This collection of audio lectures is scheduled in the Mater Amabilis high school plans for honors history students in Level 5 Year 1, freshman year. It complements the study of early British history, which is a combination of Winston Churchill's History of the English-Speaking Peoples (the one-volume abridgement) and primary sources. It's simply marvelous.
Professor Drout begins by describing who the Anglo-Saxon people are. He tells how they arrived in England and what they did when they got there. His fourteen lectures cover history, culture, language, literature, and how Anglo-Saxon influences continued into the modern world.
His lectures overflow with his enthusiasm and love for the people and the language, and especially for Beowulf. (Mater Amabilis also schedules Beowulf in Level 5 Year 1, as part of the English course, so we were able to appreciate his enjoyment even more.) The lectures are informative, but also entertaining. Professor Drout loves his subject, but he doesn't take himself too seriously.
I have said for many years my favorite lecture course from the Great Courses is The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, but I think this one would be a tie if I were to have to choose a favorite lecture course without qualifying the Great Courses. I spoke so highly of the course, Kansas Dad listened to it as well. He also listened to another lecture series from the same professor called Tolkien and the West, which is now on my to-listen list.
A PDF is included with the purchase of the audio course. It includes, for each lecture, suggested readings for the lecture, notes on the lecture, questions for discussion, suggested readings, and other books of interest. I didn't look at the PDF until after First Daughter and I had both finished listening to the lectures, but it would be a good resource. I think we were able to follow the lectures without doing the readings, and First Daughter was able to narrate them well. If I have another honors student, I will print it out because there are some useful diagrams as well.
This course is listed for honors students only because it is scheduled in addition to the readings in world history, English history, church history, and from primary sources. It is not more difficult, and an interested student would enjoy it even if you didn't want to require it for honors credit. (There are a few references to some mature topics, but nothing graphic.)
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