This book is a look at the least-appreciated yet profoundly important period of European history: the so-called Dark Ages. The barbarians who destroyed the glory that was Rome demolished civilization along with it, and for the next four centuries the peasants and artisans of Europe barely held on. Random violence, mass migration, disease, and starvation were the only way of life. This is the picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote. But recent archaeological finds tell a different story. In this book the author, one of the world's leading archaeologists, surveys these discoveries from the four centuries after the fall of Rome to demonstrate that the Dark Ages were not dark at all. The kingdoms of Christendom that emerged starting with the reign of Charlemagne in the late eighth century sprang from a robust, previously little-known, European culture, albeit one that left behind few written texts. This recently recognized culture achieved heights in artistry, technology, craft production, commerce, and learning. And it was in this pivotal epoch that modern Christianity emerged.

Between antiquity and the Middle Ages: what happened? -- The decline of the Roman Empire -- The peoples of Europe -- Childeric and other early Dark Age kings -- What happened to the Roman cities? -- Roman Londinium to Saxon Lundenwic: continuity and change (A.D. 43-800) -- New centers in the North -- The revolution in the countryside -- Crafting tools and ornaments for the new societies -- Royal exchange and everyday trade -- Spread of the new religion -- Arts, scholarship, and education -- Charlemagne's elephant and the history of Europe.