Bringing Light to the Dark Ages

Review of 'Dark Earth' by Rebecca Stott

For much of the early medieval period, our knowledge is derived from material culture.

In England, the withdrawal of Roman troops in A.D. 410 took with it much of the infrastructure around reading and writing that had built up during the time of Empire. Apart from the writings of Gildas in the 5th century, which paints a pretty bleak picture, there are …