Bibliograph

Type

Label

Introduction to early medieval Western Europe, 300-900, the sword, the plough and the book, Matthew Innes

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

mapsillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Introduction to early medieval Western Europe, 300-900

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

52991814

Responsibility statement

Matthew Innes

Sub title

the sword, the plough and the book

Summary

This comprehensive survey synthesizes a quarter of a century of research. The author combines an account of the historical background of the period with discussion of the social, economic, cultural and political structures within it. Key topics discussed include: Why yhe Roman Empire broke down so irrevocably in Western Europe ; How it came to be replaced by radically different political systems ; Why the city-based state structure of antiquity was replaced ; How and why the division between civilians and the military broke down ; The conversion of western Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church as the central social institution ; What made western Europe's experience so distinctive in this period

Table Of Contents

Rome, the barbarians, and the fate of western Europe -- The Transformation of the Roman West. A new Roman order: state, church and society in the late empire ; Barbarians, the Roman frontier and the crisis of the western empire ; The fifth century west and the 'fall of Rome' . -- The End of the Ancient Mediterranean. The western Mediterranean in the age of 'reconquest' ; Arabs, Avars and amphoras: causes and consequences of imperial collapse. -- Kingdoms and Communities in the Post-Roman West. Hispania and Italy: contrasting communities ; Gaul and Germany: the Merovingian world ; Britain and Ireland: kings and peoples. -- The Carolingian Moment: Western Europe in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries. 'The invincible race of the Franks ': conquest, Christianisation and Carolingian kingship ; 'Peace, unity, and concord among the Christian people' : Carolingian order and its architects ; Paradoxes of empire: western Europe in the ninth century. -- The sword, the plough and the book

Classification