Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy From Peter To John Paul II

Upon this Rock is a Modern Scholar offering presenting the history of the papacy. The papacy is tightly interwoven with the history of Europe, from the heyday of Rome to the rise of modern "Empires" and modern Europe of today. At first, the church was a minor sect. The pope had little real power outside his local flock. Gradually, the Roman ruler began to become more aristocratic and assume a greater role in society. In part due to Constantine's conversion and subservience to the church in religious matters, the pope and the church grew to gain even more strength. The papacy was the de facto government of Europe during the middle ages. The church even had its own papal lands.

Alas, at this time, the popes became more regal, worldly figures, and forgot about their pastoral missions. This led to the reformation. At first, the reformation looked like the mumblings of a few scholars. (The church did heavily support scholarship - even if at times it seemed accepted teachings.) However, things began to really catch on - especially among some leaders who say a great chance to take some of the church riches. Eventually the popes had to come back down to earth and focus again on their religious mention, and so they did.

God Wills It!: Understanding the Crusades

Understanding the Crusades gives a history of the crusades. There were a bunch of ragamuffins that needed something to do. There were some relics of an old empire that needed some help. So, a bunch of people went out on a looting expedition, or something like that. While we often read about multiple crusades, it was really more of a continuous effort of people seeking to better themselves through conquest and church indulgences.

Empire of Gold

The Empire of Gold is a set of lectures on the history of the Byzantine Empire. While at the time, it was considered to be the Roman Empire, the Eastern empire adopted its own culture. It is somewhat ironic that the roots of the destruction of this empire lay in the Crusades. The very Christians that were sent to help the Roman empire actually helped lead to its destruction and the eventual conquest by the Muslim Turks.

The Medieval World II: Society, Economy, and Culture

The Medieval World II: Society, Economy, and Culture

This is a well done course on the "people" of the Medieval World. It presents the Middle Ages as an important time of growth. It focuses on the "social" institutions of the age and their origins. The "fuedal" system was a gradual "improvement" over the existing systems. With the decline of the Roman Empire, cities began to fall apart. Without all their shipments (of food, goods, etc.), people were left to fend for themselves. They left for the country. The country, however, was no panacea. With the decline of law, bandits also roamed the countryside. Thus people needed food and protection. This eventually evolved in to the middle age systems. Advances in technology (such as the stirrup) lead to different forms (knights). Improved technology lead to improved production.

Even the black death was a benefit to European society. The massive decline in human population lead to advances in technology as people sought to minimize labor costs. This helped lead to the European dominance of the later centuries.

What would happen if some of our institutions or cities collapsed today? Would we learn from the middle age institutions?