Originally published by Penguin Books, 1972.

‘Early medieval art is marked by consciously maintained traditions, but also by constant shifts and gradations in tone and outlook, productiveof a fascinating plethora of artistic monuments, full of life and meaning for their own time. The grandeur of the historical period, the changes of fortune experienced by so many European peoples, the huge forces at work throughout society, the genius of innumerable great men, make this a memorable, difficult, and challenging area of art to study.’ From the Introduction