The Beginnings of Europe: Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages

A history of European civilization from the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the rise of early Christianity, through the Barbarian migrations to Western Europe and the formation of the first European Kingdoms. The series offers an in-depth look at diverse aspects of society and daily life in the Merovingian kingdom, the Carolingian Empire and smaller Germanic entities, up to the end of the first millennium.

It focuses on the fusion of the various elements which shaped European civilization: the Greco-Roman heritage, the institutions and practices of the Germanic tribes, and Judeo-Christian culture. It also considers historiographic discussions on the Early Middle Ages. Volume 4 extends the scope of the study to the neighboring Islamic and Byzantine worlds. Through various study sources, including archeology, art and architecture, agricultural and funerary evidence, and written documents, the series explores the formation of the major institutions of the medieval world – church organization, monasticism, cultural activity and economic structure.

Volume 1: Christians and Barbarians (2003, 248 pp., cat. # 10436-1)

Part 1: Early Christianity (Ora Limor)

Part 2: The Barbarians (Yitzhak Hen)

Volume 2: The Frankish Kingdoms (2003, 365 pp., cat. # 10436-2)

Part 1: The Frankish kingdom under the Merovingians (Ora Limor)

Part 2: Charlemagne and his heirs (Yitzhak Hen)

Part 3: Government, society and economy in the Frankish kingdom (Yitzhak Hen)

Volume 3: Monasticism, Learning and Arts (forthcoming, cat. # 10436-3)

Part 1: Monasticism in Western Europe (Ora Limor)

Part 2: Culture and arts: The Carolingian Renaissance (Yitzhak Hen, Galit Noga-Banai)

Volume 4: West and East (forthcoming, cat. # 10436-4)

Neighboring Europe: Byzantium and Islamic civilization (Iris Shagrir, Daphna Ephrat)

Professor Ora Limor, of the History Department at the Open University of Israel, has written numerous articles in scholarly journals. She is co-editor of Contra Iudaeos: Ancient and Medieval Polemics between Christians and Jews (Texts and Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Judaism, J.C.B. Mohr, 1996).

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