Awaiting the Apocalypse -- Rise of feudalism -- Peace of God movement -- Truce of God for the Diocese of Cologne -- Papal reform -- Investiture controversy -- Limitations of royal authority -- Norman conquest -- William the conqueror's claim to the english throne -- Normans in Italy and Sicily -- Viking discovery of North America -- Relations with the native Americans -- Iceland's conversion to Christianity -- Viking rulers of England -- End of the viking age -- Origin of the first crusade -- Pope Urban's call for the first crusade -- Speech at Clermont -- Peasants' crusade -- Byzantine's view of the first crusaders -- Victory and atrocities: Conquest of Jerusalem -- Muslim perspective on the first crusade -- Turks' rise to power -- Reign of the mad caliph -- Culture and society of Muslim Spain -- Battles between the spanish christians and muslims -- Terms of surrender: El Cid at valencia -- Muslim dominion in India -- Golden age of the kingdom of Ghana -- Life in China during the early Sung Dynasty -- Economic reform and trade development -- Importance of the intellectual class -- Proposals for the training and selection of government officials -- Printing's contribution to literacy and education -- Growth of a native culture in Japan -- Murasaki Shikibu's literacy achievement -- Art of storytelling -- Toltecs of Mexico -- Toltec conquest of the Maya -- Anasazi culture at its height -- Were the Anasazi cannibals -- Mound builders of Cahokia.