Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Millennium

  • The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom
  • By: Tom Holland
  • Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
  • Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (127 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Millennium

By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Bestselling historian and broadcaster Tom Holland gives a thrilling panoramic account of the birth of the new Western Europe in the year 1000

'An exhilarating sweep across European history either side of the year 1000; riveting' ALLAN MASSIE, SPECTATOR

'I relished the blood and thunder narrative - the work of a great storyteller at his best' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, EVENING STANDARD

'A splendid, highly coloured canvas' NORMAN STONE, GUARDIAN

In AD 900, few would have guessed that the splintering kingdoms of Europe were candidates for future greatness. Hemmed in by implacable enemies and an ocean, there were many who feared that they were nearing the time when the Antichrist would appear, heralding the world's end.

Instead there emerged a new civilisation. It was the age of Otto the Great and William the Conqueror, of Viking sea-kings, of hermits, monks and serfs. It witnessed the spread of castles, the invention of knighthood, and the founding of the papal monarchy. It was a momentous achievement: for this was nothing less than the founding of the modern West.
©2008 Tom Holland (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
activate_samplebutton_t1

Listeners also enjoyed...

Henry VIII: The Quest for Fame cover art
The Burgundians cover art
The Weimar Years cover art
Rollo the Viking: The Life and Legacy of the Viking Ruler Who Conquered Normandy cover art
Babylon cover art
The Thirty Years War cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
A History of Britain: Volume 1 cover art
Children of Ash and Elm cover art
The Eagle and the Lion cover art
A Distant Mirror cover art
Joan of Arc cover art
Ghost Empire cover art
Armies of Heaven cover art
Warlords of Ancient Mexico cover art
The Dark Ages: 476-918 cover art

What listeners say about Millennium

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    72
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    72
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    63
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful historical epic

Excellent, I really upgraded my historical knowledge of this period after reading it. Holland is a splendid historian

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Linked up emerging patters of history across Christendom.

Holland introduced me to a new cast of characters from the rich Dark Ages. The details of these individuals and their quirks and the stitches their lives made in a moving tapestry of history are picked out here beautifully.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Scholarly and immensely entertaining.

This audiobook book is great on two levels. I learned a great deal about the power struggles between church and secular leaders around the turn of the first Christian millennium, while being entertained by the author's dry wit. The narration was excellent to. I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in religious and secular powers of the period, and to those who found the millennial cults at the end of the 20th Century intriguing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very illuminating

I’m a great fan of Tom & Dom’s The Rest Is History podcast, and I’ve read a couple of Tom Holland’s books which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Whether they transfer well into audiobooks depends, I think, on what you want from a book. Tom has a particular writing style which, if you haven’t heard him talk (eg on the podcast) could seem a little - not sure how best to describe it - portentous? It certainly seems a lot more “highbrow”, even at times slightly pompous, than how he comes across on TRIH. Or is that down to Mark Meadows’ narration? Not sure. In any event, in my view either interpretation would be unfair. What TH is really good at is getting into the mindset of the people of the period he is describing. If there is any portentousness involved, it is a reflection of the time and the material. What I found particularly engaging, and illuminating, about Millennium was that, despite the fact that it dealt with a lot of “facts” I thought I already knew, it was the first time I had heard anyone trying to get into the head of Pope Gregory VII, or the Emperor Henry IV, during the great Investiture Crisis, trying to actually explain their actions in terms of their own value sets at the time. The details are quite hard to follow in an audiobook but if you allow yourself that half a step back, to see the painting rather than the brushstrokes, in my opinion it is a revelation. And whilst I, personally, prefer Mr Holland’s narration to that of Mark Meadows, I do think Meadows does a very good job of bringing to life a book that isn’t easy to narrate. So, overall - strong work by all! And thank you, it was a very illuminating listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tom Holland makes history accessible to all

like many people I was put of history at school when decades ago it was taught in such a dry and dreary way. Yet I was interested and curious in history so thought I'd try as an adult to revisit what I'd missed in my school years. Tom Holland is an engaging writer who makes history real and accessible. His writing is obviously factual but also witty , wry and humorous I'll definitely be looking for more of his books. The narrator Mark Meadows brings this great book to life with his wonderful style of reading.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

fascinating from start to finish

Loved it! so much in such a short span of history. Working from home!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mired in metaphor and knowing winks

The performance was very good but I struggled to keep up with the narrative. Way too many nicknames, metaphors and assumptions from the author. It’s a complex subject made more so by the authors flowery embellishments.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

Lovely take on the 200 years either side of the year 1000, and the story it draws from comparative analysis is intriguing and compelling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another brilliant audio by Tom Holland

My review of this book is much like my previous reviews of another two of Tom Holland's books.
Well narrated and absolutely fully researched by the writer.
Recommend all of Tom Holland's books on history to anyone interested I early first century to 13th century events.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Narrator

Narrator very poor. I wiil be returning this title very disappointed very monotone making it very uninteresting on such a great subject. Poor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful