The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 1, c.500-c.700

Paul Fouracre is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Manchester. His previous publications include Property and Power in the Early Middle Ages (co-edited with Wendy Davies, Cambridge, 1995) and The Age of Charles Martel (2000). He is co-editor of Early Medieval Europe and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

• Introduction: the history of Europe 500–700 Paul Fouracre; 1. The later Roman Empire Richard Gerberding; 2. The barbarian invasions Guy Halsall; 3. The sources and their interpretation Guy Halsall; Part I. The Sixth Century: 4. The eastern empire in the sixth century Andrew Louth; 5. The Byzantines in the West in the sixth century John Moorhead; 6. Ostrogothic Italy and the Lombard invasions John Moorhead; 7. The formation of the Sueve and Visigothic kingdoms in Spain A. Barbero and M. I. Loring; 8. Merovingian Gaul and the Frankish Conquests Raymond Van Dam; 9. The Celtic kingdoms Wendy Davies; 10. The earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms Helena Hamerow; Part II. The Seventh Century: 11. The Byzantine empire in the seventh century Andrew Louth; 12. Muhammad and the rise of Islam Carole Hillenbrand; 13. The Catholic Visigothic Kingdom A. Barbero and M. I. Loring; 14. Francia in the seventh century Paul Fouracre; 15. Religion and society in Ireland Clare Stancliffe; 16. Christianity amongst the Britons, Dálriadan Irish and Picts Clare Stancliffe; 17. England in the seventh century Alan Thacker; 18. Scandinavia (c.500–700 AD) Lotte Hedeager; 19. The Slavs 500–700 AD Zbigniew Kobylinski; Part III. Themes and Problems: 20. The Jews in Europe, 500–1050 Michael Toch; 21. Kings and kingship Patrick Wormald; 22. The Mediterranean economy Simon Loseby; 23. The Northern seas (fifth to eighth centuries) Stéphane Lebecq; 24. Money and coinage Mark Blackburn; 25. Church structure and organisation Georg Scheibelreiter; 26. Christianisation and the dissemination of Christian teaching Ian Wood; 27. Education and learning (500–700) Jacques Fontaine; 28a. Art and architecture of western Europe, 500–700 Ian Wood; 28b. Art and architecture, 500–700: the East Leslie Brubaker.

'The New Cambridge Medieval History is complete. … Paul Fouracre has provided a worthy addition to this prestigious series. … the volume includes excellent surveys of Scandinavian history by Lotte Hedeager, Slavic history by Zbigniew Kobylinski and numerous essays on the British Isles. … coverage of early medieval European history is thorough and balanced. … especial praise must be given to the excellent summary of 'The barbarian invasions' by Guy Halsall - sure to become indispensable to a new generation of undergraduates - to Simon Loseby's stimulating account of 'The Mediterranean economy' and, perhaps most strikingly, to Michael Toch's discussion of 'The Jews in Europe, 500–1050', which takes the reader beyond the chronological confines of the volume as a whole, but with richly rewarding results. … the contributions are all fluidly written, stimulating and a pleasure to read. The comprehensive index and useful thematic bibliographies further ensure that this volume will be an essential reference tool for years to come.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History