As an educator, Professor Freedman’s mastery of integrating the old history into why it’s relevant to modern times is remarkable. So many analogies from the past to present and why were in the messes were in today. Is the companion literature he assigns also available to peruse and keep up with the background of his lectures. Thank you for this podcast.

It is unquestionable that professor Freedman is knowledgeable. However, I’m looking for an unbiased course. He says that if any of the friends of the students are wondering why the course spends so much time discussing theology, then they should come to office hours. Well, we the listeners can’t go to his office hours. So if theology is so central to middle age history, then I wish he would have explained it to the rest of us. I’m sure he could have talked about other things aside from the exquisite religious details that dominate the course. He spent an entire lecture on the confessions of St. Augustine. He has to cover the entire history and the lives and culture of middle age Europe in a handful of lectures, and he dedicated a whole lecture on the writings of one religious figure. His lectures are 85% religion, with no mention of the negative impacts of religion on the lives of the people. He presents all religious topics as factual components of history. Yet when the topic of King Arthur comes up, he admits he will only mention him briefly because he is 99.9% legend. This was a lost opportunity to discuss the resistance of the Celtic people against the Roman invaders, and the leaders and communities that inspired the legend of King Arthur. He explains how there was no such thing as the dark ages, conveniently ignoring the degree to which the dominance of religion stifled science, secular art and literature, and the exchange of the large scale civil engineering of the Romans with just building cathedrals. Interestingly, if religion is such a large component of the Middle Ages that we can’t have a history course without discussing it at length, then maybe it was the dark ages after all. Freedman further supports this idea on the lecture of Monasticism but saying that much of the learning in the Middle Ages was in the monasteries. If most learning at the time was limited to what was sanctioned by religion, then that pretty well defines the Dark Ages. This brings to mind the Muslims who burned books, and the many books banned by the Catholic Church. In making a comparison and saying the modern university is very much like a monastery, he is essentially saying monasteries were as harmless (and essential) to knowledge as universities. This is a blatant denial that the middle age limitation of knowledge to monasteries was a suppression of non religious writings. When he covers the topic of ethnogenesis, and the emergence of the Visigoth cultural identify, he literally explains how the Visigoth culture transitioned to the emergence of the German culture, “culminating into the Nazis”. Really?! This is a rich culture of 1000 years that made tremendous contributions to science, literature, poetry, philosophy, music, sports, modern technological manufacturing, not to mention the linguistic contributions that gave rise to the English language and set it apart from the Romance languages….. and he represents it all by a single political party that lasted 25 years and was backed by a minority of voters! The importance of religion to middle age Europe is debatable; but there’s no need for racist comments. Freedman says that in In 632, Islam is not to be understood as a militant conversion-oriented jihad-o-centric religion from the start, in 632 when Mohammed died. Interestingly, 632 was the year of the first Muslim Arab raiders in Persia culminating in the fall of the empire in 651 Islam did not “develop” in the Persian empire. It was pure conquest, jihad, forced conversion, the effects of which have successfully lasted for over 1300 years until today. I’m simply tired of Freedman’s personal biases. I’m sure he is successfully misinforming countless young impressionable minds with his personal opinions, presented as historical fact. My rating has progressed from 3 stars to 1 star, and I can no longer listen to these lectures. I will eagerly seek another lecture series on the Middle Ages.

Professor Freedman’s remarkable lucidity and mastery of this subject matter are part of why these lectures are so outstanding. But for me, even more powerful are the kindness and humanity that shine through in every talk. The depth of Professor Freedman’s care—about the people who lived and made this history; the students in his lecture hall, and perhaps the listeners online—make these lectures something truly special. His dry sense of humor, too, is worth the price of admission!

A pity that so many of Prof. Freedman’s wonderful lectures were mislabeled and even skipped over by whomever uploaded them. Some lectures are uploaded twice (half the time under the wrong title and description) while others are simply skipped. This makes it impossible to follow Freedman’s very careful narrative. It reflects poorly on Yale that the university would treat one of its own scholars in such an uncaring way.

This course has enriched our homeschooling this year, as I teach medieval and Renaissance history to elementary students. The lectures are filling in grad school gaps and providing both depth and breadth to a fascinating subject. Doses of clever wit are appreciated.

I’ve listened to The Early Middle Ages podcast for two full days in a row, all while painting my porch in a heatwave. Professor Freedman’s way of recounting history has me enthralled. I love how he focuses on the thoughts of the time, and how they develop and change, especially in the realm of religion. I’m learning so many interesting things. He has a natural style and often finds pithy connections between how people behaved then and now. This is so important in teaching young people, and he does it with humor and accuracy. The chance to hear Yale lectures is just amazing!! Makes me want to return to school to go further than my BA in Art History. I love learning about the Middle Ages, and the art of the time is so meaningful. Thanks to Yale for letting the public hear these lectures. Grateful.

I love listening to History lectures and this one became a quick favorite of mine. The professor has a wonderful speaking voice, clearly has a solid grasp on his subject matter, and sprinkles little injokes in (the Shire comaparison had me laughing) thus making it a great lecture. If I didn't live in the Mid-West and could afford Yale I would definitely sit in on this class and hope it still continues to this day.

It does not work. Is the podcast available?

Used to work, plz fix it

It's been three years since other users have pointed out the missing tracks (10. Clovis and the Franks and 16. Splendor of the Abbasid period), which are replaced with duplicates of the following tracks. An effort should be made to replace the missing audio, as the lectures are quite interesting. They can be accessed via the video lecutre series of the same name in ITunes U, or via youtube. Aside from the missing tracks, this lecture series is a wonderful addition to any study of the period, or for refreshing one's memory as a casual student of history. Dr. Freedman offers suggestions of additional readings which can help listeners more deeply understand the subject material, but such reading is not neccessary for casual study, as Dr. Freedman's lectures tell the grand narative well enough. Other users have noted an emphasis on the west, with little detail offered about the events of this period on eastern Europe,and they would be correct, as this is a lecture series specifically on the developments in western Europe. Eastern Europe, Asia, and north Africa are covered only insofar as they impacted the events of western Europe. Users seeking detailed history on this time period outside of the western European sphere, will need supplimental material. It would be incredible if Open Yale would provide additional courses exploring the detailed middle age history of the modern middle east and Asia.

First of all, the guy is boring. Second, he seems to have no scope of the political forces at work in the east, and doesn't even know that "barbarian" means "bearded one". I feel sorry for students who are paying top $$$ to listen this nonsense, and would recommend that they demand their money back.

I’m enjoying this a lot, and a good overview of Western Europe, the Eastern Roman Empire & the start of Islam. But two episodes are duplicates of other episodes. This course has been out long enough for the authors to fix, but they have not done so.

Prof Paul H. Freedman is a rock star. I would love to see other courses offered.

Understanding that it is an audio recording of a lecturer, one can overcome the awkwardness of the blind oration. Freedman is knowledgable and passionate, and the subject matter is explored well for someone with some previous exposure to the content. However, episodes 10 and 16 are duds. They are duplicates of the successive episode, so Clovis, the Franks, and the Splendor of the Abbasids will unfortunately remain a mystery to me.

Professor Freedman’s vast depth and breadth of knowledge, his originality and insight combined with exquisite timing and wit make this easily the best in class— at least as far back as Kenneth Clark’s BBC series from the early sixties. It’s like he was there, involved, paying attention and telling wonderful stories. It would be great if he posted other classes.

This is a great chance to see how a Yale history course looks like. My only complaint is its typical bias on Western Europe, neglecting Eastern Europe almost entirely. Byzantines are covered in somewhat depth but with typical western scholar attitude: "they are not quite Romans". However the Avars, Slavs, Gepids, Vlachs, Bulgars are completely ignored. The Early Middle Ages didn't just "take place" in France and Germany, professor! One technical glitch: two episodes are missing (10. Clovis and the Franks and 16. Splendor of the Abbasid Period). They are replaced by duplicates of episodes 11 and 17 respectively. But there is a solution: you can listen/see them in the video version of the course, also available in iTunes. Except they are 500 MB each...

I was unable to get through the second track due to excessive numbers of 'um', 'er', and 'ah's. Based on the number of positive reviews this series, perhaps Professor Freedman grows more comfortable(?!) with his subject and speaks with more clarity and confidence, but at this point I'm hesitant to pluck up the courage and give the series another chance. If you choose to take this course (and if you are inclined, please don't let my review deter you), but do yourself a favour and PLEASE skip track one-- it is really beyond the pale.

I listened to these lectures while driving and learned a lot about a period of history that really was never covered in my formal education. Professor Freedman is one of the most articulate lecturers I've ever heard. He speaks a little slowly so I listened to the lectures at 1.5x speed. Hey, did you know Kiev was founded by Vikings? Me neither!

A fascinating survey of a period that, I think, most people know little about, myself included. The lecture on preservation of manuscripts is especially interesting. Professor Freeman's dry sense of humor is well suited for the subject matter and helps illustrate the strangeness of this strange time in European history.

Very much appreciate the course, but seems to be a problem with Lecture No. 10, Clovis and the Franks, which seems to be a duplicate of Lecture No. 11 on Frankish society. In the video version the missing lecture seems to be there, though the numbering is very different. having the audio version is really great, but confusing to have the two versions not match up. Can this be sorted out?

Excellent course. I pride myself in my knowledge of history but this was a blank slate to me and this course filled in this black hole. Very well taught. I listened to the lectures while I ate my breakfast. Thank you Doctor Freeman

Brilliant. All the stuff I wanted to learn in school but sadly never had the chance. This lecturer is exceptional; witty and informative in a way so many lecturers need to be. I now understand as a foreigner why Yale and Harvard have so much distinction and happy that more ppl can attend uni there. The lecturer is on par with exceptional presentation like historian colleague Phillip Daedler at Harvard.

A nice light lecture series. I found it a useful supplement during a course on Medieval saints.