Prologue: "From the fury of the Northmen, Lord, deliver us" -- 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 -- 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 -- The second spring. Liutprand of Cremona : cynic, diplomat, and stylist -- "That Greek woman" : Theophano, Otto II, and her mother-in-law -- Living in the tenth century. Monks and nuns -- Ordinary life in the tenth century -- Faith and church in the tenth century -- A millennial vision. Gerbert, the magician of the millennium -- Otto III : a "new Rome"? -- The millennium.