This fascinating book examines the origins of the peoples of Northern Europe, as well as the cross-cultures which developed around the North Sea and the Baltic rather than around the Mediterranean. From about A.D. 400 until approximately 1100, the Germans, Anglo-Saxons, Picts, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Scandinavians and Northern Slavs emerged from practical illiteracy and anonymity into a closely-knit and interrelated series of established states, mostly Christian, bearing in their minds and hearts the seeds of great literature and enormous practical achievements. There are 340 illustrations, including 82 full color plates, drawings and maps that are presented in this volume.