The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague

By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong

Many of us know the Black Death as a catastrophic event of the medieval world. But the Black Death was arguably the most significant event in Western history, profoundly affecting every aspect of human life, from the economic and social to the political, religious, and cultural. In its wake the plague left a world that was utterly changed, forever altering the traditional structure of European societies and forcing a rethinking of every single system of Western civilization: food production and trade, the church, political institutions, law, art, and more. In large measure, by the profundity of the changes it brought, the Black Death produced the modern world we live in today.

While the story of the Black Death is one of destruction and loss, its breathtaking scope and effects make it one of the most compelling and deeply intriguing episodes in human history. Understanding the remarkable unfolding of the plague and its aftermath provides a highly revealing window not only on the medieval world but also on the forces that brought about the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and modernity itself.

Speaking to the full magnitude of this world-changing historical moment, The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague, taught by celebrated medievalist Dorsey Armstrong of Purdue University, takes you on an unforgettable excursion into the time period of the plague, its full human repercussions, and its transformative effects on European civilization. In 24 richly absorbing lectures, you'll follow the path of the epidemic in its complete trajectory across medieval Europe. Majestic in scope and remarkable in detail, this course goes to the heart of one of Western history's most catalytic and galvanizing moments, the effects of which gave us the modern world.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

Great “great course”

I’m a mailman for the USPS and honestly listening to music gets old real fast. I’ve listened to over 70 audiobook over the last year many of them being Great Courses. This particular Great Course has me hooked from the beginning. The professor is very knowledgeable and you really get the sense she loves what she is lecturing about. I learned a lot and i hope other people who like to learn new things choose this one.

Extremely Interesting

I liked how the spread of the plague and its social, economic and political effects were described. Worth the listen in every way.

highly Recommend !

Loved it, Content and narrator . This covered every aspect of society, differences b/t locations and parts of Europe. Makes one evaluate through what lens they are looking at the current pandemic.

Deadly Subject, Lively Lecturer

In my opinion, the best History GC courses are those focused on a narrow subjects. Compared to bigger, more sweeping series, shorter series like this can really dig into details and context. And this course delivers the meaty detail, not just an appetite-wetting summary. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed of the six lectures dedicated to the plague's effect on specific cities and regions, such as Florence and Avignon .

Also, for as dark a subject as the Black Death, the Great Courses couldn't have picked a more delightful lecturer. Dr. Armstrong is straight-up charming. She ranks among the top 5 GC lecturers I've encountered without a doubt.

Riveting!

I have listened to this series twice now. It never fails to fill me with morbid fascination.
The course follows the plague as it spread through Europe, examining the cultures and societal structures of each area and how those constructs affected the rebuilding of society.
I really enjoy Professor Armstrong's narration and her ability to make the people and communities devastated by plague relatable.
Highly recommended.

Magnificent

Lots of new (to me and my morbid fascination with this topic) and recent scholarly material, brilliantly and engaging delivered. Glorioski, I wish I could lecture like that.

Unlike a lot of academics, this professor doesn't introduce a postmodernist political interpretation at every turn. Yersinia Pestis didn't cause an outbreak of proto-Marxism (cf. Norman Cantor).

One can tell that she simply enjoys the topic and her fascination inspires the listener's own.

I listened to this in L.A.'s legendary traffic and didn't notice the automotive glacier in which I was moored. So much to think about. Lecture 24 gave me the holy terrors.

Illuminating course

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars. Well presented set of lectures exploring the Black Death from a number of perspectives. Professor Armstrong ranges from epidemiology, theories on what the black death was (as there is some debate over whether it was purely bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pneumonic plague, or if other diseases were also at play), the pre- and post-plague structure of society, the impact on the arts, and how the medieval world was transformed. Professor Armstrong is engaging and entertaining and the course is very informative.

good, but a bit repetitive in places

I would have liked a bit more new detail in each lecture and less rehashing of previous lecture topics. The structure felt geared toward relatively long gaps between listening periods, as in a traditional college course, rather than the more continuous pace common when listening to audiobooks or CDs. That said, I enjoyed this course a lot.

Really good

I actually thought I was sick after hearing this book the story is top notch.

Infectiously Interesting!

Ok, plague puns aside this is an amazing course!

Not only is the topic interesting, but it is tackled at from so many angles that by the end of it you really feel like an expert on plague-related issues, able to terrorize relatives at family dinners.

The narrator, Prof. Armstrong is just the very best! Not only is her voice perfect to hear and her credentials and expertise impeccable, but she delivers the lecture with both a historian's passion and a performer's sense of humor which I have not found yet in other Great Courses' narrators.

I bought this course after listening to the one on The Medieval World, where she devoted one lecture to the plague, but mentioned that it is such an interesting topic that it could fill a whole course on its own. Boy, was she right! From the origins of the plague to the epidemiology and progression of the infection throughout Europe; from the economic consequences in a medieval manor to the possible extraterrestrial origins of the disease; this course has it all!