Excerpt from The Middle Ages, 395-1272 This volume is planned to follow one on Roman history which will carry the story of Rome through the career of Justinian, whose ambition it was to have one state, one church, one law. It is to be followed by a volume on the period of the renaissance and reformation. Its position in the series has determined its scope and the inclusion or exclusion of topics which more logically will find a place in the volume which precedes or the one which follows. The bibliographies for the separate chapters have been made as short as possible. Paetow's Guide to the Study of Medieval History is so excellent that it seems a work of supererogation to attempt to make complete bibliographies again. Consequently, only a few books have been selected, and each one, because it contains some matter necessary to supplement the discussion in this volume. I am indebted to Professor George L. Burr, of Cornell University, the general editor of the series, for reading all the manuscript and making many suggestions for improvements. Several of my former students have helped me; in particular, Professor A. C. Krey of the University of Minnesota, who prepared the maps, bibliographies, and index; Willy Jahr, Ph.D., who read some of the earlier chapters; Professor Frederick Duncalf of the University of Texas, who has helped me in reading proof; these and others I wish to thank. Any mistakes in the book I am responsible for; the number would have been greater except for the generous assistance which I have received. Lastly, I am much indebted to my wife and three daughters for frequent criticism and aid. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book offers a concise survey of Western Civilization from the Stone Age through the fall of the last Western Roman Emperor in AD 476. Each of the three sections chronicle a critical epoch in human history. Section I encompasses man's ascent from barbarism to civilization in the Ancient Near East; Section II witnesses the development of Western Civilization in Ancient Greece; and Section III catalogs the failed attempt to build the West's first "nation-state" in Ancient Rome. Human foibles are abundantly portrayed but so too is the ascent of humankind.