A fresh, lively narrative, this innovative history of medieval Europe provides a coherent description of the chaotic, but compelling, era. It focuses, but not narrowly, on the history of Europe from the fifth through the fifteenth centuries -- setting the subject in the broader context of world events. It explains complex issues (e.g., philosophy, scholasticism, etc.) clearly and illuminates large issues by showing how they manifested themselves intimately and directly in the lives of memorable individuals. This fascinating volume covers the medieval world's Roman and Christian foundations, the Western Roman Empire and the Germans, the Eastern Empire and the Arabs, the emerging outline of modern Europe, the flowering of the high middle ages, politics and the high middle ages and finally the transition to a new age. For those interested in Medieval history.