Medieval Europe

Wickham (Sleepwalking into a New World), professor of medieval history at Oxford, expands his usual focus on medieval Italy to cover the entire European Middle Ages. His aim is to abolish the belief that the years 500–1500 C.E. constituted a stagnant period between the fall of Rome and the recovery of knowledge during the Renaissance. Wickham stresses changes in polities, economic structures, and worldview, emphasizing various alterations over time and place. For example, in Germanic areas, a land-based economy was governed by assemblies and advisors that lords ignored at their peril; Byzantium carried on a Roman tradition despite fluctuating borders and invasions. Wickham argues that the conquests of Islam did not cut Europe off as much as previously believed, nor was medieval European society blindly in thrall to the Catholic Church. To bolster the latter point, he shows the diversity of popular practices over time. Wickham also addresses Eastern Europe, which is frequently ignored in medieval accounts, and debates within current academia, such as the recent idea that people did not see themselves as individuals until the late Middle Ages. This is a dazzling race through a complex millennium, and solid background knowledge is essential before entering, but for the serious historian this is a thought-provoking study by an expert. (Dec.)