Millennium

An exhilarating sweep across European history either side of the year 1000; rivetingALLAN MASSIE, SPECTATOR

I relished the blood and thunder narrative - the work of a great storyteller at his bestDOMINIC SANDBROOK, EVENING STANDARD

A splendid, highly coloured canvasNORMAN STONE, GUARDIAN

In AD 900, few would have guessed that the splintering kingdoms of Europe were candidates for future greatness. Hemmed in by implacable enemies and an ocean, there were many who feared that they were nearing the time when the Antichrist would appear, heralding the worlds end.

Instead there emerged a new civilisation. It was the age of Otto the Great and William the Conqueror, of Viking sea-kings, of hermits, monks and serfs. It witnessed the spread of castles, the invention of knighthood, and the founding of the papal monarchy. It was a momentous achievement: for this was nothing less than the founding of the modern West.