This book follows the pattern of my Short History of England (Profile, 2011). It seeks to give a straightforward narrative of Europe, its politics and its people, seen from the standpoint of the continent as a whole. Any short history must rely on secondary sources, which are chiefly those mentioned in the Further Reading section. Most are histories of Europe in general, as that is the theme of this book. Most reliable has been the Penguin History of Europe series. Of modern books, those of Norman Davies and J. M. Roberts are masterly. A useful narrower focus comes from Daniel Boorstin’s The Discoverers and Peter Wilson’s study of the Holy Roman Empire. Of the classics, I found Edward Gibbon and H. A. L. Fisher always elegant and enjoyable.
Modern scholarship is challenging many customary interpretations of Europe’s past, questioning reputations and the significance of well-known events. In the earlier chapters even dates and quotations tend to be the subject of debate. For the most part, I have had to resist the temptation to burrow down into controversy and have gone with the conventional wisdom. I have in large part used the anglicized spellings of foreign places and people. Dates after the names of rulers are those of their period in power, unless otherwise stated. I of course welcome any comments and corrections.
I must thank those who have read and commented on the text. They include Jeremy Black, Peter Furtado, Mark Greengrass, Elina Screen, Chris Wickham, my brother, Tom Jenkins, and my wife, Hannah. Since I have mostly but not always accepted their advice, I must exonerate them from any responsibility for errors of fact or analysis. I also thank at Penguin my editor, Daniel Crewe, who first induced me to undertake this awesome task, Natalie Wall for managing the editorial process, Connor Brown, Mike Davis for maps, Cecilia Mackay for researching and supplying the illustrations, Trevor Horwood for copy-editing and Ruth Killick for publicity.