This atlas surveys the history of European culture and society from the decline of the Roman empire to the discovery of America in the late 15th century. The Roman world, which began to break up in the 5th century, was superseded by several different political societies with different interests in its traditions and different capacities to absorb its legacy: Byzantium, Islam and the barbarian states of western Europe.The last, who made the slowest progress towards civilisation, eventually succeeded best in adapting the ancient legacy for the benefit of the peoples of the whole European continent. This Europe was never wholly united politically, but common faith in Christianity gave it a kind of spiritual unity and the long frontier with Islam committed Christian Europe to encounters with Muslims over practically the whole period. The book ends with the European discovery of the rest of the world, opening up the possibility of further migrations by sea in modern times.
A central part of the book is devoted to a highly illustrated treatment of the fruits of civilisation, thematically divided into aspects of urban society, rural society and the arts. Subjects covered range from science and medicine, everyday life and the social structure to cathedral building, music and manuscript illumination. Special features elsewhere in the book include the Carolingian renaissance, the medieval church, the building of castles and the invention of printing, all of them illustrated by stunning colour photography of the contemporary evidence.
The maps are designed primarily to make sense of the apparently confusing web of medieval politics and every major region of Europe is provided with at least one map. But maps are also used to illustrate such themes as routes over the Alps, the distribution of Gothic architecture, 14th century commerce and the life of Petrarch.
For ease of reference the book is equipped with a chronological table, glossary, bibliography, gazetteer and index.