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The Bright Ages

A New History of Medieval Europe

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The Bright Ages

By: Matthew Gabriele, David M. Perry
Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
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About this listen

"Traveling easily through a thousand years of history, The Bright Ages reminds us society never collapsed when the Roman Empire fell, nor did the modern world did wake civilization from a thousand year hibernation. Thoroughly enjoyable, thoughtful and accessible; a fresh look on an age full of light, color, and illumination." (Mike Duncan, author of Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution)

A lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality - a brilliant reflection of humanity itself.

The word medieval conjures images of the “Dark Ages” - centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. 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. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante - inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy - writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today.

The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire”, but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
History Medieval Crusade Imperialism Viking Royalty
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Brilliant refreshing look at the " dark ages "

I absolutely loved this book and the excellent narration. Please ignore the anti-woke brigade and take the time to form your own opinion. Highly recommended.

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Well read, except place names

Book content interesting, if a touch rambling.

Narrator struggled with English place names such as Hartlepool.

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Superb history and enlightening

Brilliant take on the "Dark Ages". highly recommended even if mispronouncation of place names

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Appalling mispronunciation.

A very enlightening book. Such a shame that the narration is so poor. I find myself focusing on that rather than the subject matter.

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A Rare Request for Refund From Me

I’ll tolerate a lot of bad narration for a good book and vice versa, but this manages to simultaneously be badly narrated and badly written; derivative while claiming to be original, obsessional and skewed in familiar ways while claiming to present a new point of view. I’ve heard better narration from mid-range text-to-speech software, too.

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