The period of the tenth and early eleventh centuries was crucial in the formation of Europe, much of whose political geography and larger-scale divisions began to take shape at this time. It was also an era of great fragmentation, and hence of differences which have been magnified by modern national historiographical traditions. This volume of The New Cambridge Medieval History reflects these varying traditions, and provides an authoritative survey in its own terms. The volume is divided into three sections. The first covers general themes such as the economy, government, and religious, cultural, and intellectual life. The second is devoted to the kingdoms and principalities which had emerged within the area of the former Carolingian empire as well as the 'honorary Carolingian' region of England. The final section deals with the emergent principalities of eastern Europe and the new and established empires, states and statelets of the Mediterranean world.