'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.