The Greatest Knight
The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
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The Greatest Knight
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Narrated by:
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Derek Perkins
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By:
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Thomas Asbridge
About this listen
In The Greatest Knight, renowned historian Thomas Asbridge draws upon the thirteenth-century biography and an array of other contemporary evidence to present a compelling account of William Marshal's life and times. Asbridge charts the unparalleled rise to prominence of a man bound to a code of honor yet driven by unquenchable ambition.
Marshal was the true Lancelot of his era - a peerless warrior and paragon of chivalry. As a five-year-old boy, William was sentenced to execution and led to the gallows, yet this landless younger son survived his brush with death and went on to train as a medieval knight. Against all odds Marshal rose through the ranks - serving at the right hand of five English monarchs - to become a celebrated tournament champion, a baron and politician, and, ultimately, regent of the realm.
This knight's tale lays bare the brutish realities of medieval warfare and the machinations of the royal court and draws us into the heart of a formative period of our history. It is the story of one remarkable man, the birth of the knightly class to which he belonged, and the forging of the English nation.
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"Readers seeking a deeper understanding of early tournaments and the origins of chivalry will be pleased." (Library Journal)
"Derek Perkins skillfully narrates Asbridge's history of the exemplary twelfth-century knight William Marshall.... Perkins's voice has something of the medieval in it, and he easily fills the contours of a narrative that ranges from the manufacture of knight's armor to its bloody use on the field of battle. Here is Arthurian legend at its core - and one of the year's true sleepers." (AudioFile)
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,048
The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
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5 out of 5 stars
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No Need for a Score Card
- By Troy on 01-16-15
By: Dan Jones
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The Norman Conquest
- The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,043
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 913
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 908
An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Balanced, Entertaining, and Informative History
- By Jefferson on 06-01-14
By: Marc Morris
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The Black Prince
- England's Greatest Medieval Warrior
- By: Michael Jones
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 205
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding history
- By Scott on 02-17-19
By: Michael Jones
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The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,984
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,538
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,516
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive
- By Tad Davis on 10-04-16
By: Thomas Asbridge
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Lancaster and York
- The Wars of the Roses
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 476
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 407
Lancater and York is a riveting account of the Wars of the Roses, from beloved historian Alison Weir. The war between the houses of Lancaster and York was characterised by treachery, deceit, and bloody battles. Alison Weir's lucid and gripping account focuses on the human side of history. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, and his wife Margaret of Anjou, who took up her arms in her husband's cause and battled in a violent man's world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Dense, fascinating history...questionable delivery
- By kbreezy on 10-04-17
By: Alison Weir
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Matilda
- Empress, Queen, Warrior
- By: Catherine Hanley
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 198
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
A life of Matilda - empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Both entertaining and scholarly
- By Anonymous User on 09-10-19
By: Catherine Hanley
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Bosworth 1485
- Psychology of a Battle
- By: Michael K. Jones
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4 out of 5 stars 72
On August 22, 1485, at Bosworth Field, Richard III fell, the Wars of the Roses ended, and the Tudor dynasty began. The clash is so significant because it marks the break between medieval and modern; yet how much do we really know about this historical landmark? Michael K. Jones uses archival discoveries to show Richard III's defeat was by no means inevitable and was achieved only through extraordinary chance. He relocates the battle away from the site recognized for more than 500 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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At last I am able to grasp this important history!
- By NC-N-NC on 03-29-16
By: Michael K. Jones
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Birth of Britain
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume I
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,346
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 969
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 966
The English-speaking peoples comprise perhaps the greatest number of human beings sharing a common language in the world today. These people also share a common heritage. For his four-volume work, Sir Winston Churchill took as his subject these great elements in world history. Volume 1 commences in 55BC, when Julius Caesar famously "turned his gaze upon Britain" and concludes with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Birth of Britain
- By Terryl Pettengill on 02-11-07
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God's Wolf
- The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders, Scourge of Saladin
- By: Jeffrey Lee
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great look into the life of a great crusader
- By Jon on 02-28-19
By: Jeffrey Lee
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The Normans
- From Raiders to Kings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: James C. Lewis
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 525
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
In The Normans, Lars Brownworth follows their story, from the first shock of a Viking raid on an Irish monastery to the exile of the last Norman Prince of Antioch. In the process, he brings to vivid life the Norman tapestry's rich cast of characters: figures like Rollo the Walker, William Iron-Arm, Tancred the Monkey King, and Robert Guiscard. The Normans presents a fascinating glimpse of a time when a group of restless adventurers had the world at their fingertips.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Norsemen in Palermo
- By Jim on 02-23-15
By: Lars Brownworth
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Henry IV
- The Righteous King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God's law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Detailed and compelling
- By kayakman on 12-15-17
By: Ian Mortimer
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Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 156
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 139
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Story5 out of 5 stars 138
Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
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The Women of the Cousins' War
- The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother
- By: Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, Michael Jones
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 500
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Stacey Wallace on 11-14-11
By: Philippa Gregory, and others
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Four Queens
- The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 267
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4 out of 5 stars 149
Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting, informative
- By Eunice on 12-06-07
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Borgias
- The Hidden History
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 721
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 628
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 631
The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
By: G. J. Meyer