The Inheritance of Rome

Chris Wickham's 2009 survey of Europe from 400 to 1000 AD — the Penguin History of Europe volume covering the Early Middle Ages — arguing that the collapse of the Roman state was the central event of early medieval history and tracing how different societies responded to it.

Provides the most authoritative accessible account of the Early Middle Ages — Wickham's argument that the key question of 400–1000 AD is why some areas maintained Roman-style complexity (aristocratic landownership, literate administration) while others reverted to simpler peasant societies explains the divergent trajectories of early medieval Europe.