Blood Royal

Dynastic Politics in Medieval Europe

By: Robert Bartlett

Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley

Throughout medieval Europe, for hundreds of years, monarchy was the way that politics worked in most countries. This meant power was in the hands of a family - a dynasty; that politics was family politics; and political life was shaped by the births, marriages, and deaths of the ruling family. How did the dynastic system cope with female rule, or pretenders to the throne? How did dynasties use names, the numbering of rulers, and the visual display of heraldry to express their identity? And why did some royal families survive and thrive, while others did not?

Drawing on a rich and memorable body of sources, this engaging and original history of dynastic power in Latin Christendom and Byzantium explores the role played by family dynamics and family consciousness in the politics of the royal and imperial dynasties of Europe. From royal marriages and the birth of sons, to female sovereigns, mistresses and wicked uncles, Robert Bartlett makes enthralling sense of the complex web of internal rivalries and loyalties of the ruling dynasties and casts fresh light on an essential feature of the medieval world.

©2020 Robert Bartlett (P)2021 Tantor

Solid Research; Tarnished Reading

Prof. Bartlett’s Blood Royal is a fantastic deep dive into the world of dynasties of the Medieval period. The narration is a bit stiff, however, and the many foreign names tend to get butchered, despite Cowley’s efforts. Still, the material is excellent and the narration good enough, making it a worthwhile investment.

First impression

The content is excellent (as one would expect from Bartlett) but the reader is close to insufferable. Cowley reads in a monotone, almost comically missing inflections in the text as though he’s reading it for the first time. It will be difficult to complete this book.