Who am I?
I am a Professor of Early Medieval English History at the University of Cambridge. I also work on relations with the rest of Britain, and between Britain and its European neighbours, especially from an economic and social point of view. My interest in early medieval history arose from the jigsaw puzzle approach that it requires: even more so than for other periods, sources are few and often challenging, so need to be seen together and interpreted imaginatively.
Rory's book list on Britain in the Early Middle Ages
Discover why each book is one of Rory's favorite books.
Why did Rory love this book?
This is not a book just about Britain, and that is precisely the point: Britain on its own makes sense as a unit, but it needs to be regarded both as a collection of smaller regions, and as part of a bigger whole. Wickham’s masterly survey does an excellent job of situating Britain with regard to bigger developments across the continent. He highlights very effectively how it does and does not fit in with wider trends, which is critical to knowing what makes Britain distinctive. This book exemplifies why the history of Britain really needs also to be the history of Europe, and indeed beyond.
1 author picked The Inheritance of Rome as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
'The Penguin History of Europe series ... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects' New Statesman
The world known as the 'Dark Ages', often seen as a time of barbarism, was in fact the crucible in which modern Europe would be created.
Chris Wickham's acclaimed history shows how this period, encompassing peoples such as Goths, Franks, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, was central to the development of our history and culture. From the collapse of the Roman Empire to the establishment of new European states, and from Ireland to Constantinople, the Baltic to the Mediterranean, this landmark work makes…
