The Early Middle Ages of Western Europe, from AD 400 to 1000, was a boiling cauldron which bubbled over and impacted every corner of the world. Organized both by chronology and by geography, this lively book, with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, dives fearlessly into that confused and confusing period, tracing the history of each century, beginning in North Africa and then proceeding around the Mediterranean Sea to Spain, Britain, France, Germany and the Low Countries, ending in Italy. This whole period may be considered the fallout from the fall of Rome, as most Europeans and many North Africans were still calling themselves Romans while frittering away the advantages Rome had bestowed upon them and making their difficult way toward the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This book, ironic though it may be, is meticulously researched, with extensive notes and quotes from contemporaries included.