Introduction

One European identity, or perhaps one set of identities, forms much of the substance of the stories. Identities, medieval and modern, are constructs of selves and others at the same time. The word 'medieval', derived from 'the Middle Ages', that is, the period between Classical Antiquity and the Renaissance, only really has any meaning with reference to Europe. European culture was based on that of Rome which in many ways incorporated that of Greece. Within the Roman Empire, there was another kind of difference, on a much vaster scale than that between regions and provinces: the division between East and West. The administrative division of the empire between East and West in the fourth and fifth centuries coincided with the period of political strain and eventual division in the West brought about by the immigration of 'barbarians' and the formation of 'barbarian' kingdoms.