https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Playlist
In 22 conferences, The historian of Yale Paul Freedman Takes you to a 700 -year visit to medieval history. Going from 284-1000 AD, this free online course covers “the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, the” dark ages “, Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance, and the invasions of Viking and Hungarian”. And let's not forget Saint-Augustin and the “splendor of Byzantium”.
You can broadcast all the above conferences. Or find them on YouTube And this Yale website.
The beginning of the Middle Ages: 284-1000 will be added to our list of Free History Coursea subset of our meta-color, 1,700 free online lessons from the best universities. Below, we have added a list of key texts used in the course:
- Courtisier de Charlemagne: The Complete Einhard. ed. Paul Edward Dutton, BroadView Press, 1998.
- Gregory of Tours: Les Merovingiens. ed. Alexander Callander Murray, BroadView Press, 2006.
- Procope, Secret history. ed. Richard Atwater, University of Michigan Press, 1961.
- Wickham, Chris, The heritage of Rome: a history of Europe from 400 to 1000. Viking, 2009.
- Richards, Julian, The Vikings: A very short story. Oxford University Press, 2005.
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Related content:
160,000+ medieval manuscripts online: where to find them
The medieval masterpiece, the Kells bookIs now scanned and available online
How to make a medieval manuscript: an introduction into 7 videos

At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.