The Burgundians

A Vanished Empire: A History of 1111 Years and One Day

De: Bart van Loo, Nancy Forest-Flier - translator

Narrado por: Nigel Patterson

At the end of the fifteenth century, Burgundy was extinguished as an independent state. It had been a fabulously wealthy, turbulent region situated between France and Germany, with close links to the English kingdom. Torn apart by the dynastic struggles of early modern Europe, this extraordinary realm vanished from the map. But it became the cradle of what we now know as the Low Countries, modern Belgium and the Netherlands.

This is the story of a thousand years, a must-listen narrative history of ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury, and madness. It is about the decline of knightly ideals and the awakening of individualism and of cities, the struggle for dominance in the heart of northern Europe, bloody military campaigns, and fatally bad marriages. It is also a remarkable cultural history, of great art and architecture and music emerging despite the violence and the chaos of the tension between rival dynasties.

©2019 Bart Van Loo (P)2023 Tantor

Fascinating

Often overlooked due to France, England, and the HRE, Burgundy was nearly its own kingdom and this book tells of its rise and fall. I never write reviews, but this book was fascinating, well written, and easy to follow. Add to that Nigel Patterson is one of the best narrators out there this is a must read\listen to anyone with an interest in European history.

Fascinating

A great history of a very interesting and important group of people and places. Art, science, intrigue, romance, war…this book has it all.

Wonderful book!

So much history that I did not know so I found this text extremely gratifying.

A wonderful tale of Burgundy’s pivotal role

This is an engaging account of Burgundy”s rise and fall as a state and how it contributed to the emergence of early modern Europe.

Lovely book and perfectly narrated

Good mix of depth and speed moving forward in the narrative. Author seems really competent

well researched

Over all, I enjoy the book. there were areas that seemed to drag, but that is the way of history.

Different Perspectives of Familiar Stories

This is a fascinating take on the medieval period in Europe, it's like finding new episodes of your favorite show. The narrator is fantastic.

Fascinating history

Fascinating subject including the early art history of the region. Refreshing to hear history other than France or England.

Please get better title conventions please

Good book, author clearly did a lot of research. Not a fan of some of his “x or y” chapter naming convention, especially one he started added “but also z” to it as well. I would’ve preferred something a little less biased, as you can tell Van Loo has a high opinion on the Burgundian’s of yore. A personal pet peeve of mine was how he referred to Johanna of Castile or Johanna the mad. I know she was a minor character in the narrative but I felt he was rather dismissive about her mental health and the various cruel treatments/attitudes afflicted on her by her parents and later her son. Van Loo also used the word “savages” in regards to debates on indigenous peoples during the reign of Charles V and god I really really hated hearing that.
3/5 book, 5/5 performance

Depth of knowledge

So much knowledge, I was bombarded with so much information. In a good way very easy to get lost into while listening.