The Making of Europe Conquest, Colonization, and Cultural Change, 950-1350 [Paperback]

From our twentieth-century perspective, we tend to think of the Europe of the past as a colonizer, a series of empires that conquered lands beyond their borders and forced European cultural values on other peoples. This provocative book shows that Europe in the Middle Ages was as much a product of a process of conquest and colonization as it was later a colonizer.

"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1993"Robert Bartlettis Professor of Medieval History at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He is the author ofGerald of Wales, 1146-1223andTrial by Fire and Water. The most stimulating and well-written reassessment of medieval Europe that has appeared for many years. ---Eric Christiansen,The New York Review of Books Bartlett amasses a wealth of documentation and, unlike other authors, he weaves a rich tapestry of colourful incidents, personalities, and contemporary comment.... A masterful survey of the forces that shaped the West. ---Theodore K. Rabb,The Times Literary Supplement An absolutely first-rate book.... Bartlett has elucidated the making not only of Europe but of our own country and of the modern world as a whole. ---Roger Draper,The New Leader Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the problems of Europe today. ---Keith Thomas,Guardian The Making of Europeis an important book. . . . This excellent discussion of medieval colonial expansion is much overdue. . . . [It] goes a long way toward understanding what is meant by the European mindset and sheds some light on why this mindset spread into the far corners of the globe. ---Madelyn B. Dick,History: Reviews of New Books . . . a useful and illuminating book, marked by breadth of outlook, impressive erudition, and a convincing discussion of the principal forces contributing to the making of Europe between the tenth and the fourteenth centuries.