Chris Wickham Bücher

»Bei weitem die beste einbändige Gesamtdarstellung des Mittelalters.« Paul Freedman, Yale University 1000 Jahre europäisches Mittelalter: Souverän schildert und deutet Chris Wickham eine der bedeutendsten weltgeschichtlichen Epochen neu. Eine ebenso präzise wie grandiose Darstellung eines Jahrtausends, das uns bis heute prägt. Zwischen dem Zusammenbruch des weströmischen Reichs und der Reformation liegt eine 1000-jährige Periode gewaltiger Umwälzungen. In einer elegant geschriebenen, umfassenden Darstellung präsentiert Chris Wickham das europäische Mittelalter als eine Epoche gewaltigen Tatendrangs und tiefgreifenden Wandels. Stilsicher und klar erklärt er die wichtigsten Veränderungen in den einzelnen Jahrhunderten, zu denen so zentrale Krisen und Ereignisse wie der Untergang des weströmischen Reichs, die Reformen Karls des Großen, die feudale Revolution, die Zerstörung des byzantinischen Reichs, und das entsetzliche Wüten der Pest gehören. Mit erhellenden Momentaufnahmen unterstreicht Wickham, wie sich die verändernden sozialen, ökonomischen und politischen Umstände auf das Alltagsleben der Menschen und auf internationale Ereignisse auswirkten. Der Autor bietet sowohl eine neue Interpretation des europäischen Mittelalters als auch eine provokative neue These, inwiefern und warum das Mittelalter bis in unsere Gegenwart hineinwirkt. Eine der fesselndsten Darstellungen des mittelalterlichen Europa seit Jahrzehnten und ein intellektuelles Abenteuer. »Das ist genau das Mittelalter, das wir im 21. Jahrhundert kennenlernen müssen.« John Arnold, University of Cambridge 

"Amid the disintegration of the Kingdom of Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a new form of collective government--the commune--arose in the cities of northern and central Italy. Sleepwalking into a New World takes a bold new look at how these autonomous city-states came about, and fundamentally alters our understanding of one of the most important political and cultural innovations of the medieval world. Chris Wickham provides richly textured portraits of three cities -- Milan, Pisa, and Rome -- and sets them against a vibrant backcloth of other towns. He argues that, in all but a few cases, the elites of these cities and towns developed one of the first nonmonarchical forms of government in medieval Europe, unaware that they were creating something altogether new. Wickham makes clear that the Italian city commune was by no means a democracy in the modern sense, but that it was so novel that outsiders did not know what to make of it. He describes how, as the old order unraveled, the communes emerged, governed by consular elites 'chosen by the people, ' and subject to neither emperor nor king. They regularly fought each other, yet they grew organized and confident enough to ally together to defeat Frederick Barbarossa, the German emperor, at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. Sleepwalking into a New World reveals how the development of the autonomous city-state took place, which would in the end make possible the robust civic culture of the Renaissance"--Back cover

Focusing on the Mediterranean economy from the 10th to 12th centuries, this book challenges traditional views of medieval economic systems. Chris Wickham utilizes documentary and archaeological evidence to provide an in-depth analysis of individual economies and their interconnections. The work encourages readers to reconsider the complexities and dynamics of economic relationships during this period, offering fresh insights into historical economic practices.

A new history of medieval Rome, told not from the standpoint of the Church, but of the Romans themselves. This volume examines Rome's cultural, political, religious, legal, and social identity to discover how the city functioned between 900 and 1150.

"The breath of reading is astounding, the knowledge displayed is awe-inspiring and the attention quietly given to critical theory and the postmodern questioning of evidence is both careful and sincere."--The Daily Telegraph (UK) "A superlative work of historical scholarship."--Literary Review (UK) A unique and enlightening look at Europe's so-called Dark Ages; the second volume in the Penguin History of Europe 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.

Angielski historyk, podejmując się zadania napisania książki na temat Rzymu w dobie między innymi rewolucji gregoriańskiej, przestudiował ogromną ilość źr�deł archiwalnych zgromadzonych w r�żnych włoskich archiwach, takich jak na przykład Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Archivio Segreto Vaticano czy Archivio Storico Capitolino. W tym celu odbył około stu wizyt na P�łwyspie Apenińskim w ciągu dwudziestu lat.