by Helen Kain | Jul 15, 2026 | Act I - Inheritance, Carousel Ideas & Systems, CT Act I — Inheritance, Early Middle Ages (410-1066)
For a long time, I thought of what followed Rome’s departure from England as collapse — full stop. The so-called “Dark Ages.” Civilization slipping backwards into mud and thatch as roads were abandoned and stonemasonry was forgotten. That view turns out to be...
by Helen Kain | Jul 1, 2026 | Act I - Inheritance, Carousel Fascinating People, Early Middle Ages (410-1066), Fascinating People, FP Act I — Inheritance
Some rulers inherit a system and try to preserve it. Others inherit fragments and attempt to rebuild what has been lost. In the 6th century, Justinian I chose the second path. An Empire That Had Not Disappeared By the time Justinian came to power in 527, Rome had not...
by Helen Kain | Jul 1, 2026 | Act I - Inheritance, Carousel Fascinating People, Early Middle Ages (410-1066), Fascinating People, FP Act I — Inheritance
Late 5th-century Italy presents a curious paradox: Rome had fallen, the Western Empire was gone, and yet much of everyday life carried on much as before. In 476, the last Western emperor had been deposed and the imperial title abolished. From a distance, it looked...
by Helen Kain | Jun 6, 2026 | Early Middle Ages (410-1066)
Yes. One of history’s great surprises is that the Normans who conquered England in 1066 were descendants of Vikings. Their name comes from the word Northmen—the Norse raiders who began appearing along the coasts and rivers of Europe during the 8th and 9th...
by Helen Kain | Jan 24, 2025 | Britain's Eras, Early Middle Ages (410-1066)
Britain in 410 was a well-integrated, Latin-speaking Romano-British society. But trouble was brewing—Saxons and Picts were stepping up their invasions along the East Coast, and local leaders sent a plea for help to Emperor Honorius in Italy. But Rome was struggling...
