A Companion to the Early Middle Ages

This collection of 28 original essays by leading scholars covers the key debates and issues involved in writing a history of Britain and Ireland in the early middle ages. It moves away from the Anglo-centrism which has often characterised accounts of the centuries from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain up to the Norman Conquest of England and its aftermath. The essays combine inclusive and comparative approaches with the questioning of artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries. They are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner and, taken as a whole, provide both a sophisticated and authoritative overview of the scholarship that has shaped our current understanding of the early medieval History of Britain and Ireland and a new view of that history. Drawing on the range of current historical scholarship, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages is the first reference work of its kind to demonstrate how such a genuinely inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 can transform our understanding of the period.