The early middle ages

The story of the emergence of the Church and the Western world from the chaos and barbarism that followed the destruction of the Roman Empire and the triumph of the enemies of classical civilization. In this sweeping narrative the author shows the unifying power of the Church as it helped to mold a European Christendom after the rupture in 1054 of the Eastern and Western Churches. This is also the story of the great crusades against the virile Islamic powers of that time--the holy wars that lasted for hundreds of years. This was the period that brought forth some of the greatest philosophers that Christianity had created up to that time: Boethius, Anselm, Cassiodorus. Here were the intellectual foundations of what would the Occidental worldview for hundreds of years. This period saw the rise of papal authority in the world, as the Pope became in reality the double heir of St. Peter and the Roman Emperors. The whole medieval world of feudal structure was taking shape. The centre of culture was moving from the towns to the estates.