The audiobook contains the course lectures; the PDF is the course guide / summary.

These 36 lectures tell the remarkable story of a tumultuous thousand-year period in the history of England. Dominated by war, conquest, and the struggle to balance the stability brought by royal power with the rights of the governed, it was a period that put into place the foundation of much of the world we know today. As you journey through this largely chronological narrative - occasionally interrupted for lecture-long explorations of specific topics - you'll see key themes emerge, including the assimilation of successive waves of invaders, the tense relationship between kings and the nobility, and the constant battles over money and taxation. And because so much of history is driven by specific individuals and not just historical circumstance, each lecture is rich in intimate portraits that reveal those individuals at the key moments of their historical destiny, including Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and John Wycliffe.The result is a lecture series that winds up being not only informative but deeply entertaining, with each lecture drawing you in with its own particular fascinations, including a probing look at the scope of the Black Death, a realistic examination of the legends of both King Arthur and Robin Hood, a riveting description of the Battle of Bosworth Field, and a discussion of the surprisingly nuanced penalties of the early Germanic law codes.

These lectures consistently deliver a fresh level of understanding about medieval England, its rulers and subjects, and their significance for the world we live in today. The chain of theme and event that links our world to theirs will never be clearer, rewarding every moment you spend with this series.

Contents:

1. From Britannia to Britain
2. Roman Britain and the Origins of King Arthur
3. The Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms
4. The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
5. Work and Faith in Anglo-Saxon England
6. The Viking Invasions
7. Alfred the Great
8. The Government of Anglo-Saxon England
9. The Golden Age of the Anglo-Saxons
10. The Second Viking Conquest
11. The Norman Conquest
12. The Reign of William the Conqueror
13. Conflict and Assimilation
14. Henry I—The Lion of Justice
15. The Anarchy of Stephen's Reign
16. Henry II—Law and Order
17. Henry II—The Expansion of Empire
18. Courtly Love
19. Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade
20. King John and the Magna Carta
21. Daily Life in the 13th Century
22. The Disastrous Reign of Henry III
23. The Conquests of Edward I
24. Edward II—Defeat and Deposition
25. Edward III and the Hundred Years' War
26. The Flowering of Chivalry
27. The Black Death
28. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381
29. Chaucer and the Rise of English
30. The Deposition of Richard II
31. Daily Life in the 15th Century
32. Henry V and the Victory at Agincourt
33. Henry VI—Defeat and Division
34. The Wars of the Roses
35. Richard III—Betrayal and Defeat
36. England in 1485