A unique and enlightening look at Europe's so-called Dark Ages

Defying the conventional Dark Ages view of European history between A.D. 400 and 1000, award-winning historian Chris Wickham presents The Inheritance of Rome , a work of remarkable scope and rigorous yet accessible scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of new material and featuring a thoughtful synthesis of historical and archaeological approaches, Wickham agues that these centuries were critical in the formulation of European identity. From Ireland to Constantinople, the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the narrative constructs a vivid portrait of the vast and varied world of Goths, Franks, Vandals, Arabs, Saxons, and Vikings. Groundbreaking and full of fascinating revelations, The Inheritance of Rome offers a fresh understanding of the crucible in which Europe would ultimately be created.

剋裏斯·威剋姆（Chris Wickham），英國國傢學術院院士、牛津大學中世紀史榮休教授。他的研究領域包括13世紀早期以前的意大利史、中世紀早期的歐洲史、社會法律史、社會經濟史、比較曆史學、歐洲的曆史記憶、社會史與考古學等。

威剋姆於2005年齣版的《建構中世紀早期》（Framing the Early Middle Ages）是綜閤研究中世紀早期歐洲的巨著。他采用比較視野，結閤文獻檔案和考古成果，改變瞭中世紀早期研究的範式。該書獲沃爾夫森曆史奬、多伊徹紀念奬，以及美國曆史學會頒發的布雷斯特德奬。《羅馬帝國的遺産：400—1000》在《建構中世紀早期》的社會經濟史之外更進一步，將中世紀早期歐洲的文化、宗教、知識進展也包括在內，完整呈現瞭羅馬帝國製度、記憶的遺産是如何在歐洲延續和變遷的。