"Something about it gets me. It's the quintessential 'european' age but the situation of it as the connector piece between ancient times and today always makes it glow to me"
"Medieval Europe by Chris Wickham is an left-wing overview of this much-studied period with an emphasis on the treatment of the peasantry- how they fell under the rule of an often-cruel aristocracy, and how they resisted. Wickham's prose is a joy to read."