The Long Morning of Medieval Europe

Scholars from Europe and North America convened at Harvard University in 2004 for an interdisciplinary conference aimed at Rethinking the Early Middle Ages. What are the issues and techniques of research defining the field today, and what will they be tomorrow? From ancient biomolecules to quantitative studies of thousands of medieval manuscripts, via field archaeology and the literary and visual sophistication of early medieval writers and artists, the answers illuminate in an accessible style the vitality of research into the early Middle Ages, and the signal contributions of that era to the future development of western civilization.