The Bright Ages confronts all the things people “know” about the Middle Ages—vikings, cathedrals, kings, and crusades—with the most recent research made digestible and woven into a coherent story by two well-known medieval historians who work both in academia and journalism. The Bright Ages spans more than 1,000 years and touches 5 continents. As we move back-and-forth across the Mediterranean, in Europe and outside, to Asia and Africa, we are shown a more “global” and interconnected Middle Ages than has been popularly conceived. In so doing The Bright Ages really illuminates just how permeable our world has always been, what possible worlds the past have always made available to us.