Introduction: Rome, the barbarians, and the fate of western Europe -- pt. I. 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' -- pt. II. The end of the ancient Mediterranean. The western Mediterranean in the age of 'reconquest' ; Arabs, Avars and amphoras: causes and consequences of imperial collapse -- pt. III. 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 -- pt. IV. 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. -- Epilogue: The sword, the plough and the book.

Innes Matthew

Introduction to early medieval Western Europe, 300-900 : the sword, the plough and the book