Stylus Productions

A HISTORY OF LONDON

VIDEO LECTURES by Dr. William J. Neidinger

“When a main is tired of London, he is tired of life,”

Attributed to Samuel Johnson

Although the physical landscape of London has changed considerably since the days of Dr. Johnson, the spiritual landscape has not. As accurate then as now is the tired but true quip of many a tourist brochure, “You may come to London to discover Merry Old England, but you’ll discover the world.” When London first entered the pages of written history in the Annals of the Roman author Tacitus, it already had something of an “international” air about it, being inhabited by merchants, seafarers, and men of trade and commerce. As empires, armies, rulers, and dynasties traipsed across the island, London never lost the demeanor of an international city.

Forever in the forefront of political and economic innovation and revolution, London came to embody the quintessence of imperial grandeur the way few capital cities ever did. Not only her churches and government buildings but even her museums came to reflect the vitality and verve of an expanding Western civilization and Britain’s role in that expansion.

In this lecture series we will embark upon a study of the history of London, from the arrival of the Romans in the first century BC to the reign of Queen Victoria. Each lecture will be a discussion of the events of London’s history as reflected in the remains, monuments, buildings, and archaeological finds. When archaeology or literature so enable, we will look at some cameos of London life throughout the ages.

LECTURES

1. Roman Londinium.

2. Medieval London.

3. Reformation, Plague and Fire.

4. The Birth of Modern London.

A History of London for Streaming or Download