Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
The absence of any existing text-book, narrating withany approach to fulness the history of the period withwhich this work is concerned, induced the writer tothink that the most useful course that he could pursuewould be to cover as much of the whole ground ashis space allowed. Finding that there was not roomto treat all the aspects of European history withthe same fulness, the author resolved to limit himselfto the central struggle between the Papacy and theEmpire, and to the events directly connected withit. He has therefore only busied himself with theaffairs of Scandinavia, the Baltic lands, and theSlavonic kingdoms of the East so far as they standin direct relation to the main currents of Europeanhistory. The history of the Mohammedan Powershas been treated in the same way, and even ChristianSpain has only been allowed a very small numberof pages. This necessary limitation has affordedmore room for the main purpose of the writer,which has been to narrate, with some amount ofdetail, the political and ecclesiastical history of thechief states of Southern and Western Europe, andin particular of Germany, Italy, France, and theEastern Empire. The expansion of the Latin andCatholic world at the expense of both the OrthodoxGreeks and the Mohammedans, stands so much inivthe forefront of the history of the period that itcould not be neglected, though the writer hasavoided treating the Crusades in much detail. Someaccount of the general movements of thought andof the development of the ecclesiastical system andof the religious orders seemed to him necessary forthe understanding even of the political history of atime when everything was subordinated to the authorityof the Church. He has, however, endeavoured tobring this into some sort of connection with thepolitical history of the period, and has not felt it inhis power to enlarge upon the general history ofcivilisation in the way adopted by the very valuableHistoire Générale de l’Europe, edited by MM. Lavisseand Rambaud. He has, however, frequently availedhimself of the help of that book in his selection andarrangement of his facts, and would like to refer hisreaders to it for such parts of the history as donot fall within his scheme. He has indicated innotes at the beginning of the various chapters someuseful authorities in which readers will find a moredetailed account of various aspects of the time.
In conclusion, the writer must express his thanks tohis wife, who has helped him materially in nearlyevery part of the book, and has taken the chief sharein p