The Origins of Western civilisation lie in the amalgamation of classical and Germanic cultures, combined with Christianity, which occurred in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. After that, developments took place so thick and fast that it could be said that all that matters most in the history of Western Europe had happened by the year 1300 at the latest, and the pattern of the future had by then been set.

From the decline and fall of the Roman Empire sprang Latin Christendom, from which can be traced the origins of most of the institutions which still form the basic fabric of the nations on both sides of the Atlantic, such as the Church, the universities and the law. This book analyses the influence of the middle ages on patterns of Western civilisation today, showing how an understanding of the period is vital to an understanding of modern society.