Stupor Mundi: The Life and Times of Frederick II Emperor of the Romans King of …


Read by Pamela Nagami

(4.4 stars; 6 reviews)

Frederick II (1194-1250), under whose reign the Holy Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, was called by his contemporaries "Stupor Mundi," the "astonishment of the world." Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's northern and southern Italian lands, he was excommunicated four times. Frederick spoke six languages and was an avid patron of the arts. He negotiated a peace treaty ending the sixth crusade, reigned over a cosmopolitan court at Palermo, and entrusted the administration of his southern kingdom to an efficient Muslim and Jewish bureaucracy. Allshorn writes that "around his name there gathered a glamour of strangeness and splendour, of genius soaring to perilous questionings of eternal truths, of unbreakable resolution and of unconquerable pride." - Summary by Pamela Nagami (8 hr 13 min)

Chapters

Ch. 1: A Heritage of Strife, Pt. 1 13:32 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 1: A Heritage of Strife, Pt. 2 13:39 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 2: The Child of Mother Church, Pt. 1 12:02 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 2: The Child of Mother Church, Pt. 2 14:22 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 3: The Adventure and the Goal, Pt. 1 14:11 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 3: The Adventure and the Goal, Pt. 2 15:13 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 4: King and Emperor, Pt. 1 18:09 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 4: King and Emperor, Pt. 2 17:17 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 5: The First Excommunication, Pt. 1 12:06 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 5: The First Excommunication, Pt. 2 10:02 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 6: The Excommunicate Crusader, Pt. 1 15:33 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 6: The Excommunicate Crusader, Pt. 2 15:02 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 7: The Years of Solace, Pt. 1 15:09 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 7: The Years of Solace, Pt. 2 12:50 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 7: The Years of Solace, Pt. 3 12:09 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 8: The Rebellious Son, Pt. 1 12:46 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 8: The Rebellious Son, Pt. 2 16:51 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 9: The Conqueror 19:11 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 10: The Second Excommunication, Pt. 1 15:41 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 10: The Second Excommunication, Pt. 2 13:51 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 11: Fire and Sword, Pt. 1 11:41 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 11: Fire and Sword, Pt. 2 13:11 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 12: The Captured Council, Pt. 1 12:43 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 12: The Captured Council, Pt. 2 15:06 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 13: The New Enemy, Pt. 1 18:44 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 13: The New Enemy, Pt. 2 5:57 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 14: The Council of Lyons, Pt. 1 14:11 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 14: The Council of Lyons, Pt. 2 18:27 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 15: The Deposed Emperor, Pt. 1 13:14 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 15: The Deposed Emperor, Pt. 2 14:23 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 16: The Gathering of the Clouds, Pt. 1 12:02 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 16: The Gathering of the Clouds, Pt. 2 16:05 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 17: The Fall of Night 10:57 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 18: Stupor Mundi, Pt. 1 14:12 Read by Pamela Nagami
Ch. 18: Stupor Mundi, Pt. 2 13:12 Read by Pamela Nagami

Reviews

Good insight into 13th century politics and diplomacy


(5 stars)

Frederick II is a complicated figure whose story is stranger than fiction. He was a crusader who took Jerusalem via diplomacy, a Holy Roman Emperor who was excommunicated twice. I don’t know how Pamela Nagami found the time to read all these books, but she always does an excellent job!