TY - BOOK AU - Innes,Matthew TI - Introduction to early medieval Western Europe, 300-900: the sword, the plough and the book SN - 9780415215060 AV - D121 .I56 2007 U1 - 940.12 22 PY - 2007/// CY - London, New York PB - Routledge KW - Middle Ages KW - Civilization, Medieval KW - fast KW - Europe, Western KW - History KW - To 1500 KW - Europe KW - 392-814 KW - Europa KW - Historia KW - Hasta 1500 KW - Western Europe KW - Westeuropa KW - gnd KW - ram KW - Europe de l'Ouest KW - swd N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index; Rome, the barbarians, and the fate of western Europe -- The Transformation of the Roman West. A new Roman order: state, church and society in the late empire ; Barbarians, the Roman frontier and the crisis of the western empire ; The fifth century west and the 'fall of Rome' . -- The End of the Ancient Mediterranean. The western Mediterranean in the age of 'reconquest' ; Arabs, Avars and amphoras: causes and consequences of imperial collapse. -- Kingdoms and Communities in the Post-Roman West. Hispania and Italy: contrasting communities ; Gaul and Germany: the Merovingian world ; Britain and Ireland: kings and peoples. -- The Carolingian Moment: Western Europe in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries. 'The invincible race of the Franks ': conquest, Christianisation and Carolingian kingship ; 'Peace, unity, and concord among the Christian people' : Carolingian order and its architects ; Paradoxes of empire: western Europe in the ninth century. -- The sword, the plough and the book N2 - This comprehensive survey synthesizes a quarter of a century of research. The author combines an account of the historical background of the period with discussion of the social, economic, cultural and political structures within it. Key topics discussed include: Why the Roman Empire broke down so irrevocably in Western Europe ; How it came to be replaced by radically different political systems ; Why the city-based state structure of antiquity was replaced ; How and why the division between civilians and the military broke down ; The conversion of western Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church as the central social institution ; What made western Europe's experience so distinctive in this period UR - http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy1002/2009286104.html UR - http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1009/2009286104-b.html UR - http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0916/2009286104-d.html ER -