Europe and the Middle Ages (4th Edition) by Edward Peters

This comprehensive, well-balanced historical survey of medieval Europe--from Roman imperial provinces to the Renaissance--covers all aspects of the history (political, literary, religious, intellectual, etc.) with a focus on social and political themes. It presents a complete picture of the complex process by which an ecumenical civilization that once ringed the basin of the Mediterranean Sea, evolved into three other distinctive civilizations--Latin Europe, Greek Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, and Islam. A six-part organization outlines late Mediterranean antiquity and early northern Europe; two heirs of the ancient world; the early Middle Ages; Christendom: authority and enterprise, 950-1100; culture and society in the high Middle Ages, 1100-1325; and Christendom and Europe, 1325-1519. For anyone interested in the history of Europe and the Middle Ages.