era into four periods. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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11 |
15. Islamic Conquests and Civil War | In this lecture, Professor Freedman discusses the Islamic conquests. Although they were in some sense religiously motivated, Arab did not attempt to forcibly convert or eradicate Jews, Christians, or other non-Muslims. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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12 |
13. Monasticism | Professor Freedman discusses some of the paradoxes of monasticism in the Early Middle Ages. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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13 |
14. Mohammed and the Arab Conquests | In this lecture, Professor Freedman introduces Islam. He begins with a discussion of its geographical context: the dry desert lands of the Arabian peninsula. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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14 |
09. The Reign of Justinian | Professor Freedman opens by discussing why historians use the writings of Procopius and Gregory of Tours, a sixth century bishop whose history of the Merovingian kings is discussed the following week. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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15 |
07. Barbarian Kingdoms | In this lecture, Professor Freedman considers the various barbarian kingdoms that replaced the Western Roman Empire. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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16 |
06. Transformation of the Roman Empire | The Roman Empire in the West collapsed as a political entity in the fifth century although the Eastern part survived the crisis. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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17 |
08. Survival in the East | Professor Freedman focuses on the question of how the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire survived, while the West collapsed in the fifth century. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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18 |
05. St. Augustine’s Confessions | Professor Freedman begins the lecture by considering the ways historians read the Confessions. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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19 |
04. The Christian Roman Empire | The emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity brought change to the Roman Empire as its population gradually abandoned the old religions in favor of Christianity. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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20 |
02. The Crisis of the Third Century and the Diocletianic Reforms | Professor Freedman outlines the problems facing the Roman Empire in the third century. The Persian Sassanid dynasty in the East and various Germanic tribes in the West threatened the Empire as never before. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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21 |
03. Constantine and the Early Church | Professor Freedman examines how Christianity came to be the official religion of the Roman Empire. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
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22 |
01. Course Introduction: Rome’s Greatness and First Crises | Professor Freedman introduces the major themes of the course: the crisis of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, the threats from barbarian invasions, and the continuity of the Byzantine Empire. | 4/2/2012 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 22 Items |
Customer Reviews
What happened?
Many if not most of the Yale Open Course podcast are no longer functional. It shows like 3 seconds of a hour class. What happened?
Apple, please, fix this!
Great lectures. Professor Freedman is super interesting and clear. I especially appreciated how he fairly described the debate about the sources of Roman decline then gave his own opinion. But Apple, I can download or listen to only half the episodes. And it looks like most Yale classes have similar or worse technical issues.
Missing lecture 10
Great series! Lecture 11 seems to be repeated and the beginning of the Merovingian period is missing
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