England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest

This course fills a gap in the The Great Courses (TGC) offerings and, indeed, in most histories. The Roman Empire is addressed by many courses and history after the Norman Conquest, particularly starting with Tudor England, is also addressed by many courses. This course addresses the England of funny names like AEthelberht. The course traces migrations from the “original” inhabitants – the Celts, conquered and then abandoned by Romans, followed by Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes), in turn followed by Scandinavian peoples (Danes and Norwegians), leading to the conquest of Normans from present-day France. Dr. Paxon addresses their culture including religion, art, commerce, and literature. She shows how much of this culture survived multiple waves of migrations and conquests to influence us even today. Dr. Paxon is a good lecturer although not among the TGC elite. I do recommend her course 1066: The Year that Changed Everything. I used the video version. While I could generally follow the audio version (for example, while exercising or commuting), the maps and other visual aids really did make a difference. For example, I had previously read the Venerable Bede but didn’t really understand the action; the maps in this course made the difference.

Interesting throughout. Because of the detail, sometimes hard to follow.

Great information. My only criticism is that the author repeats endlessly. I understand that it is standard procedure to review the previous lecture when you start another, HOWEVER, she repeats VERBATUM large portions of the previous lecture. You could probably reduce this program by at least 1/3 by having shortened reviews of the material rather than a direct "cut-and-paste" of half of the previous lecture at the start of the next one.

I do several of them at the same time. Some of the information is new to me. I need another month to complete them. All the presentations require me to view them several times. To accurately access them as I try to them twice

The emerging scholarship, bolstered by archeology and science, has challenged long-held beliefs regarding the so-called Saxon conquest of England. This course carefully explores the evidence without discounting the importance of its mythology. Jennifer Paxton does an able job delivering this material. My only gripe is a stylistic one that I very much doubt she had a hand in. One moment she's speaking directly to us, and the next moment she's speaking to someone else off-camera. I wanted to shout, "Hey, I'm over HERE!" It's become common though for reasons I'll never understand. I can't help but find it very distracting. Same with the other odd style of having the lecturer constantly pivot to address a different camera position which is common in other Great Courses (can't get used to Wondrium).

This course has lots and lots of details about people, dates, and actions. There may be too many details for some people, but others will love it. I certainly learned a lot and understand the mechanics and rationale for what happened and why it happened. Beside the usual information about wars and battles, there is also interesting information about the culture, art, literature, and social life of the era. Dr. Paxton is a good lecturer, but she is certainly not one of the Wondrium best. However, this course is good and should certainly be considered for viewing if you would like to know more about English history and how the country became England.

I absolutely enjoyed this presenter's facile knowledge of her material and energetic enthusiasm. However - and this has nothing to do with her excellent lessons - about 80% of the lectures was recorded from an angle, with her looking off to the side. Those segments where she looked directly at the camera were far more enjoyable and invited the viewer's involvement. Eye contact is crucial in communicating details. I loved the material and learned a great deal, but her expertise deserved better production values.

I just competed the course, and I enjoyed it very much. Ms Paxton delivers each lecture with knowledge, humor, and stories that inform. I have completed several of Ms Paxton's lectured and feel I've learned quite a bit each time.

This course richly deserves its high ratings. The lecturer is knowledgeable, engaging, informative, and well-organized. She treats the subject matter in depth without going on tangents.

This is a fantastic course. It thoroughly goes through the early history of England. The presenter presents the material in a clear, and engaging manner. A total joy.