A dynamic and challenging story of the extensive changes that transformed Europe during the millennium-long period of the Middle Ages. The millennium from the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire to the Reformation was a long and highly transformative period, which is not easily recorded within a few hundred pages. The distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken on the challenge in this landmark book, managing to create the most captivating narrative of the medieval world of Europe in a generation.

Tracing the full span of the Middle Ages in Europe, Wickham focuses on significant changes by century, including crucial moments such as the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Carolingian reforms, the feudal revolution, the challenge of heresy, the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, the reconstruction of late medieval states, and the horrific destruction of the Black Death. He provides illuminating scenes that highlight how shifting social, economic, and political conditions impacted individual lives and international events. Wickham offers both a new understanding of the medieval period of Europe and a challenging reassessment of how and why the Middle Ages matter.