The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West

Tom Holland

Apr 2018 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by James A. Gillies

About this audiobook

At the approach of the first millennium, the Christians of Europe did not seem likely candidates for future greatness. Weak, fractured, and hemmed in by hostile nations, they saw no future beyond the widely anticipated Second Coming of Christ. But when the world did not end, the peoples of Western Europe suddenly found themselves with no choice but to begin the heroic task of building a Jerusalem on earth. In The Forge of Christendom, Tom Holland masterfully describes this remarkable new age, a time of caliphs and Viking sea kings, the spread of castles and the invention of knighthood. It was one of the most significant departure points in history: the emergence of Western Europe as a distinctive and expansionist power.

About the author

Historian Tom Holland is the author of several nonfiction works of history, including Rubicon, Persian Fire, and The Forge of Christendom. Rubicon was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the 2004 Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History, and Persian Fire won the Anglo-Hellenic League's 2006 Runciman Award.

James A. Gillies has been a familiar voice across BBC television and radio for nearly a quarter of a century. Trained at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, he has worked as an actor, continuity announcer, program narrator, and newsreader. He lives with his wife and two Norwegian Forest cats in Kilbarchan, Scotland.