The Bright Ages (Now in Paperback)
A knowable medieval Europe
Modern Medieval
by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele
Last year, we published The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe. As of today (December 6, 2022), it’s available in paperback and is on sale!
When we set out to write this book, we wanted to directly confront the myth of the so-called “Dark Ages” because it causes real damage, not just to how we think about the past but also to how we think about the present and future. The idea that medieval Europe was created after a “collapse,” that it’s somehow ultimately un-knowable, allows bad faith actors to use the period to justify their positions. We’ve seen this most explicitly with the far right and their cos-play, for example, as Vikings and Crusaders.
But medieval Europe is knowable and is known. This is a period that spanned at least a millennium of time and a place that was fundamentally permeable to people and ideas. It was, in other words, complex and filled with people. They created art and destroyed it, they welcomed strangers and persecuted minority communities. In our book, we try to tell some of those stories.
As we write in The Bright Ages, we’re ultimately trying
to allow you to dip your toe into a vast ocean of work. Its currents have comforted and terrified, warmed and chilled, but its mysteries have always fascinated us. What we have here is just the beginning of a journey.
We look forward to continuing that journey with you.
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