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The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Tom Holland (Author), James A. Gillies (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 206 ratings
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At the approach of the first millennium, the Christians of Europe did not seem likely candidates for future greatness. Weak, fractured, and hemmed in by hostile nations, they saw no future beyond the widely anticipated Second Coming of Christ.

But when the world did not end, the peoples of Western Europe suddenly found themselves with no choice but to begin the heroic task of building a Jerusalem on Earth.

In The Forge of Christendom, Tom Holland masterfully describes this remarkable new age, a time of caliphs and Viking sea kings, the spread of castles, and the invention of knighthood. It was one of the most significant departure points in history: the emergence of Western Europe as a distinctive and expansionist power.

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  1. Listening Length
    15 hours and 57 minutes
  2. Author
    Tom Holland
  3. Narrator
    James A. Gillies
  4. Audible release date
    April 17, 2018
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Tantor Audio
  7. ASIN
    B07BYRZGVY
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 15 hours and 57 minutes
Author Tom Holland
Narrator James A. Gillies
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date April 17, 2018
Publisher Tantor Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07BYRZGVY
Best Sellers Rank #115,955 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#60 in Christian Historical Theology (Audible Books & Originals)
#130 in Medieval European History
#236 in History of Christianity (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
206 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and interesting. They appreciate the detailed history and helpful background information. The narrative is described as engaging and exciting, with anecdotes that make it a creative non-fiction read.

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ReadabilityKnowledgeNarrative quality
19 customers mention "Readability"15 positive4 negative

Customers find the book engaging and readable. They say it's an interesting history that captures their attention with a twist.

"...I am also reading the "standards" and this one remains the most readable and provocative (believe it or not)...." Read more

"Very good book. Helps greatly in understanding many aspect of middle ages and the impact of religion of western civilization...." Read more

"...This book is great because, in addition to being a history lesson, it also describes the origins of so many things still with us today...." Read more

"Entertaining, but the author is so credulous of his sources that you can't really be sure how much actually happened...." Read more

17 customers mention "Knowledge"17 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's detailed history. They find it a helpful guide for history enthusiasts, providing background about the dark and middle ages. The narrative style of presenting history is preferred over textbook-style presentation. Readers enjoyed the 10th century issues and how Holland connected various aspects.

"...But he's a good enough scholar to be skeptical of, but willing to listen to, the more far out interpretations...." Read more

"Very good book. Helps greatly in understanding many aspect of middle ages and the impact of religion of western civilization...." Read more

"...This book is great because, in addition to being a history lesson, it also describes the origins of so many things still with us today...." Read more

"This book has a huge scope but the author has a knack for picking out telling details and keeping the narrative moving." Read more

10 customers mention "Narrative quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the narrative quality of the book. They find the story engaging, interesting, and enjoyable. The author has a great knack for finding wonderful anecdotes and repeating them at face value. The book is easy to read and exciting, though provocative.

"...the "standards" and this one remains the most readable and provocative (believe it or not)...." Read more

"...Holland has a great knack for finding wonderful anecdotes and enjoys repeating them at face value...." Read more

"...the author has a knack for picking out telling details and keeping the narrative moving." Read more

"...Anyways an interesting and enjoyable read." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • LS Oyama
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by my favorite author
    Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I have read all of Tom Holland's books (well, not all of the fantasies), and this one does not disappoint. I am also reading the "standards" and this one remains the most readable and provocative (believe it or not). Holland is up on the latest academic theories and controversies, and definitely takes sides. But he's a good enough scholar to be skeptical of, but willing to listen to, the more far out interpretations. The combination of great writing, as always, and good scholarship make him a compelling authority.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • John F. Fravel, Jr.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent .. Highly recommend for those interested in the rise of Christianity and European History
    Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Very good book. Helps greatly in understanding many aspect of middle ages and the impact of religion of western civilization. Agree with some other reviews in that it does get a little tedious but also believe the detail is essential to understanding. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the rise of Christianity and / or European history.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Arnold
    4.0 out of 5 stars Mediaeval history unlike anything you learned in high school
    Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2009
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    I consider myself a history buff and love ancient Roman and modern Asian history, but basically haven't paid attention to the Middle Ages/Mediaeval history since high school. As Holland's newest book shows, that was certainly a mistake. According to Holland's The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West, the early Middle Ages, around the turn of the millennium, proved to be an extremely important time not just in European history, but also the separation between church and state and the idea of progress more broadly.

    Before the millennium, many Christians in Europe became apprehensive as, in the Book of Revelation, St. John predicted that the Antichrist would rule the world and the end of days would be near. The exact date was uncertain, but though to be a thousand years after Christ's birth (1000 AD) or his resurrection (1033 AD, the more accepted number after nothing happened in 1000 AD). During this time, Europe (coincidentally?) suffered internecine warfare, rogue knights, Viking raids, threats from a rising Islamic Caliphate, and a host of other problems. When the millennium came and went, both religious and secular leaders realized they had better solidify their own dominions on earth since the end of days might take longer than expected. However, unlike James Reston's The Last Apocalypse: Europe at the Year 1000 A.D., Holland's book does not focus on the myths and legends surrounding the millennium, but rather the historical developments.

    The thrust of the book focuses on the political and religious changes that accompanied, and were influenced by, the millennium. Most important for Holland's story is the rise of the papacy. Before the millennium, the papacy was simply an office available for ambitious roman elites. The line of popes consisted of more than a few incompetents, youthful puppets, dilettantes, and gigolos. Furthermore, many bishops received the positions through bribery and other patronage (known as simony). By the mid-1000s, religious reformers, with a stronghold in the monastery in Cluny, succeeded in installing one of their own, Pope Leo IX. Thereafter, popes increasingly exercised their temporal and religious authority, with Pope Leo IX being the first to declare a holy war (against Norman marauders in Italy). The story culminates when Gregory VII excommunicates the Saxon King Henry IV when the latter sought to appoint and control local bishops, as kings had traditionally done. Henry successfully begs for forgiveness at Canossa, but not before the world realizes that the papacy is powerful and that the Pope controls religious affairs. Holland argues this led to the division between church and state that has proven so crucial to Western civilization (and contrasted to Islam, where Islamic law covers both secular and religious issues).

    The years surrounding the millennium marked a time when Europe ceased trying to imitate the ancient Roman Empire and started to forge its own distinct future. Initially, European kings, such as Charlemagne, simply sought to emulate Roman emperors and even went to Rome to be crowned by the Pope. During the early Middle Ages, Europe also underwent a transformation in political authority. Holland describes the rise of knights and castles as responses to weak governments in the West and the ambitions of local elites. Proselytization of the barbarians also plays a bigger role. It is particularly interesting to see how Saxons, Vikings, and other warrior tribes "reinterpret" Christianity to endorse their traditional warrior customs.

    This book is great because, in addition to being a history lesson, it also describes the origins of so many things still with us today. For example, in the Frankish, Saxon, and other kingdoms, we see the beginnings of the modern nation states of Western Europe. Holland also describes how the Scandinavians, Hungarians, and others who had been outside the Roman Empire were eventually Christianized. We also see the first major incidents of anti-Semitism, in Orleans in 1010 (Holland claims that before then, Christian communities had been largely tolerant of Jews). Also, next time somebody tells you that you need to "go to Canossa," you'll know what to do.

    Holland has a great knack for finding wonderful anecdotes and enjoys repeating them at face value. He breathlessly recounts how heredity was a significant issue for heirs because, "as the ancients had long since proved, both sperm and menstrual blood were suffused with the essence of an individual's soul." Hence, princes needed to assure competitors and subjects that they had inherited the prior king's noble traits through his semen. Meanwhile, the Scottish, trying to claim a noble heritage for their proud peoples, claimed to have descended from the Pharaoh's daughter who had found Moses in a bulrushes. her name - Princess Scota of course! One of my favorite stories was the advice Polish bishops gave for punishing a rapist: "nailed his scrotum to a bridge, [and] then, 'after a sharp knife has been placed next to him,' be confronted with the unpleasant options of self-castration or suicide." Thou shalt NOT lust.

    Having said that, I don't think the book works as well as Holland's other books (Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West and Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic) simply because he covers too much. Unlike those two books, which covered pivotal events, The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West really deals with a 150-year time period. There aren't really any central characters, and this period of history covers so many kings, princes, and popes that it simply becomes difficult to remember them all. Furthermore, the narrative often skips around to different parts of Europe and occasionally goes on tangents (I'm still not sure how important the Russians were to all of this). However, at the end of the day, I think Holland rightly felt he had to put in this background because, unlike the history of Julius Caesar, few readers know enough about the early Middle Ages to appreciate the significance of the millennium and Canossa. In that sense, for readers (like myself) who have little background in Mediaeval history, it is important to not get too overwhelmed by the details and keep the larger picture in mind. If you do that, you'll be shocked this history changes your view of the West.
    92 people found this helpful
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  • Seth E Kolloen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well-told macro history
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019
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    This book has a huge scope but the author has a knack for picking out telling details and keeping the narrative moving.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Joseph Maltby
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not His Best
    Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2020
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    Entertaining, but the author is so credulous of his sources that you can't really be sure how much actually happened. It's halfway to being historical fiction.
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  • Jonathan Jesse
    5.0 out of 5 stars Learned a lot about an area I didn't know much
    Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Enjoyable book. I just wish I had the time to sit down and read it in large chunks of time but little kids don't allow that.
    Anyways an interesting and enjoyable read.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Steve Diput
    5.0 out of 5 stars We are a mix of not well known influences
    Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent collection of unknown facts (like that there would be no Renaissance without the Arabs transmitting the ancient and new knowledge to the then barbarian Europe) and connecting them in sensible way to what later became us, the West.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Steven M. Anthony
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Narrative History
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2010
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    I picked up this novel after reading Holland's Rubicon and Persian Fire, due partly to my preference for the author's narrative style of presenting history, and partly due to the intriguing subject matter.

    I've read a number of works on the Middle Ages and am passingly familiar with the characters and the events that shaped the history of the era. Nevertheless, as he did so well in his earlier two works, Holland has a way of taking well known subject matter and giving it enough of a twist to capture the reader's attention. In addition, his narrative style of presenting history is far preferable to the dry, textbook style utilized by many other authors.

    In this work, Holland examines the Middle Ages, roughly from the reign of Constantine to the early 12th century, through the prism of the spread of Christianity, the sometimes extreme tension between religious and secular rulers, and challenges posed by adjacent pagan and Islamic encroachment.

    Whether you are a well read student of the era, or a newcomer, I can highly recommend Forge of Christendom and other historical works by this author.
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • LadyWolf
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2018
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    Unfortunately it is the same book as Millennium which I already have
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  • denisa
    1.0 out of 5 stars VORSICHT: unter einem anderen Titel schon erschienen
    Reviewed in Germany on October 8, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Man hätte sich diese Info in der Beschreibung gewünscht, wir hatten es nämlich schon im Regal. In kleingedruckt steht dann: "originally published: Millenium...2008". Schon ein bisschen Betrug
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  • Filipe Silveira Aguiar
    4.0 out of 5 stars Avaliação Profunda
    Reviewed in Brazil on February 21, 2015
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    Avaliação profunda e didática desse período histórico. Único ponto negativo é a falta de sistematização, pois analisa diferentes regiões sem uma linha de análise clara.
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  • Anita Dillen
    5.0 out of 5 stars History at it's best
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2014
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    Tom Holland manages to combine a feel for the period with a present-day point of view, alle presented in a fluent style
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  • Dra Luisa Coimbra
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2016
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    This is the 'fresh' approach, to an old subject
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