BROADCASTS.com

The Central Period of the Middle Age 918-1273

by Beatrice A. LEES (1858 - 1940)

Ch. 5: The Eastern Empire and the Seljuk Turks (912-1081)

Beatrice Lees writes that the history of the period of the Middle Ages from 918 to 1273 is that of "a heroic period, the age of feudalism and monasticism, of chivalry and the Crusades." The era opened "with gloomy prospects for Western Christendom. On every side danger threatened" from the Vikings, the Saracens, and the Magyars. But better things lie in store in this little volume as the Capetian dynasty is founded in France, the Holy Roman Empire becomes the political center of Europe under Frederick Barbarossa, the Papacy attains its greatest influence under Innocent III, and Frederick II, called "stupor mundi," the wonder of the world, rules the cosmopolitan Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. - Summary by Pamela Nagami

---

Listen next episodes of The Central Period of the Middle Age 918-1273:
Ch. 6: The War of Investiture (1056-1125), Pt. 2 , Ch. 10: The Comneni and the First Two Crusades (1081-1192), Pt. 2 , Ch. 11: Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard Communes (1152-1190), Pt. 2 , Ch. 13: France under Philip Augustus, Louis VIII. and St. Louis (1180-1270), Pt. 2 , Ch. 16: The Coming of the Friars and the Mediaeval Universities, Pt. 2 , Ch. 10: The Comneni and the First Two Crusades (1081-1192), Pt. 1 , Ch. 11: Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard Communes (1152-1190), Pt. 1 , Ch. 12: Henry VI. and Innocent III. (1190-1216) , Ch. 13: France under Philip Augustus, Louis VIII. and St. Louis (1180-1270), Pt. 1 , Ch. 14: The Third and Fourth Crusades and the Latin Empire of the East (1149-1261) , Ch. 15: Frederick II. and the Strife with the Papacy (1216-1250) , Ch. 16: The Coming of the Friars and the Mediaeval Universities, Pt. 1 , Ch. 17: Spain and Portugal (918-1273) , Ch. 18: The Fall of the Hohenstaufen and the Great Interregnum (1250-1273) , Ch. 6: The War of Investiture (1056-1125), Pt. 1 , Ch. 7: France under Louis VI. and Louis VII. (1108-1180) , Ch. 8: The Twelfth-Century Renaissance , Ch. 9: Germany and Italy under Lothair II. and Conrad III. (1125-1152) , Conclusion: Europe at the End of the Thirteenth Century