A Short History of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Treaty of Lisbon

by Gordon Kerr

From the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 to the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, an accessible history of the people, ideas, institutions, and events that have shaped Europe during the last 1,200 years



 


This fascinating history for beginners provides a coherent map of the jumbled history of Europe and the European idea that has led up to this point. A continent of countless disparate peoples, races, and nations, governed by different ideas, philosophies, religions, and attitudes, Europe nonetheless has a common thread of history running through it, stitching the lands and peoples of its past and present into one fabric and held together by the continent’s great the Church of Rome, the Holy Roman Empire, the European Union, individual monarchies, trade organizations, and social movements. However, people have always harbored aspirations to make this vast territory one. The Romans came close and a few centuries later, the foundations for a great European state were laid with the creation of the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon overreached himself in attempting to create a European-wide Empire—as did Adolf Hitler. Now, Europe is as close as it ever has been to being one entity, yet Europeans still cling to national independence. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Gordon Kerr was born in the Scottish new town of East Kilbride and worked in the wine trade and then bookselling and publishing before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of numerous books in a variety of genres, including art, history, true crime, travel and humour. He has a wife and two children and lives in Hampshire and—when he can—South West France.

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Europe is a long-running prime time soap opera which revolves around several wealthy and feuding families, principally, the French, the Germans, the English, the Spanish and the Italians (the “Five Families”).

The show is famous for its frequent religious wars and its cliffhangers, including the Who started World War One? mystery, which was the second highest rated single episode for any soap, beaten only by the JFK assassination episode in the rival show USA.

Europe has had a relatively ensemble cast and the Pope has so far been the only character to feature in every season from the show’s inception in 800 AD. The Pope has been played by various actors, notably Sean Connery as Pope John Paul II and Danny DeVito as Pope Urban II, who originated the First Crusade on 27 November 1095.

Other notable guest stars have been Steve Buscemi as Christopher Columbus, Juliette Lewis as Elizabeth the First of England, and Johnny Depp as a quirky, mannered singing Robespierre. Some characterisations have not been so well received, and casting Jack Lemmon as Jeanne d’Arc was thought to be a misstep.

Europe also spawned the spin-off series The British Empire which lasted for 500 seasons (1497-1997) and Conquistadore! which lasted for 327 seasons (1492-1819).

Europe is known for its portrayal of wealth, sex, sophistication, intrigue, and power struggles. Throughout the many series, the main premise is the longtime rivalry between the Five Families who continually attempt to outsmart each other. The story begins in 768 AD when wildcatter Charles the Great, known as Charlemagne (Francois Cluzet), cheats his one-time partner Childeric III, the last Merovingian King (Dominique Pinon), out of his share of the Frankish Lands. Charlemagne is unhappily married to a former Miss Lombardy, Princess Desiderata (Amber Heard). During the first season, Charlemagne’s teenage daughter Gisele (Carey Mulligan) is seen sleeping with Christian mystic Julian of Norwich (Javier Bardem), setting the tone of the whole show, which did not pull any punches.

The number one syndicated soap throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, Europe has now begun to lag behind both USA and the newer show The Middle Kingdom. Reactions from fans to the latest plot developments, in which Nigel Farage (Ricky Gervais) of the UK Independence Party is discovered to be the illegitimate son of Angela Merkel (Kate Winslett) are considered to be far-fetched, and the frequent nude scenes thought to be a ratings-grabbing reaction to the very popular Game of Thrones series.

Suggestions that Europe will soon be cancelled have been vigorously denied by the network, but cynics recall similar press releases were made about the fading USSR in 1990.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

History is context. I love reading about British history, but its hopeless to try to understand without historical contexts of other events in Europe. This is a VERY short book considering the amount of time and material covered, but it is good in that it gives a simple overview of the major events in European history necessary to understand longer more focused history books.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short (maybe too short), but interesting enough to make good airplane reading. I think I learned? Maybe?

[Horia Bura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief and practical history book, highly condensed, written in an alert style, accessible to anyone. Although it is omitting the antiquity and the first half of the Middle Ages, this volume can be useful and instructive to anyone who wants to quickly go through the historical evolution of the old continent or anyone who wants to update their data through a neutral and as objective as it gets historical.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

It reminds me of the Bible told to the children. A monstrosity, built on mass killings and mass graves, shown as something cute. In a way Kerr is telling you to embrace Hitler, because he has a cute mustache.

[Raymond Franssen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covering 13 centuries of European history in 150 pages puts severe constraints in the book. Despite the tough reading the book provides a bird's eye view of the wars, dynasties, progress and regress which impact the 'Werdegang' of Europe.

[Carol Masciola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer or refresher on the history of Europe in 150 pages. What were the Wars of Religion? The Bonfire of the Vanities? The Maastricht Treaty? What did Napoleon do again?

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring but complete

[Jacquelyn White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a short history! It took forever to read. I like that there weren't a lot of dates and numbers thrown around, but so many names. Reading that kind of history back to back was interesting to see the cycles of war and peace. 

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty much exactly what it claims to be: a simple brief overview of European History from the time of Charlemagne to the present day. It is ideal background reading for developing a greater understanding of the larger context of specific events in European History and leaves the reader free to read further on specific areas that are of special interest to them.

[Brad Rousse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice primer of European history, easily readable for a newbie to the topic. However, it can be a bit overly simplistic and get lost in "this war, that war." I liked "European History for Dummies" more as a starter.

[Andrew Nagel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise review of major European wars, events, and developments over the last couple thousand year period. A lot of "oh yeah I remember learning about that" moments.