Birth of the Western Economy

First Published in 2005. The Carolingian Empire, short-lived as it was, is the central feature of those centuries of European history which are usefully if now somewhat unfashionably known as the Dark Ages. This book looks at complexity and diversity of economic conditions and economic aspects of the Dark Age <p>Foreword by Philip Grierson Introduction <strong>Part 1: The Component Forces</strong> 1. The Roman World: State Control in the Late Empire 2. The Roman World: Conditions of Rural Life 3. The Germanic ‘World: Its Primitive Economy 4. The Christian Church: Its Economic Doctrine: The Result of its Triumph <strong>Part 2: The Merovingian Age</strong> 1. Farming and Agriculture in the Very Early Middle Ages: Old Theories and New Horizons 2. Farming in the Very Early Middle Ages (cont.): Mansus, Villa and Husbandry 3. The Eclipse of Town Life and the Influence of the Church on its Evolution 4. The so-called ‘Grand Commerce’ of the Merovingian Period 5. Coinage and Currency: The Seas and Shipping <strong>Part 3: The Early Carolingians: A Temporary Restoration</strong> 1. Charlemagne and a Controlled Economy: Reform of the Currency 2. Trade and Barter Under the Early Carolingians 3. The ‘Villa’ of Charlemagne’s Time: Farming and Manufacture 4. The Structure of the Great Estate and the Origin of the rural ‘Seigneurie’ <strong>Part 4: The Laborious Birth of a Western Civilization</strong> 1. The Vikings and Scandinavian Expansion 2. The Resurgence of Town Life and of Commercial Activity 3. The Expansion and Development of Agriculture in the Eleventh Century Conclusion Bibliography Index </p>