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Millennium

The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom

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Millennium

By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
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Bestselling historian and broadcaster Tom Holland gives a thrilling panoramic account of the birth of the new Western Europe in the year 1000

'An exhilarating sweep across European history either side of the year 1000; riveting' ALLAN MASSIE, SPECTATOR

'I relished the blood and thunder narrative - the work of a great storyteller at his best' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, EVENING STANDARD

'A splendid, highly coloured canvas' NORMAN STONE, GUARDIAN

In AD 900, few would have guessed that the splintering kingdoms of Europe were candidates for future greatness. Hemmed in by implacable enemies and an ocean, there were many who feared that they were nearing the time when the Antichrist would appear, heralding the world's end.

Instead there emerged a new civilisation. It was the age of Otto the Great and William the Conqueror, of Viking sea-kings, of hermits, monks and serfs. It witnessed the spread of castles, the invention of knighthood, and the founding of the papal monarchy. It was a momentous achievement: for this was nothing less than the founding of the modern West.©2008 Tom Holland Europe World Middle Ages Viking Imperialism Crusade
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Critic reviews

An exhilarating sweep across European history either side of the year 1000; riveting (Allan Massie)
I relished the blood and thunder narrative - the work of a great storyteller at his best (Dominic Sandbrook)
Millennium is a superb, fascinating and erudite medieval banquet of slaughter, sanctity and sex, filled with emperors, whores and monks
Fast and lively... another blockbuster (Jenny Diski)
Millennium ranges far in both time and space yet always returns to its central theme: the right ordering of Christendom... it is a narrative history in the grand manner, written with panache and confidence... A marvellous, enthralling read
A mighty narrative of kings and popes, battles and massacres... A tremendously good read
Holland excels at narration, never jogging when he can gallop... His highly individual road map to the hitherto 'dark ages' is written with forceful - and convincing - panache (Christina Hardyment)
Enjoyable and exuberantly argued... storytelling on a magisterial scale
Tom Holland is a gifted narrator who covers the field with panache and a rich fund of adjectives (Johnathan Sumption)
Holland has written an original and elegant book (Andrew Lynch)
Holland's book . . . is big in every sense; and at its heart is a big idea that some may well deem heretical, others - myself included - profoundly imaginative . . . Holland's brilliantly written account of the Canossa incident, and its far-reaching consequences, is typical of the eloquence and historical imagination of the entire book . . . A remarkable book that prompts many reflections on our own day . . . Millennium is both a vastly entertaining read . . . as well as deeply intelligent: it constitutes a major contribution to some of the most crucial issues of our time (John Cornell)
Holland has a mightily readable style, in which powerful Latinate rhetoric jostles with cheery colloquialism . . . Far more than the stories of Greeks and Romans, this is your history (James Delingpole)
Holland turns his brilliant narrative spotlight on the so-called 'dark ages' ... Global in reach, this book sweeps thrillingly over the troubled centuries that saw the triumph of Byzantium, the ascent of Islam - and the lingering disaster of the Crusades (Boyd Tonkin)
It is perfectly right for Holland to claim a great deal for the eleventh century, of which his book is a splendid, highly coloured canvas (Norman Stone)
At last, a book that sheds much-needed light on those 1,000 years between Roman Britain and the Norman conquest that we call the dark ages (Sue Arnold)
Holland tells a cracking tale, vividly bringing this neglected era of monks, popes, knights and serfs back to life (David Sinclair)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved it! so much in such a short span of history. Working from home!

fascinating from start to finish

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My review of this book is much like my previous reviews of another two of Tom Holland's books.
Well narrated and absolutely fully researched by the writer.
Recommend all of Tom Holland's books on history to anyone interested I early first century to 13th century events.

Another brilliant audio by Tom Holland

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Lovely take on the 200 years either side of the year 1000, and the story it draws from comparative analysis is intriguing and compelling.

Excellent book

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I’m a great fan of Tom & Dom’s The Rest Is History podcast, and I’ve read a couple of Tom Holland’s books which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Whether they transfer well into audiobooks depends, I think, on what you want from a book. Tom has a particular writing style which, if you haven’t heard him talk (eg on the podcast) could seem a little - not sure how best to describe it - portentous? It certainly seems a lot more “highbrow”, even at times slightly pompous, than how he comes across on TRIH. Or is that down to Mark Meadows’ narration? Not sure. In any event, in my view either interpretation would be unfair. What TH is really good at is getting into the mindset of the people of the period he is describing. If there is any portentousness involved, it is a reflection of the time and the material. What I found particularly engaging, and illuminating, about Millennium was that, despite the fact that it dealt with a lot of “facts” I thought I already knew, it was the first time I had heard anyone trying to get into the head of Pope Gregory VII, or the Emperor Henry IV, during the great Investiture Crisis, trying to actually explain their actions in terms of their own value sets at the time. The details are quite hard to follow in an audiobook but if you allow yourself that half a step back, to see the painting rather than the brushstrokes, in my opinion it is a revelation. And whilst I, personally, prefer Mr Holland’s narration to that of Mark Meadows, I do think Meadows does a very good job of bringing to life a book that isn’t easy to narrate. So, overall - strong work by all! And thank you, it was a very illuminating listen.

Very illuminating

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Holland introduced me to a new cast of characters from the rich Dark Ages. The details of these individuals and their quirks and the stitches their lives made in a moving tapestry of history are picked out here beautifully.

Linked up emerging patters of history across Christendom.

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