Medieval Europe [Illustrated] (English Edition)

Let us cast a glance backward over the nine centuries which have elapsed since the beginning of the great invasions. Four main facts stand out: (1) The slow, but inevitable, destruction of the Roman Empire; (2) the establishment of the feudal system; (3) the efforts made by Empire and Papacy to revive, for the individual benefit of each, classic unity; (4) the erection of separate governments, and the formation of a Christian Europe which is developed under the moral hegemony of the Church...