Slave Trading in the Early Middle Ages: Long-Distance Connections in Northern and East Central Europe

This book examines slave trading in northern and eastern central Europe from the seventh century through the eleventh century, tracing its growth, climax, and decline. Demand from the Islamic world in the ninth and tenth centuries prompted changes in warfare, trade logistics, and administrative responses to slavery in the slaving zones centred on the British Isles and the Czech lands. This study establishes slave trading as a core driver of connectivity and presents a model for this practice in politically fragmented areas of Europe.

Janel M. Fontaine is an archaeologist in the public sector and an Affiliate Researcher at the University of Glasgow.