The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 (PENGUIN HISTORY OF EUROPE) - Hardcover

Wickham, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670020982 ISBN 13: 9780670020980

Publisher: Viking Pr, 2009

Synopsis

An ambitious and enlightening look at why the so-called Dark Ages were anything but that

Prizewinning historian Chris Wickham defies the conventional view of the Dark Ages in European history with 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 argues that these centuries were critical in the formulation of European identity. Far from being a middle period between more significant epochs, this age has much to tell us in its own right about the progress of culture and the development of political thought.

Sweeping in its breadth, Wickham's incisive history focuses on a world still profoundly shaped by Rome, which encompassed the remarkable Byzantine, Carolingian, and Ottonian empires, and peoples ranging from Goths, Franks, and Vandals to Arabs, Anglo- Saxons, and Vikings. Digging deep into each culture, Wickham constructs a vivid portrait of a vast and varied world stretching from Ireland to Constantinople, the Baltic to the Mediterranean.The Inheritance of Rome brilliantly presents a fresh understanding of the crucible in which Europe would ultimately be created.

About this title

Review:

"The breath of reading is astounding, the knowledge displayed is awe-inspiring and the attention quietly given to critical theory and the postmodern questioning of evidence is both careful and sincere." -The Daily Telegraph (UK)

"A superlative work of historical scholarship." -Literary Review (UK)

About the Author:

Chris Wickham is Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College. His book Framing the Middle Ages won the Wolfson Prize, the Deutscher Memorial Prize, and the James Henry Breasted Prize of the American Historical Association.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0670020982
• ISBN 13: 9780670020980
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 650