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Heart of Europe

A History of the Holy Roman Empire

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Heart of Europe

By: Peter H. Wilson
Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
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About this listen

The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire quipped that it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter H. Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states.

Heart of Europe traces the empire from its origins within Charlemagne's kingdom in 800 to its demise in 1806. By the mid-tenth century, its core rested in the German kingdom, and ultimately its territory stretched from France and Denmark to Italy and Poland. Yet the empire remained abstract, with no fixed capital and no common language or culture. The source of its continuity and legitimacy was the ideal of a unified Christian civilization, but this did not prevent emperors from clashing with the pope over supremacy. Though the title of Holy Roman Emperor retained prestige, rising states such as Austria and Prussia wielded power in a way the empire could not. While it gradually lost the flexibility to cope with political, economic, and social changes, the empire was far from being in crisis until the onslaught of the French revolutionary wars.

©2016 Peter H. Wilson (P)2017 Tantor Europe Germany Medieval Modern Western Europe War France Imperialism Italy Royalty Renaissance Refugee Ancient History

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Critic reviews

"Hugely impressive...Wilson is an assured guide through the millennium-long labyrinth of papal - imperial relations." ( Literary Review)
All stars
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very detailed but presents a confusing picture of empire. not helped by poor and over dramatic reading.

confusing!

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The story and the writing is engaging but like others have said the narrator is a bit of an oddball. But, give it time, he grows on you

Good, however...

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Terrible narrator with weirdly aggressive way of pronouncing German names and terms. The book itself is very interesting,but difficult to listen to.

Great content, weak narration

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Really fascinating and well narrated audiobook, lots of well researched information with well balanced interpretations and conclusions. However I would prefer to have read it physically I think. Because of how hard it is to flick back and forth, I find more linear history audiobooks easier to listen to, whereas this one was arranged by themes, and timelines were hard to follow at times. Still, a good book overall, well worth investing some hours into!

Probably better to read than to listen

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This is a detailed and compelling history of the Holy Roman Empire, ruined by truly terrible narration. It's so bad it would be funny, except you've spent money on a performance that would shame a 12 year old's drama recital. Do yourself and favour and buy the actual book - you just can't get into it otherwise

Great history, dire narration

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It is clear to me that Peter H. Wilson has spent decades studying the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), Germans and Central Europe as this book could not be written without it. His knowledge, research and studying has thus allowed me to gain an insight into this complex collection of states. The task to write about the HRE, is colossus and daunting and there is in fact no easy way to tell 1000 years of history through one book. I feel Wilson has managed this the best he can and as such this book is a great achievement. However, it is no a ‘masterpiece’ there are issues, but as with most critics I cannot provide a complete solution. Perhaps there is none.

The book follows a thematic approach and is not a narrative history, so if that is what you are searching for, this is not for you. Wilson dives into themes, starting classically with what the ‘Holy’, ‘Roman’ and ‘Empire’ parts meant. I actually think Voltaire’s quote ‘it was in no way Holy, nor Roman nor an Empire’ quite lazy and not witty. He tells us the importance of Charlemagne, who is actually more important than I realised and as such I will look to read more on him. He tells us how it worked, how the Emperors were elected, the state was decentralised, the relationship between the church and Pope, how dukes (initially military leaders) and counts (‘kings friend’) developed. It’s relationship with Italy and later the Habsburgs. Ultimately he shows how it ended in the Napoleonic Wars. He dispels the popular myth that no one cared as he argues there was widespread shock amongst its former subjects.

What was most interesting was Wilson’s analysis of how the HRE was seen afterwards, with nostalgia and also difficulty for nationalists. Then again as justification and a pre curser for the German Empire, Third Reich (a term Hitler actually banned from using) and then in the European Union. Ultimately the empire was a success having lasted so long and providing so many rights to its citizens. The early modern period is widely seen as a weak epoch, managing decline. Either way it’s legacy lives on in Europe today and has to be one of the most interesting factions in history.

I am grateful to this book as it has hugely helped my understanding of pre 1806 Central Europe. However, I would not read it cover to cover and would rather use it as a reference book. As I stated above there are issues with this. The thematic approach does work and I feel one walks away with understanding the bureaucracy, the structure and the management. But the history is less clear. How it began and developed is harder to take away. The book also jumps around in time periods to explain certain elements, which does work, it again can be hard to follow. Like I said to tell 1000 years of history is no easy task and a simple narrative would also not work. So ultimately Wilson has probably provided the best solution. I now can’t wait for his Blood and Iron book.

A Life’s Labour of Love

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Any additional comments?

Two problems:
- Narator sounds artificial like from an action movie trailer.
- Lots of jumping between names and one period to another, it's hard to keep track if you are not closely familiar with history of HRE.

Bad narator and not really suited for audiobook

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What three words best describe Napoleon Ryan’s performance?

I have no idea why the narrator insists on pronouncing some words very rapidly in a mock German accent, as if he is a cartoon general. It's really frustrating when these are titles of characters and institutions as it makes it hard to understand some fairly complex German.

A comprehensive history of the HRE.

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There is an enormous amount of information in this book. Almost to the point of being dense. But this is the advantage of an audiobook - listen twice.

Very well researched and fairly easy to follow with concentration. A mine if European history that is scarcely taught in the UK

Thorough, well researched and, highly relevant to Europe

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This is essentially the 1000 years plus history of the Holy Roman Empire which as we are told is not Roman, not an Empire and not Holy! I don't think this was a good choice for an audio book for me. It is a great story but there are many unfamiliar places and names that need a bit of delving into to provide context. Not even the pause button would be good as it disrupts the listening. I would read this book due to the mass of information rather than listen

The Holy Roman Empire

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