Prologue: "From the fury of the Northmen, Lord, deliver us" -- Part one: The City and the world. The physical landscape of the tenth century ; Roman "harlots" : from the Cadaver Synod to the Fall of Marozia ; The nadir of the papacy --

Part two: The world in chaos. Enemies of Christians ; The dissention of kings ; Salvation from "that very savage people" ; Feudal France ; Muslims and Christians in Spain ; Anglo-Saxon England ; The Celtic lands : Ireland, Scotland, and Wales

Part three: The second spring. Liutprand of Cremona : cynic, diplomat, and stylist ; "That Greek woman" : Theophano, Otto II, and her mother-in-law

Part four: Living in the tenth century. Monks and nuns ; Ordinary life in the tenth century ; Faith and church in the tenth century

Part five. A millennial vision. Gerbert, the magician of the millennium ; Otto III : a "new Rome"? ; The millennium