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Charlemagne
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 30 hrs and 17 mins
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Publisher's summary
When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.
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Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades - sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church.
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Narrator ruined it
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19th Century Scholarship
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At a time when men and women were prepared to kill - and be killed - for their faith, the Protestant Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly recreates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians - from the zealous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.
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Excellent
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The Norman Conquest
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An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought.
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A Balanced, Entertaining, and Informative History
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The Reformation was a long struggle of ideas between the established Catholic Church and the questioning of faith brought about by the Renaissance in Western Europe. Started by Martin Luther in 1517, religious dissidence spread across Europe throughout the sixteenth century, causing wars, migration and disunity.
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Very easy to understand and follow
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Christianity
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Once in a generation, a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read or heard - a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith.
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Bias
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A History of Judaism
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Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it has preserved its distinctive identity despite the extraordinarily diverse forms and beliefs it has embodied over the course of more than three millennia. A History of Judaism provides the first truly comprehensive look in one volume at how this great religion came to be, how it has evolved from one age to the next, and how its various strains, sects, and traditions have related to each other.
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Not easy to follow.
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Easy listen.
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What listeners say about Charlemagne
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. H. Robinson
- 09-12-23
Great scholarship
Great scholarship, but perhaps not exactly an enthralling book to listen to. If you are interested in Early Medieval Europe, it is a must.
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- RANDALL JAFFE
- 10-20-23
Way too much detail
As a history buff, I came across Charlemagne’s name. I really didn’t know anything about the man and was looking for a book to enlighten me. I was inundated with a very comprehensive book of the world of years 700 - 800s CE . I learned much but had to skip parts so I could finally finish the middle age course. Very detailed book for someone looking for that kind of information.
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- Jack Rothwell
- 01-26-18
Great research and lots of latin...
What did you like best about Charlemagne? What did you like least?
The references to ancient sources, mostly in latin. Really appreciate the author's research.
Did James Cameron Stewart do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
The narration was probably my biggest issue with the book, though I'm not sure you could read this book in an upbeat and exciting way.
Was Charlemagne worth the listening time?
Gave up listening after the 2nd part.
Any additional comments?
If you knew latin, you would probably appreciate this book a lot more. Definitely well researched and the sources were old and amazing. But difficult for me to get excited about the story and the narration was a bit dry, which didn't help.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Stacey
- 01-18-18
Lifeless and sometimes awkward reading
Interesting scholarship. Poor reading at points with phrase-by-phrase reading sometimes hard to folliw. Contents scholarly but interesting. Not convinced that Charlemagne would have accepted homosexual relations in his court. No unambiguous evidence of this brought out.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Adam
- 02-23-22
Strictly academic; horrifically boring
Fried approached this work with strict adherence to fact based analysis. His extrapolations are limited, based on evidence, and entirely reasonable. There is no doubt that this account of Charlemagne’s life is of the highest standards for accuracy possible with the available source material.
That being said… the life of the person who conquered Western Europe and shaped much of what Christianity would become is presented with as much intrigue as a pious accountant organizing his sock drawer.
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- Richard Foulkes
- 04-20-18
Charlemagne; A barbarian grows a conscience.
The arch of the life of Charlemagne is well worth a modern look as provided by this well documented tome. The author takes pains to inform you how difficult it is to look at a historical figure so deep in history and lore without significant proof that the stories and historical accounts are not reinterpretation for the benefit of the time that they are written. Nonetheless it is a fascinating arc of life that clearly shows a powerful man coming to terms with his conscience In a time of barbarism.
It is impossible not to view at least the fable of Charlemagne as not being a man who came to the renaissance before the world was ready. I highly recommend spending the time required to get to know my relative Charlemagne!
As I like to read or should I say listen via Audible the cadence of the reader provides an odd cadence that becomes a touch annoying at times. I do listen at 2.5 speed and at normal speed you may not find this to be the case. Good listening.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Ben
- 01-22-20
Interesting historical perspectives
If you are looking for historical timeline along with detailed event descriptions befitting an academic dissertation, then this is not your book. It is, rather, a presentation of well researched historical perspectives sense making of a mythic historic figure.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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4 people found this helpful
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- kip hurley
- 01-29-18
excellent overview in a quite unbiased fashion.
The content is rich with historical perspective on the person and age of Charles. His involvment with the world of his age is fascinating.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Yackster3
- 04-20-24
Education Reform
Perhaps I should have known, but a lot of Charlemagne's history is wondering what actually happened. It was well read, and he has had a huge impact on our society. It's just such a large impact from so long ago it's hard to tell exactly how much.
Among other biographies I've listened to it was harder to continue listening. Maybe Europeans will be able to relate more.
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- Alex
- 06-02-20
Brilliant biography and narration!
Highly recommended and detailed biography of the most important ruler of the Early Middle Ages. The narration by James Cameron Stewart is simply superb. I really hope J. Fried's "The Middle Ages" becomes available as an audiobook soon also narrated by JCS.
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1 person found this helpful