A unique and enlightening look at Europe's so-called Dark Ages
Defying the conventional Dark Ages view of European history between A.D. 400 and 1000, award-winning historian Chris Wickham presents The Inheritance of Rome, a work of remarkable scope and rigorous yet accessible scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of new material and featuring a thoughtful synthesis of historical and archaeological approaches, Wickham agues that these centuries were critical in the formulation of European identity. From Ireland to Constantinople, the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the narrative constructs a vivid portrait of the vast and varied world of Goths, Franks, Vandals, Arabs, Saxons, and Vikings. Groundbreaking and full of fascinating revelations, The Inheritance of Rome offers a fresh understanding of the crucible in which Europe would ultimately be created.
Chapter 2. The Weight of Empire
Chapter 3. Culture and Belief in the Christian Roman World
Chapter 4. Crisis and Continuity, 400-550
Chapter 5. Merovingian Gaul and Germany, 500-751
Chapter 6. The West Mediterranean Kingdoms: Spain and Italy, 550-750
Chapter 7. Kings without States: Britain and Ireland, 400-800
Chapter 8. Post-Roman Attitudes: Culture, Belief and Political Etiquette, 550-750
Chapter 9. Wealth, Exchange and Peasant Society
Chapter 11. Byzantine Survival, 550-850
Chapter 12. The Crystallization of Arab Political Power, 630-750
Chapter 13. Byzantine Revival, 850-1000
Chapter 14. From ‘Abbasid Baghdad to Umayyad Córdoba, 750-1000
Chapter 15. The State and the Economy: Eastern Mediterranean Exchange Networks, 600-1000
Chapter 16. The Carolingian Century, 751-887
Chapter 17. Intellectuals and Politics
Chapter 18. The Tenth-century Successor States
Chapter 19. ‘Carolingian’ England, 800-1000
Chapter 21. Aristocrats between the Carolingian and the ‘Feudal’ Worlds
Chapter 22. The Caging of the Peasantry, 800-1000
Chapter 23. Conclusion: Trends in European History, 400-1000
Notes and Bibliographic Guides