List of Maps I-XII … vi
Preface … vii
Chronological Summary … xvi
Introduction … 1
— The sources … 3
— The geographical background … 20
1. The Formation of a Slav Identity … 27
— Who were the Early Slavs … 27
— The crystallization of a Slav identity … 35
2. Expansion and Assimilation: the Sixth Century … 45
— Phase I: c. 500-550 … 47
— Phase II: c. 550-600 … 55
3. Consolidation and Social Change: the Seventh Century … 67
— The reflux … 80
— An end to austerity … 82
4. Decisive Decades: the Eighth and Ninth centuries … 89
— The South Slavs and Byzantium … 91
— The East Slavs … 96
— The West Slavs … 104
5. Daily Life … 113
— The people … 113
— Dress and hygiene … 115
— The family home … 119
6. The Order of Things: Social Structure … 124
— Big men and chiefs … 125
— Settlement patterns and social organization … 129
— The role of the strongholds … 131
— States and nations … 133
7. Warfare … 139
— Inter-group skirmishes … 140
— Organized force … 142
— Military role of strongholds … 144
— Imposition of will … 147
— Prisoners of war … 148
8. Production, Consumption and Exchange … 150
— Agricultural production … 153
— Craft products … 159
— The slave trade … 166
— Trading places and production centres … 167
— Trade routes … 171
— The merchants … 172
— Media of exchange … 174
— The origin of towns … 183
9. Pagan Ideologies … 188
— Demons and the spirit world … 189
— The gods … 193
— Burial rites … 199
— Concepts of time … 208
10. Towards a Christian Europe … 210
— Missionaries and bishops … 213
— From pagan leaders to Christian princes … 218
— Christianity and the people … 223
11. State-formation: the South and East Slavs … 227
— The Bulgar khanate and its neighbours … 227
— The Kievan state and its neighbours … 232
12. State-formation: the West Slavs … 250
— The Bohemian (Czech) state … 251
— Polabia and Pomerania … 257
— Poland … 261
13. The Early Slavs and the Modern World … 268
Notes … 286
Select Bibliography … 320
Figures and Maps … 325
Index … 406
