The Bright Ages

This lively and magisterial popular history refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, revealing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside its brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself. The term "medieval" often evokes images of the "Dark Ages," characterized by ignorance, superstition, and savagery. However, this myth obscures the truth of a remarkable period in human history. The narrative recasts the European Middle Ages, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, highlighting both its beauty and horrors. It traverses ten centuries across Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Africa, revisiting familiar figures and events with fresh insights. We gain new perspectives on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, while also exploring the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard, alongside the power of queens. Beginning under a canopy of stars crafted by an empress of diverse heritage, the journey concludes nearly a millennium later with Dante, whose epic saga of heaven and hell remains a literary masterpiece. This history reminds us of the permeability of manmade borders and the myriad worlds the past has offered. Though the Middle Ages may have seemed "lit only by fire," they illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals while fueling the pyres of accused heretics.