Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The amazing era of the Middle Ages was a time of major historical shifts and transformations, reverberating with discoveries, innovations, events, and historical processes that are integral to the world we know today.
In the 24 enthralling lectures of The Middle Ages around the World, Professor Emerita Joyce E. Salisbury leads you on a sumptuous tour of this incredible historical epoch, making clear that the remarkable historical currents and advances...
22) Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400: Freydis Journeys to North America
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The formidable sister of Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdottir, accompanied her famous brother on two of the six voyages he took from Greenland to North America, making a fortune and building a reputation for cunning and violence along the way. Through Freydis, consider the contributions of women to the Viking age that would transform Europe.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
Discover how the melding of Spanish Islamic culture and medieval Christian ideas produced dazzling masterpieces of architecture. Travel to the times of king Alfonso the Wise, whose rich court life fostered scholarship and medicine, as well as courtly entertainments such as music, sports, and bullfighting. Learn about the flourishing of trade, highlighting the complex wool and textile industry.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
In all of Chinese history, only one woman ever ruled on her own: Wu Zetian. Trace her rise to power, from her lowly origins as the daughter of a merchant to the head of her own dynasty. Along the way, gain insight into the cutthroat nature of the Chinese imperial court and the ways Wu could be both brilliant and cruel throughout her reign.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Language
English
Description
Spain's empire in the New World spawned a vast commercial revolution. Learn about Spanish silver mining in South America, and agricultural riches from giant haciendas producing sugar and tobacco. Follow the transport of Spanish goods in armed convoys, and the resulting golden age of piracy, as both pirates and government-sanctioned privateers preyed on treasure-laden ships.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 13
Language
English
Description
Gypsy immigrants to Spain left a far-reaching imprint on Spanish culture. Here, uncover the origins of gypsy peoples, their itinerant nature, and note how they were originally welcomed by Spanish kings and nobles. Study subsequent oppression of gypsies, the nature of gypsy culture, and the iconic flamenco music and dance that is deeply linked with Spanish gypsies.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
Here, encounter Spain's king Philip II, architect of a magnificent era. Observe his strategic moving of the royal capital to Madrid, and his creation of architectural works such as the fabulous El Escorial. Learn how Philip and his sons fostered an artistic heritage emblemized by visionaries such as the painter Velasquez, composers de Victoria and Guererro, and writers Lope de Vega and Cervantes.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The ideas of chivalry and "romantic love" have been a distinctive feature of Western culture for centuries, but where did they begin? One point of origin is through the patronage of Marie of Champagne. See how her influence shaped literature through the artists she supported, including the originator of the Arthurian romance, Chretien de Troyes.
29) Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400: Perpetua Is Martyred in the Arena
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Follow the story of Vibia Perpetua, one of the earliest reliably verified Christian martyrs. How did the well-educated daughter of a noble family end up publicly executed in the arena? Trace the seemingly random series of events that led to a tragic death and see how Perpetua's record of her own experiences became an immensely popular text in the early Christian church.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
European contact with the isolated Americas dramatically changed the world. Begin by delving into the self-education of Columbus, and the lead-up to his legendary voyages. Follow Columbus's travels, and the impact of his "opening" of the New World. Finally, track further European ventures into the Americas, the Columbian Exchange of foodstuffs, and the devastation wrought by European diseases.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Look at the brilliant and controversial scholar, Hypatia, as she lived, taught, and died in Alexandria in the middle of the 5th century. Her role as a public intellectual and philosopher would make her a rare example of respected female scholarship in a male-dominated world, and it would ultimately lead to her murder at the hands of an angry Christian mob.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The unusual life of the Roman Princess Galla Placidia shows how an odd series of events can lead to astonishing results. After being kidnapped by the Visigoths, Placidia became a political advisor to the king of these "barbarians," and then his wife. Eventually, she would become a powerful empress of Rome and leave a strong mark on the politics, laws, and art of the empire.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 14
Language
English
Description
Grasp how Spain was brought into the conflict of the Protestant Reformation. Assess the Catholic Counter-Reformation, as it sought to connect the faithful more directly to God through reinvigorated spirituality and mysticism. Learn how the Council of Trent, codifying Catholic doctrine, led to the horrors of the Inquisition, and how Catholic theology was expressed in glorious Baroque art.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Language
English
Description
As a prelude to the three-century rule of the Visigoths, learn how the Goths penetrated Roman territories, and how they came to dominate Spain. Study the structure of Visigoth society, which gave rise to influential legal codes, monasticism, and great scholars such as Isidore of Seville. Take account of Toledo as a center of learning, and the diffusion of Visigothic scholarship and culture.
35) Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400: Pulcheria Defends the Virgin Mary
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
How does a 13-year-old girl become the guiding force of the most powerful empire in the world? Discover how Pulcheria used religion and a very strategic vow of chastity to ensure the success of her family's dynasty following the death of her parents. Also see how her successful theological defense of the Virgin Mary would shape the Catholic Church for centuries to come.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
Spain now extended both its empire and its Catholicism into the New World. Witness the exploits of Hernán Cortés, who battled the Aztec Empire in the quest for gold, and of Francisco Pizarro and his brutal subjugation of the Incas. Then, take account of the Catholic missionaries who followed, intent on converting native souls, and how Spanish empire building was undergirded by slavery.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The story of Licoricia is inextricably tied to the commerce and violence that swept through England and its Jewish community throughout the 13th century. Her impact on society reflects the changing perception of money in the West and how Jews were both aided and restricted by the laws that dictated how they could make and keep their wealth.
38) Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400: Heloise Embraces the New Philosophy
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Discover the story of Heloise, a woman who embodied the passion for ideas that would define the time known as the "12th-century renaissance." Her thirst for knowledge, and her scandalous love affair with the teacher Peter Abelard, resulted in years of correspondence that captures spiritual and intellectual ideas that foreshadow modern philosophy.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
Now witness the Ottoman incursions against Christian lands and shipping that resulted in the massive naval battle of Lepanto. Then, see how the clash with Protestants involved Spain in religious bloodshed in the Netherlands, the assault on Britain of the Spanish Armada, and the Thirty Years War. Note how the ruinous costs of these wars prefigured the downfall of the Habsburg Dynasty.
40) Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women before 1400: Brigitta Speaks to God and the Pope
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The disasters of the tumultuous 14th century paved the way for the modern world. The first of two stories from this era, the life of Brigitta is one of struggle with the social and environmental problems of her time, a struggle she approached through religion. Brigitta's personal faith led her to seek comfort through mysticism and pass her experience down through her writings.
Didn't find it?
Can't find what you are looking for? Try submitting a purchase suggestion. Submit Request