Superb knowledge and enthusiasm from the author

This guy really knows his stuff.
He's an expert on linguistics, etymology as well as Anglo Saxon Christianity.
His enthusiasm is contagious and his effort to learn and speak Old English Anglo Saxon is commendable.
I enjoyed his introduction to each chapter in Anglo Saxon and the ability to begin to understand more as you get used to it.

Some of the chapters might be a little too niche for those just interested in the general history of the era and the latter part felt as a consequence a little rushed.

The course would be better called:
"The Anglo-Saxons: Language, Religion & literature"

But learning how central the early spread of Christianity was to the development of English culture, literature, law, education and politics and the bedrock of its future power on the world stage into the modern era, is an eye opener.

Without its arrival, it could have resulted in Britain just being a small quiet backwater of North West Europe, with no notable achievements right up to the present day.

Christianity became more powerful than the Roman empire, in terms of geographical reach, membership, advocates and devotion by the 700's. To be central to that was to guarantee a nations future power on the global stage.

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Brilliant from start to end!

This lecture series has the winning combination of being jam packed with information and being very entertaining at the same time!
I've been quite interested in this topic for a while but knew little to nothing about it. If only Drout had been my history teacher at school! He has a passion for the subject that definitely comes out in the narration. You'll learn a lot not only about the Angles & Saxons, but also how they fit in with other peoples interacting with England like the Danes, Vikings, Celts, Christianity, Paganism, Rome and much more!

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6 people found this helpful

Entertaining, Fun and Informative

I had previously listened to Professor Drout's lectures on science-fiction, which I had only moderately enjoyed after the lecture reaches the 1970's (see my review for more details). But I did nonetheless get the another set of lectures from Professor Drout because he is such a wonderful lecturer with great delivery and an excellent sense of humour. I was hoping that another, more historical, topic would bring out the best in him, and I was not disappointed. The set of lectures on The Anglo-Saxon World covers Britain from 500 AD until 1066 AD (the norman Conquest) with an excellent additional lecture on how the Anglo-Saxon concepts remained important up to the time of Henry the Eight. The lecture on the decades before 1066 and the lecture on the use of Anglo-Saxon as a political football under Henry the Eight are excellent (and stupendously funny at times). I am not a literature student and I was a bit worried during the introduction as it seemed that the lectures would focus more on literature than history, but my fears were soon calmed. I even enjoyed the 3 lectures on "pure" literature (lectures 9-10-11) because they stressed the psychology of people living in those times. So, even if you are not a literature geek, don't skip those 3 lectures. The only aspect that is supremely annoying in this lecture set is that each lecture begins with a long section where Professor Drout reads an excerpt in Anglo-Saxon which probably only 100 persons on Earth understand. These readings are followed by the English translation but they got really irritating, mostly as I am guessing that no one really know how Anglo-Saxon sounded, so were are not learning much from Professor Drout's attempts. Still, a minor quibble. Heartily recommended.

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2 people found this helpful

Fabulous! Couldn't turn it off

This is a truly excellent survey of the Anglo Saxon period by a professor who clearly loves it. His accent is heavy American, which takes some getting used to, but you soon forgive this because he handles the material so expertly.

Treat yourself to some Anglo Saxon history today!

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8 people found this helpful

More Words than Worlds

Author is an expert on literature and dwells mainly on Anglo Saxon words than drawing a full picture of the people themselves. More on archaeological evidence and its significance would have been welcome. But he is a great enthusiast, learned and makes the subject very accessible.

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1 person found this helpful

Wonderful and so much fun!

This series of lectures was such a treat! Professor Drout, an excellent and natural educator, offers a fascinating review of Anglo-Saxon history and explains why Anglo-Saxons are so often misunderstood and misrepresented. "The Anglo-Saxon World" is a brilliant course, and I can't wait to learn more from Professor Drout.

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Grate way to study old English . Anglo-Saxon

This is a grate way to learn about the Anglo-Saxon world . And the making of England .
It has been ok to .learn Irish , Scottish or Welsh.
But it not ok to learn English , from Sutton Hoo to Beowulf .

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enthralling

Michael Drout is enthusiastic and carries his enjoyment of his subject into his lectures. This is a period I know little about. In school we jumped from the Romans to the Norman Conquest and anything I've tried to pick up since has tended to be quite dry. Here, the narrative flows; although I could have done with this being twice as long to allow me to fill in some of the inevitable gaps as he sped through several hundred years of history and literature. Well worth listening to.

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6 people found this helpful

Entertaining and interresting.

I enjoyed this talk very much and will listen to it again. It certainly woke my interrest for the period.

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Awesome unbiased account

This is a great listen! So nice to hear an unbiased account of Anglo saxon history based on historical text, archeology and language development. so often this subject is misinterpreted and misrepresented, often deliberately. This book is a great way to get a logical, rational and accurate grasp of Anglo saxon language, culture and history.

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