My own work is on nostalgia in the 14th century at the moment. So the idea that this is the moment of the birth of Christendom is a great way of thinking about particular geographical regions, but perhaps a bit more problematic if you’re thinking more widely.Īnother thing struck me recently, actually. And part of the problem now is that everybody’s trying to think more globally about what’s going on, as well. There was a schism between the Eastern and the Western churches in the period, for a start.Įxactly. Point is, I don’t think it’s a terribly helpful term.Īs a layman, my assumption would have been that it’s the period where Christianity was the established religion of Western Europe, from the conversion of Constantine to the Reformation. The idea of ‘the Middle Ages’ suggests something transitional and stuck between two great moments, but the more one thinks about it, whichever century you’re working on, you start off with a sense that, say, the 14th century is the moment that really matters because this is the moment when everything changes and then you think about it a bit more and you realize all kinds of more complex continuities and interweavings are going on. It defines and pigeonholes us, even if it does so in ways that are probably extremely problematic. I’m not completely convinced that any of us are actually that keen on the idea of something that is ‘in between’ two ‘great moments’ any longer, but we stick with the label because it’s there. It equally depends on whether you’re happy with the concept of ‘middleness’. But it depends completely on who you ask and where in the world you’re thinking about.

The most obvious way of answering the question would be simply to say they are the period, roughly, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 16th century. Foreign Policy & International Relationsīefore we get onto your books on the Middle Ages, I want to start by asking you-what are the Middle Ages?.

Medieval europe by chris wickham