This book deals with change. The period known as the Middle Ages lasted for a millennium, from 500 to 1500, and Europe, which is the subject of this book, was a very different place at the end of this period than it was at the beginning.

The dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, the reforms of Charlemagne, the feudal revolution, the challenge of heresies, the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, the reconstruction of the late medieval states, the devastation of the Black Death – without a doubt, the European Middle Ages were a millennium rich in developments, crises, and upheavals.

This book offers an original, multifaceted perspective on this period, tracking the parallel transformations across various fields (social, economic, political, cultural) and illuminating through enlightening snapshots their impact on both people's lives and international circumstances.

The distinguished historian Chris Wickham thus provides a new conception of Europe from the fall of Rome to the Reformation, along with a provocative revision of the significance of the Middle Ages.