Product Description

Of all the civilisations existing in the year 1000, that of Western Europe seemed the unlikeliest candidate for future greatness. Com pared to the glittering empires of Byzantium or Islam, the splintered kingdoms on the edge of the Atlantic appeared impoverished, fearful and backward. But the anarchy of these years proved to be, not the portents of the end of the world, as many Christians had dreaded, but rather the birthpangs of a radically new order. MILLENNIUM is a stunning panoramic account of the two centuries on either side of the apocalyptic year 1000. This was the age of Canute, William the Conqueror and Pope Gregory VII, of Vikings, monks and serfs, of the earliest castles and the invention of knighthood, and of the primal conflict between church and state. The story of how the distinctive culture of Europe - restless, creative and dynamic - was forged from out of the convulsions of these extraordinary times is as fascinating and as momentous as any in history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5416 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
'** Fast and lively ... another blockbuster' Jenny Diski, SUNDAY TIMES ** A mighty narrative of kings and popes, battles and massacres ... A tremendously good read' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH MAGAZINE 'At last, a book that sheds much-needed light on those 1,000 years between Roman Britain and the Norman conquest that we call the dark ages' Sue Arnold GUARDIAN 'Holland tells a cracking tale, vividly bringing this neglected era of monks, popes, knights and serfs back to life' David Sinclair, TRIBUNE 'Holland is a vigorous, fluent, and selectively will-informed writer. He has gifts of imagination and sensitivity to text and mood' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, THE TIMES 'A tremendously good read, which will no doubt gain more accolades and many more readers' Noel Malcolm, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Holland's brightness and clarity makes this account of the year 1000 exceptionally pleasing' SCOTSMAN 'Millennium ranges far in both time and space yet always returns to its central theme: the right ordering of Christendom. It is narrative history in the grand manner, written with the panache and confidence we associate with the great historians of the 18th and 19th centuries. Holland's research has been prodigious... It is a marvellous, enthralling read, and gives a lively sense of these turbulent centuries that were so crucial in the making of western civilisation. Read it, and be thrilled, amazed and enlightened' Allan Massie, DAILY TELEGRAPH ** 'Mind-boggling... wry humour and thrilling tale-telling' THE TIMES ** 'A fast and lively lesson in that period which school so often misses out... another blockbuster' Jenny Diski, SUNDAY TIMES 'It is perfectly right for Holland to claim a great deal for the 11th century, of which his book is a splendid, highly coloured canvas' Norman Stone, GUARDIAN "A tremendously good read, which will no doubt gain more accolades and many more readers' Noel Malcolm, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'As a stirring, vivid and formidably learned analysis of the events surrounding the Millennium, this will hardly be equalled. Extraordinary insights and lapidary phrases abound' Murrough O'Brien, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Holland excels at narration, never jogging when he can gallop, using generous quotations to convey the mind-set of centuries hagridden with millennial rumours of the end of the world. His highly individual road map to the hitherto 'dark ages' is written with forceful - and convincing - panache' Christina Hardyment, INDEPENDENT

Review
'MILLENNIUM ranges far in both time and space yet always returns to its central theme: the right ordering of Christendom. It is narrative history in the grand manner, written with the panache and confidence we associate with the great historians of the 18th and 19th centuries. Holland's research has been prodigious . . . It is a marvellous, enthralling read, and gives a lively sense of these turbulent centuries that were so crucial in the making of western civilisation. Read it, and be thrilled, amazed and enlightened'

Review
'A fast and lively lesson in that period which school so often misses out . . . another blockbuster'

Customer Reviews

The Millenium is recreated by Tom Holland.
Did you expect the Day of Judgement or the appearance of the Antichrist at the Second Millenium in 2000? If so, sympathise with the hapless inhabitants of the Christian world around 1000 AD as they struggle for survival and are caught up in the Church and State's duel for world-leadership. In Tom Holland's new book, the focus is on the decades leading to and from the first Millennium, ending in the recapture of Jerusalem from the Saracens in 1099.

Against the violence of this background, holy men, land-hungry dukes, Viking pirates, popes and emperors briefly blaze, and are as quickly extinguished in the flames of siege and the yelling carnage of relentless warfare. In the work of any other writer, covering such a broad canvas could lead to incoherence and battle-fatigue, but Holland organises his sprawling material with exemplary clarity.

Holland is a historian for today. His zestfully colloquial style underlines the relevance that this far-off time has for us now. He relieves the derring-do occasionally by throwing in memorable descriptions of the splendour of Constantinople or the tranquil piety of the Abbey of Cluny. There has been less written about this murky period than almost any time in history. Its chief characters could only be brought to life by someone of Holland's wide-ranging scholarship and imagination, Despite his often meagre primary sources, his description of characters and events have an almost cinematographic immediacy.

This is a Big Read about a Big Subject. If you are so swept along that you miss some of the vivid detail, it will repay reading again - and again.

The Original Millenium Bug?
Tom Holland does history and historians a great service. He brings areas of history such as the ancient world or the middle ages that have been increasingly the preserve of academics back to the general populace. He does this with wit, clever anecdote, narrative history and the confidence to nmatch his history with the trends in academia.

Millenium in this respect is a triumph of writing. First he succeeds in providing a highly cohesive narrative for a landscape that was divided amongst so many kingdoms and cultures, this is a victory in itself. secondly he ensures that his narrative is not the dull constitutional histories of the past that are a collection of dates but instead tries to really understand the motivations of the history.

Significantly he addresses the importance of religion and especially the Christian pre-occupation with the second coming. In an age that increasingly doesn't understand faith or wishes to downplay it's involvement in history, Holland masterfully draws in a clear and fair image of religion in keeping with current trends in middle ages history. He is very good at discuss the abbey at Cluny and using the abbey to draw a detailed image of the periods religious landscape. Skillfully he also looks at Muslim and Jewish attitudes and beliefs in the period and amazingly manages to fit into his narrative some well thought insights into the intellectual relationships between these faiths. It is often the downfall of historians of this period to take too Christian a view of events, but Holland succeeds in rising above this, it is to say the least refreshing.

The quality of his language and the structure of the book are also expertly compiled and depsite the need to travel both backwards and forwards in time to describe a kingdom or development, Hollands literary ability shines through.

I have only given the book 4 stars and need to explain why. In part Holland's great success in creating a unified history by focusing on Millenial angst also hinders the development of the work. First he never really addresses the extent to which we see AD 1000 as the millenium rather than the people of the middle ages who were less certain of dates and also using a plethora of religious dates to formulate an idea of the millenium (i.e. Christ's birth, crucifixtion, the birth of Mohammed etc), and that there were other reasons for the development of the period. He is disappointly uncritical of his entry point into the period, the millenium which feels like an opportunity wasted.

All in all a terrific work for a difficult period, Holland has made an accesible, intense and engrossing piece of history.

Another Treat For Holland Fans
I agree with A Hall that the author's previous books (Persian Fire and Rubicon) are tough acts to follow. But for me, Holland completes the hat-trick in real style. What he does so well is combine genuine scholarship with an eye for a great story, and he keeps on picking out neglected areas of history and bringing them to life. The 11th Century may not sound that mouthwatering to begin with but it does include the Battle of Hastings and the First Crusade - pretty juicy. And if, like me, you have a taste for the bloodthirsty details, Holland digs them all up and delivers them in spades. The hardback is a bit heavy to carry around, so I might wait until his next one comes out in paperback.