Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Medieval Europe cover art

Medieval Europe

By: Chris Wickham
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £21.99

Buy Now for £21.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World cover art
The Story of India cover art
History of Denmark cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art
Empire of the Romans cover art
The Adventure of English cover art
The Fall of the Roman Empire cover art
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution cover art
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire cover art
The Story of Philosophy cover art
Strategy cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art
The History of the Ancient World cover art
A Concise History of Spain cover art
Our Oriental Heritage cover art
A Brief History of Britain 1485-1660 cover art

Summary

The millennium between the breakup of the western Roman Empire and the Reformation was a long and hugely transformative period - one not easily chronicled within a single volume. Yet distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken up the challenge in this landmark book, and he succeeds in producing the most riveting account of medieval Europe in a generation.

Tracking the entire sweep of the Middle Ages across Europe, Wickham focuses on important changes century by century, including such pivotal crises and moments as the fall of the western Roman Empire, Charlemagne's reforms, the feudal revolution, the challenge of heresy, the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, the rebuilding of late medieval states, and the appalling devastation of the Black Death. He provides illuminating vignettes that underscore how shifting social, economic, and political circumstances affected individual lives and international events. Wickham offers both a new conception of Europe's medieval period and a provocative revision of exactly how and why the Middle Ages matter.

©2016 Chris Wickham (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Medieval Europe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    192
  • 4 Stars
    128
  • 3 Stars
    58
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    203
  • 4 Stars
    109
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    172
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Life's Rich Pageant

A previous review suggested that this might be hard work but I found it to be an engrossing listen. Wickham combines a great deal of learning on a dense patchwork of medieval societies from Iceland down to Moorish Spain and from Russia out to the Irish clans. Due to the scope and erudition of the thing there were times when I had to go back and listen to something a second time but it was always worth it.

The book manages to create a deeply immersive picture of what life was like in the various parts of Europe from the Roman Empire's reinvention as Byzantium to the establishment of Protestantism as a state religion in many parts of the north. Wickham provides a nice balance of material about what Kings, Popes and nations were doing while drawing on diaries that have come down to us from ordinary people who long after their deaths can give us a glimpse into what it might feel like to live a medieval life. It's an added bonus that the author has a dry sense of humor which becomes increasingly amusing as the book goes on.

I like history and don't mind wrestling with quite dry books if they have something new or interesting to say but in this case I'd describe Medieval Europe as a serious historian's idea of popular history. It's written for the general public, there are great stories and engaging personality portraits but to get the most from it you have to concentrate from time to time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

By far the best account of the subject.

This is by far the best account of the subject that I have come across and in my opinion should become THE standard text for A level and first-year undergraduate studies for a generation.
The book is clear, its material well organised, and - vital for an audiobook - well sign-posted so that the reader can follow their own chosen trail instead of reading from breginning to the end, which, in the event, was how I read it.
It is a real pleasure to find an author who treats treats this period with the combination of broad brush and attention to individual economic, cultural and political detail while flagging up points where the author is introducing his own take on something whether it be general or particular; and always clearly argued and expressed.
The fact that Audible has offered this most excellent book as a free read is to be congratulated as a generous innovation, the more so because others may not be willing to purchase it: I for one will be very proud to own it: thank-you Audible!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Concise and complex

Enjoyed this history of a period I have read a number of books on over the years. It’s quite concise in that it gets broadly the 1000 years from 500 - 1500 in a not significant length. However, it is very complex, especially when dealing with the political arrangements of the period, even has he makes these complex points well and interestingly. I did find the political chapters harder to take in while listening as opposed to reading. The social, religious and conflict chapters were excellent.

PS: the use of the phrase ‘that is to say’ is overused.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This book serves as both an introduction to the history of medieval Europe and a discussion of the current state of play in medieval historiography (and more). It is mindful of the entire world-system ie Byzantium especially (and Islam) but remains focused and functional.

The narrator was also excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

The truckstop bathroomwall scribbling of History

Chris Wickham manages to give a dry and inane material analysis of what is Europe's most interesting period history. His hyper fixation on class and economics leading to both anachronistic and one dimensional takes on history, leading to such comical ponderings as to why 11th century english peasants did not practice family planning like abortions which would have made more economic sense or what drove the demand side of wool dying industry in flanders. He very reluctantly admits there was some element of tragedy to the plague before excitedly telling us in detail about how good it is for the economy. Gone are the historical great men & wars as a driving force of history, any mention of blood or morality as factors nor does he have any familiarity with (or respect for) christian theology which makes him wholly unequipped to review this period of history which he forces through a very 21st century lense. It was by the time he started talking about "viking elites" as a class that I knew he had no idea what he was talking about, indeed he says this isnt a history book but rather his takes on how to interpret it, only mentioning more interesting theories on history to dismiss them, going back to drone on about socio economic forces. No wonder this book was a freebie on behalf of audible, as no person ought to ever pay for this 11h lobotomy, in fact the only reason its up here has to be some sort of backroom nepotistic deal with the guys at audible to let the semi sentient bovine users of this app consume it with their regular bland overprocessed media diet to raving reviews. As I kept listening through the book a clearer picture of the author emerged in my mind as a skinnyfat, effeminate, bespectacled academic with small moleman eyes who would spend less and less time with his wife and more and more time seeking the company of younger men, and would go on to describe his wife's extramarital affair with the neighbour as "a changing preference in spousal attitudes" and "despite a tragedy in many ways, lead to a more streamlined exchange of services establishing new hierarchies" only bemoaning that we could not know more about what this would tell us about the eternally present, but enigmatic, "elites".

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The always interesting medieval Europe

A very interesting overview of the political and economic history of the whole of Medieval Europe (and not just the western part), this book corrects various misconceptions about the period the lay reader may have picked up on the way. Read in a refreshingly straightforward manner by the dependably great Derek Perkins.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece.

History at its best. Breadth and depth. No unnecessary jargon. Well read. Very highly recommended. Six stars!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating book.

I really enjoyed this brilliantly researched history of a period I knew little of. It is broad yet intimate. An academic work but very accessible. Narration was excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good overview

Really engaging and clear overview of medieval Europe, really helps put in context the arcs and struggles of the period.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Dry but informative

Subject matter is interesting and the author knows his topic but the writing is boilerplate. Narrator is good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!