This book is about change. The period known as the Middle Ages or the Medieval Times 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 interpretation, tracing parallel transformations in various fields (social, economic, political, cultural) and highlighting their impact through enlightening snapshots on both people's lives and international circumstances. Distinguished historian Chris Wickham thus provides a new conception of Europe from the fall of Rome to the Reformation, along with a provocative reassessment of the significance of the Middle Ages.