The Great Courses: Experiencing Medieval Europe

I see there's one on France available through Kanopy that I didn't notice before: "The Great Tours: France Through the Ages". I haven't looked to see whether there are additional travel series Kanopy doesn't have. There are definitely several on photography that might be useful for travelers.

I'm watching this course right now too. Also liked the one called The Story of Medieval England. The first course I watched on Kanopy was the tour of France,it was very good also.

We have visited all the places you listed except Carcassonne and Malta. Great choices, but there are more cities in Europe with a large Medieval imprint. The Romantic Road in Germany includes Rothenberg ob der Tauber, but also Dinkelsbuhl, Donauwurth and more. Nuremburg has that imprint, but much it was rebuilt after WWII. Lucca, Florence and Sienna have great Reniassance era buildings, which are close to the Medieval period.

Thanks for this info. I just ordered it from our local library. They have copies of many of the Great Courses!

Thank you for this post. I never heard of this service but our Columbus Metropolitan Libary does indeed participate. I have only just signed up, but it appears we may view 7 films per month and unlimited Great Courses (also unlimited kid’s version of Kanopy).
One more reason why I love this website and appreciate the vast range of help and information everyone provides. Be safe and happy new year.

Funny, I was just on the GreatCourses website yesterday and almost purchased the France course. I still want it, but I am in the midst of another project now, so decided to wait a bit.
The course was on sale.
Is it free to watch on Kanopy?

Libraries are free to set their own rules, but they pay Kanopy based on usage, so there will usually be a (calendar) monthly limit. In Washington DC the limit is 6 films and two Great Courses. The way the Great Courses worked for me (which I assume is standard but cannot confirm) is that the course counted against my quota in the month when I began it (November). Continuing to watch it in December didn't count as one of my two courses for this month. So in December I was able to finish watching one course and watch two additional full courses.

Another tip: You can play the video at 1.5 times normal speed. I was having to pause the video and back up often in order to take notes, so speeding it up helped me get through the package in a reasonable amount of time. I do that when I'm watching recorded documentaries on TV, too, though there my options are either 1.3x or 1.4x speed (both better than 1.5x).

I think all libraries may differ. I'm lucky, I get 10 movie credits a month and unlimited Great Courses. It's a great benefit from your library if you get it.

@Denny. I’m originally from Columbus and remember checking out The Great Courses back in the VHS and cassette tape era from the main library.

I have The Great Courses Plus subscription now and it’s great. It really is a great travel planner, the history and art lectures are excellent travel planners and then there’s the courses designed specifically for travel

I highly recommend this course! It's quiet well done and the instructor is one of the better ones in their series. I think there's perhaps more historical information that could be added, but I learned something from every episode, even those for the cities I know pretty well.

While not specifically a tour program, the course on "Palace's - the Architecture of Power" is eye opening if you're into the why those huge buildings are built and how the layout changes with local politics and cultures.

Thank you for this! I had no idea this existed and have found plenty of courses to keep me busy!

Thanks. This sounds interesting. Now I have to see what I can get through my library (Fairfax County)? I just changed counties so I have to start from scratch. Everything is shut down or severely limited these days so I haven't signed up for my new library card yet. Hope I can do it online.

CuriosityStream is another wonderful programming option. Subscription for $2.99 per month. My husband and I are not into sitcoms or reality shows and have found plenty to watch on this programming option. Our favorite so far, is Art Of The Heist. Right now we are watching The French Revolution.
I found out about it on this forum!

Thanks for this post--I can also watch through my local library.

Libraries are free to set their own rules, but they pay Kanopy based on usage, so there will usually be a (calendar) monthly limit. In Washington DC the limit is 6 films and two Great Courses. <<

We have no limits whatsoever on borrowing Great Courses videos and audios through the Massachusetts library system. The Boston Public Library has more than 400 of the Great Courses audio courses, easily downloadable and free.

Thank you Acraven for this! I had no idea my library had this and have now enjoyed the first three lectures on Experiencing Medieval Europe!