Debating medieval Europe

Debating medieval Europe serves as an entry point for studying and teaching medieval history. Where other textbooks simply present foundational knowledge or introduce sources, this volume provides the reader with the frameworks they will need in order to understand the unique historiography of this fascinating period. Digging beneath the accounts provided elsewhere, it exposes the contested foundations of apparently settled narratives, opening a space for discussion and debate, as well as providing essential context for the intimidating array of specialist scholarship. Volume I covers the early Middle Ages, c. 450– c. 1050. Organised chronologically, the chapters move from a discussion of the late-Roman world through the rise of the Successor States and the Carolingian Empire to the feudal ‘revolution’ around the year 1000. Along the way, they examine the translatio imperii, the Vikings and the ‘age of iron’, early medieval Spain and the Norman world.