Chronicles the history of 14 lost European kingdoms and what their stories can teach the modern world, providing sweeping narrative accounts of the rise and fall of such forgotten civilizations as Aragon, Etruria and the Kingdom of the Two Burgandies. By the London University Professor Emeritus author of Gods Playground. Reprint. Chronicles the history of fourteen lost European kingdoms and reveals what their stories can teach the modern world, providing narrative accounts of the rise and fall of nations ranging from Tolosa to the Soviet Union. From the bestselling author of Europe: A History comes a uniquely ambitious masterpiece that will thrill fans of lost civilizations While Germany, Italy, France, and England dominate our conceptions of Europe, these modern states are relatively recent constructs. In this brilliant work of historical reconstruction, Norman Davies brings back to life the long-forgotten empire of Aragon, which once controlled the Western Mediterranean; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, once the largest country in Europe, and the Kingdom of the Rock, founded by ancient Britons when neither England nor Scotland existed. In the tradition of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel, Davies subverts our established view of the past and urges us to reconsider the impetus for the rise and fall of nations.
