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 Myths & Mysteries cover art

Medieval Myths & Mysteries

By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
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...

The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition cover art
The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England cover art
English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable cover art
The Adventure of English cover art
The Word of Promise Audio Bible—New King James Version, NKJV: Complete Bible cover art
The History of the Ancient World cover art
Mythology cover art
Assassination Vacation cover art
Unfamiliar Fishes cover art
The Clockwork Universe cover art
The Poetic Edda cover art
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue cover art
Salt cover art
Sophie's World cover art

Summary

Was King Arthur a real person? What about Robin Hood? Is the Holy Grail a cup, or something else, altogether? Did Europeans really burn millions of people at the stake for witchcraft, in the past? These are just a few of the questions you will explore with the help of medieval scholar Dorsey Armstrong as she reveals the truth about the stories we continue to tell about the medieval period. Some contain nuggets of truth, others are wholly fabricated, but all of them can tell us something about the past.

From films like Braveheart and Excalibur to literature such as Ivanhoe and Morte d’Arthur, the years between 500 and 1500 have generated amazing stories of knights and damsels, superstitions and magic; some of these stories even made it into our grade school history curriculum. But what were those years really like? Known, somewhat inaccurately, as the “Middle Ages,” this period was not merely a transition from Roman antiquity to the Renaissance, but a vibrant time full of people just as curious, innovative, malicious, joyful, confused, ambitious, complex - in other words, just as human - as in any other period of history.

The 10 enlightening (and often humorous) lectures of Medieval Myths and Mysteries will show you how far from the “dark” times of legend these centuries were. Uncover the facts about the Knights Templar. Reveal the truth behind the tales of legendary creatures like the Questing Beast and the unicorn. Trace the events of the Black Death and the ways it altered the world in its wake, and much more. 

With Professor Armstrong, you will dig deep into the ways that later generations reshaped the narrative of the medieval years and perpetuated the myths of a simpler and less civilized age, which was, in fact, much richer and more complex than many of us have been led to believe.

©2019 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

What listeners say about Medieval Myths & Mysteries

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    408
  • 4 Stars
    101
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    370
  • 4 Stars
    82
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    354
  • 4 Stars
    92
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    9

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

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

Historically accurate yet super entertaining

Professor Dorsey Armstrong gives a show performance with very interesting historical facts full of vivid accounts of facts, myths and mysteries!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

loved it.

I liked this book alot more than I thought I would. I thought ''ok, it might be interesting, let's give it a go''. I loved it, extremely interesting, going from the knights templars to game of thrones, the holy grail to the black death was captivating, I couldn't stop listening and the narrator has a nice, easy to listen to voice which makes all the difference when it comes to audiobooks.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Enthralling

This series of lectures is addictive. I could not stop listening. Just brilliantly explained, really educational and totally entertaining

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Herstory.

this is a wonderful, unfussy, fascinating set of lectures. engaging speaker, wittily throwing light on (don't call it) the dark ages.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great reader, fun listening!

The author and reader did a great job on creating a fun lecture. An easy and entertaining listen.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Can’t thank you enough Dorsey - Superb!!!

How have I not come across this podcast before??? It’s simply sublime, a must for any lovers of medieval history or for those who are simply curious about common beliefs and preconceptions relating to this era. Some surprising but no less inspiring content, myself and my A level History student daughter will most certainly now be binge watching Game of Thrones especially in regards to her current topic, and a personal area of intrigue to me, the War of the Roses. If you are not medieval history buff already, you very soon will be. I myself have now signed up to a medieval history course hungry for more, thank you Dorsey.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

5 Star - Fascinating Course

This series of lectures explores the mystery, romance and myths of the Medieval period in a scholarly and engaging way. I was thoroughly captivated from the start. The lecture on the Black Death in particular shed new light on this pandemic. I will certainly now listen to the lecturer's course on The Black Death and The Medieval World to learn more. The lecturer's passion and enthusiasm is infectious, her commentary objective and, although inevitably speculative at times, is always grounded on the historical record.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great stuff

A very interesting and well put together series of lectures, informative and very entertaining, perfect amount of detail so it never becomes boring

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Excellent introduction to medieval literature, mythology and modern relevance

Thanks Dorsey Armstrong for an informative and simplified course, which I think very many will enjoy as I do.

For students or potential students of history or anyone alive who wants to stop and think, “Oh that’s what that means.”

Well, that’s my experience of this enjoyable introduction, which I will listen to again, deepen this foundation and enjoy.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Very informative!

This was a great listen and so much interesting information in a short series. Highly recommended!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!