A history of medieval Europe

'Probably the best "buy" among recent works for one who comes to medieval history for the first time.' History (about the second edition) Consisting of two parts, this book successfully conveys the importance of the distant past in understanding our modern world. The first part; The Dark Ages, examines the impact of the Barbarian invasions on Constantine's Christianized empire, and the gradual emergence, by the end of the ninth century, of a new social, economic and political order. There are important chapters on the on the Church and the Papacy, the coming of Islam, and the rise and fall of the Frankish Empire. The second part; The High Middle Ages, takes the reader from the Saxon Empire through to an examination of the European economy in the mid-thirteenth century. Important topics covered in this period include the spread of monasticism, the reform of the Papacy, the crusades, and feudal monarchy. This has been the best introductory book in medieval history for fifty years, and still is.

Part One: The Dark Ages Introduction 1. Constantine the Great: The New Rome and Christianity 2. The barbarian invasions 3. Three reactions to the barbarian invasions 4. The Church and the Papacy 5. Islam 6. The Franks 7. The Break-up of the Carolingian Empire 8. Europe at the end of the ninth century: economic survey Part Two: The High Middle Ages (900-1250) Introduction. 1. The Saxon Empire 2. The Reform of the Papcy 3. Monasticism in the 11th and 12th centuries 4. Jerusalem regained and lost: the first three Crusades. 5. Feudal monachy and the French Kingdom (1066-1223) 6.The Emperor Frederrick I Barbarossa (1152-1190) 7. The Crisis of the Church 8. The new era in monachy 9. Europe in the middle of the 13th century: an economic survey Epilogue: the Mongols