Between 400 and 600 CE, Roman cities across Western Europe shrank dramatically or vanished entirely. Wyman explores how urban life collapsed: populations fell, monumental architecture crumbled, and the sophisticated urban culture of Rome gave way to a rural world.
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Highlights
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Urbanization requires active maintenance — cities are not natural
Roman cities depended on constant investment: aqueducts, roads, markets, and administration. When investment stopped, cities didn't just stagnate — they physically disintegrated within generations.
The gap between reality and memory can persist for centuries
Medieval Europeans lived among Roman ruins they could not replicate. The memory of Rome shaped their identity even as their material conditions bore no resemblance to it.