The Early Medieval period, often referred to as the Dark Ages and beginning in Europe around the year 400, has been popularly portrayed as a time when the refined aesthetics of the classical world fell prey to hosts of migrating peoples on the fringes of the Roman Empire.
 
However, a major new volume on Early Medieval art, Bright Lights in the Dark Ages: The Thaw Collection of Early Medieval Ornaments, written by Noël Adams and featuring photography by John Bigelow Taylor, challenges accepted orthodoxy about the art and culture of the era.