The Last Apocalypse: Europe at the Year 1000 A.D.

Description

As millennium fever mounts, doomsayers once again prophesize that the end of the world is near. The last time the world faced the end of the millennium, it was a chaotic turning point in European history, flavored with a nearly magical sensibility of an apocalyptic age. In "The Last Apocalypse", James Reston, Jr., shows us in rich, vivid historical detail the last time the world faced the end of the millennium.

Cataclysmic changes and widespread upheaval marked the decades around A.D. 1000, much as change continues to rock our world today. The old order was crumbling anti confusing new ideas were gaining hold. Random violence end the bloody victories by the Vikings, Magyars, and Moors convinced many Europeans the apocalypse was upon them. And then, the tide turned -- the Viking gods were dethroned, the shamans of the Magyars massacred, the glorious Moorish caliphate disintegrated, and, finally, the sign of the cross held sway from Spain to Russia.

James Reston, Jr. s enthralling saga of how the Christian kingdoms converted, Conquered, and slaughtered their way to dominance the turn of the last millennium brings to life unforgettable historical characters who embodied the struggle for the soul of Europe.With the turn of the century approaching, talk of the apocalypse runs rampant. In The Last Apocalypse, James Reston reminds us that such talk is nothing new. At the previous turn of the millennium, Vikings, Moors, and Hungarian Magyars beseiged Europe with wanton cruelty and violence, spreading fear and destruction wherever they went and leading many to believe that the end of the world was near. Such colorful characters as Sigrid the Haughty, Svein Forkbeard, Ethelred the Unready, and Al-Mansor the Illustrious Victor were the heroes and villains of the era.

Reston, author of previous works that include Galileo: A Life and Sherman s March, evokes the historical essence of the time using limited legal and church documents, archaeological artifacts, and rare contemporary literary accounts. Reston s history reads like an engrossing novel, carefully crafted without getting bogged down in dry details. He skillfully interweaves the complex story of how each European country dealt with these changes, bringing the period back to life.

Reston portrays A.D. 999 as a profound turning point for mankind, mapping out the fate of each country as the Christian kingdoms, unified in belief, brutally conquered and imposed the will of Christianity upon heathen Europe. In the space of 60 years, the established ruling elite were slaughtered or forced to succumb to the turning religious tide. By A.D. 1050, the sign of the cross fell like an ominous shadow across Europe, paradoxically signifying the dawn of peace under Christian unity.