Whether measured by the period during which it has been celebrated, the frequency with which it has been held, or the cumulatively vast numbers of people who have participated in it, the Eucharist has been central to Western life. The book explains how it developed during the first thousand years, from the time of its inauguration by Christ at the Last Supper to the beginning of the great schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. The Eucharist was a central part of society in late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and it throws unexpected light on the lives and attitudes of the countless men and women who attended it and took communion.

In a world where princesses found themselves enslaved, kidnapped boys became army generals, and biblical Joseph was a role model, this book narrates the formation of the Middle Ages from the point of view of slavery, and outlines a new approach to enhance our understanding of modern forms of enslavement. Offering an analysis of recent scholarship and an array of sources, never before studied together, from distinct societies and cultures of the first millennium, it challenges the traditional dichotomy between ancient and medieval slaveries. Revealing the dynamic, versatile, and adaptable character of slavery it presents an innovative definition of slavery as a historical process.