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AD 500 - 1050:  Age of Legends

The Age of Legends covers the period from late Antiquity to the Viking Age, in Europe and The Middle East, the period of the 'Dark Ages'.   These centuries were essentially a period of social and economic disorder, and are 'legendary' because comparitively few primary sources have survived.

 
Essays:

The Real King Arthur

King Arthur in History and Legend

Pagan Gods of the Anglo-Saxons

Byzantium: Justinian and the Roman Empire

Theodora and the Politics of Sex

The Character of Pope Vigilius

Vikings & Anglo-Saxons: Aethelred's Unhappy Reign

Vikings & Anglo-Saxons: The Battle of Maldon

Cnut, the Viking King of England

On the Viking Discovery of America