"Madden guides listeners through the most famous and enduring narratives of medival Europe. Beginning with King Arthur, Professor Madden peels back layers of exaggeration and fiction to lay bare the historical basis for the mythological king. Madden then examines myths of the medieval church, sexual myths of the Middle Ages, and myths about Robin Hood and the Shroud of Turin, all the time imparting an understanding of just what medieval people thought about their planet. Contents: King Arthur: man vs. myth -- Medieval and modern mysteries of the Holy Grail -- A female Pope? The myth and legends of Pope Joan -- Burn them all: witches and inquisitors in the Middle Ages -- Medieval sexual myths: chastity belts and the Lord's 'right of first night' -- Splitting arrows: the history and myth of Robin Hood -- Sailing off the edge of the world: the myth of the flat Earth -- Is the Shroud of Turin a Medieval forgery?"
"Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden focuses his expertise on what has been called the most beautiful city in the world-Venice. In these lectures, Professor Madden explains how the city on the lagoon was established by refugees escaping the onslaught of northern 'barbarians' invading the crumbling Roman Empire. Through its history, Venice housed the world's leading merchants, thrived as a maritime powerhouse, and developed into an independent republic not unlike the present United States. Venice draws millions of visitors each year, and these lectures shed light on why the city is such a continual source of fascination."
"In this compelling series of lectures, widely esteemed author and professor Thomas F. Madden illustrates how the papacy, the world's oldest institution, gave birth to the West. Since Jesus Christ instructed the foremost of his Apostles, Peter, that he would be the rock upon which Christ would build his church, the papacy has survived the rise and fall of empires while continuing to assert an undeniable influence on world events. The men who have served as pope are a fascinating collection of larger-than-life personages who have touched millions of lives, changed the course of history, and even launched crusades that have altered the balance of global politics. With a learned approach and incisive analysis, Professor Madden not only provides a history of the papacy, but sheds light on the personalities of the popes and the flavor of their pontificates; and at the same time, Madden demonstrates how the papacy has survived the tumultuous cauldron of history and offers a studied commentary on the future of this resilient institution."
"Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden turns his scholarly eye on the intrigue and politics swirling about the Medieval Church. Professor Madden explores the compelling events that shaped the culture and forever altered history, from the Monophysite Controversy to reform movements to the Inquisition, Black Death, and Great Schism. This is a history populated with larger-than-life characters and notorious personages such as Charlemagne, Pope Innocent III, and the Knights Templar. Richly detailed and infused with dramatic intensity, Professor Madden's captivating lectures provide a better understanding not only of the Medieval Church, but of the modern world that followed."
"An award-winning, widely recognized expert on pre-modern history, Professor Thomas F. Madden concludes this two-part series on the medieval world. In this course, we will see the error of the commonly held assumption that the 'Dark Ages' was a time of superstition, ignorance, and violence. Rather than a time of darkness, the Middle Ages saw extraordinary innovation, invention, and cultural vitality. It was the Middle Ages that gave us universities, vernacular literature, and the extraordinary beauty of Gothic architecture. To study the medieval world, then, is not only to study a time that has passed away. It is to study the birth of a new culture that would mature into the modern West. Whether we know it or not, the world we live in today is itself the product of the Middle Ages-not 'Dark,' but remarkably bright."
"This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today."
"Esteemed university professor and best-selling author Thomas F. Madden presents an intriguing series of lectures based on a fascinating premise: that the United States has more in common with the rising Roman Republic than with the declining Roman Empire. The Tiber and the Potomac explores the amazing parallels between history's two most unusual superpowers. Both nations built empires based on trust, skillfully making friends of enemies. During the course of these lectures, Madden not only reveals these often surprising similarities, but also extracts useful principles from history, including vital lessons from Rome's 100-year struggle with terrorism."
"Esteemed history professor Thomas F. Madden explores the reformations that swept across Christendom in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The impact of these reforms affected government, popes, and kings as well as commoners, for at this time the Church was an omnipresent part of European identity-and the import of Church reforms on every level of life at this time simply cannot be underestimated. Involved in this fascinating era are such notable personages as King Henry VIII, Martin Luther, and John Calvin. Through every aspect of this remarkable process of reformation, Professor Madden captures the essence of the era-and imparts a true, studied understanding of just what this time period meant to the course of human events."
"For over 400 years, crusaders ('those signed by the cross'), out of Christian zeal, a declared love for their fellow man, and, in many cases, a simple desire for fortune, glory, and heavenly reward, marched to the Holy Land to battle both a real and perceived threat to their way of life and their religious beliefs. The story of the many crusades are filled with an unremitting passion to keep or return the home of Christianity to Christians. It is also filled with death, destruction, disorder, greed, avarice, and self-interest on all sides. Much of what occurred during the Crusades has come down to us today in the form of continued suspicion among religious ideologies-not only between Christians and Muslims, but also internally among Christian sects and, to some degree, among Muslim sects. There is certainly much to learn about our own history from a better understanding of the Crusades and what led so many to crusade."
"Entrusting the apostles to continue the work he had started by instructing them to 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .,' Jesus kindled the fires of a new religion in a world largely dominated by polytheism, cult leader worship, and mysticism. In the first century of its existence, Christianity was both welcomed and vilified throughout the Roman Empire. Many of Christianity's original adherents were martyred -murdered by those who believed it a danger to their authority or, at the very least, the cause of unrest among an otherwise docile populace. Christians themselves practiced their religion with great diversity, linked as much to local influences as theology. Political intrigue, theological beliefs, and simple misunderstandings created a need for dialogue between the many practitioners of the growing faith. Christianity's adoption as the official faith of the Roman state tied it inexorably to the fortunes of the Empire. This also helped to create a gulf between the two main theological branches of the religion, which remain to this day."
"Even millennia after its fall, the grand expanse of Roman achievement continues to affect not only American society, but the entire world as well. What caused a civilization of such accomplishments to disintegrate? In this informative and lively series of lectures, renowned history professor Thomas F. Madden serves as the ultimate guide through the fall of ancient Rome. Professor Madden correlates the principles of Roman conduct-both governmental and military- that would forever change the world. Rome was an empire unlike the world had ever seen, and one that will likely never be duplicated. Peopled with personages of great distinction and even greater ambition, at once notable for humanity's great promise and flawed nature, the Roman Empire contributed many of history's proudest advancements. Here Professor Madden invites audiences to explore all the grandeur of this lost empire."
"In the nearly two thousand years since its founding, the Catholic Church has provided a spiritual home for billions of followers. Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden leads listeners through the events that have helped create the modern church from the Renaissance period to the twenty-first century. Along the way, the audience will learn about the people who influenced and guided the church-priests and saints, laymen and popes-through some of its most difficult times and in some of its most glorious moments."
