The Dark Ages

Oman’s volume in the Periods of European History series, covering the four and a half centuries from the fall of the Western Empire to the end of the Carolingians.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “best history book” thread. A Victorian survey of a period whose sources are thin — worth reading as much for what a nineteenth-century historian did with them as for the period itself.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @typesfast asking “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet).

Filed with the author in the filename to disambiguate from other books of the same title. Page count omitted — no reliable catalog figure found.

Connections

• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.