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The Vatican and the Holy See
- The History and Legacy of the Roman Catholic Church's Governing Body
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 33 mins
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Publisher's summary
Every year, millions visit a stunning circuit board city starring gorgeous collections of interconnected rectangular buildings and charming houses in shades of beige, sandy-brown, and other earthy tones. Zoom in a little closer, and one can see the Renaissance-style exterior of its buildings and the exquisite detail captured in the statues mounted on the tops of its palaces and cathedrals. Take a gander through the doors inside these historic places, and one enters a whole new world even more mesmerizing than the view of the city bathed in the peach and purple tints of sunset. Nested inside Rome, this spellbinding destination is none other than Vatican City.
The Vatican is an enchanting backdrop often found in literature, music, and the shimmering silver screen for good reason. Of course, being the smallest independent sovereignty in the world at just 44 hectares is a selling point that only scratches the surface. As the centuries-old home of the Catholic Church, its engrossing, eventful history, not to mention the rich and varied artwork and architecture contained within, ensures the influence and importance of the Vatican far surpasses its size.
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Story
The word medieval conjures images of the “Dark Ages”. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through 10 centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia, and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them.
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Does exactly what it claims to clarify
- By Aaron Rapozo on 12-13-21
By: Matthew Gabriele, and others
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Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
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In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. During the four extraordinary years that Michelangelo spent laboring over the ceiling, power politics and personal rivalries swirled around him. He battled ill health, financial and family difficulties, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the Pope's impatience - a history that is more compelling than most novels.
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History brought to life!
- By Anne on 05-17-03
By: Ross King
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Magna Carta
- The Birth of Liberty
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The Magna Carta is revered around the world as the founding document of Western liberty. Its principles - even its language - can be found in our Bill of Rights and in the Constitution. But what was this strange document and how did it gain such legendary status? Dan Jones takes us back to the turbulent year of 1215, when, beset by foreign crises and cornered by a growing domestic rebellion, King John reluctantly agreed to fix his seal to a document that would change the course of history.
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Complicated period of history made accessible
- By NH on 12-09-15
By: Dan Jones
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The Hidden History of the Knights Templar
- The Church's Oldest Conspiracy
- By: Conrad Bauer
- Narrated by: Charles D. Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The Knights Templar existed officially for less than 200 years. Founded to protect pilgrims who were travelling through the Holy Lands, their rise to power was sudden. They became some of the most feared warriors in the region, they had a mandate from God, they controlled perhaps the world's first real banking system, and they waged war against anyone who tried to wrestle Christianity and seize holy grounds from the control of the Catholic Church.
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Insightful
- By Tina on 09-11-16
By: Conrad Bauer
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The Friar of Carcassonne
- Revolt Against the Inquisition in the Last Days of the Cathars
- By: Stephen O'Shea
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1300, the French region of Languedoc had been cowed under the authority of both Rome and France since Pope Innocent III 's Albigensian Crusade nearly a century earlier. That crusade almost wiped out the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians whose beliefs threatened the authority of the Catholic Church. But decades of harrowing repression - enforced by the ruthless Pope Boniface VIII; the Machiavellian French King Philip the Fair, of France; and the pitiless grand inquisitor of Toulouse; Bernard Gui (the villain in The Name of the Rose) - had bred resentment.
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Fascinating
- By P on 08-04-15
By: Stephen O'Shea
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In the Shadow of the Sword
- The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.
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Misleading title
- By Edd Huetteman on 04-08-16
By: Tom Holland
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The Templars
- The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1307, as they struggled to secure their last strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars fell afoul of the vindictive and impulsive king of France. On Friday, October 13, hundreds of brothers were arrested en masse, imprisoned, tortured, and disbanded amid accusations of lurid sexual misconduct and heresy. They were tried by the Vatican in secret proceedings. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state?
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Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
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A World Lit Only by Fire
- The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth, the Renaissance.
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Ruined by the narrator
- By Wallen on 02-28-09
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Lost to the West
- The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Lars Brownworth
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization.
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Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
- By Cinders on 05-28-13
By: Lars Brownworth
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The Fisherman's Tomb
- The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search
- By: John O'Neill, Sarah Wynne, Katie Clark
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1939, a team of workers beneath the Vatican unearthed an early Christian grave. This surprising discovery launched a secret quest that would last decades a quest to discover the long-lost burial place of the Apostle Peter. From earliest times, Christian tradition held that Peter, a lowly fisherman from Galilee, whom Christ made leader of his church was executed in Rome by Emperor Nero and buried on Vatican Hill. But his tomb had been lost to history. Now, funded anonymously by a wealthy American, a small army of workers embarked on the dig of a lifetime.
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Great narrator
- By Fran on 09-10-18
By: John O'Neill, and others
What listeners say about The Vatican and the Holy See
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- OAGallups
- 02-21-18
I can’t call this history
This could be great. The subject is great.
At first he praises the church at the expense of the Roman Emperors. Then he talks as though there wasn’t an Orthodox Church. Later, he speaks well of Protestants. But then…
Some good historians need to review and revise the text or Charles River Editors should replace this text with a more correct text.
I generally like Charles River Editors’ books. This book disappoints me.
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