under a modified Marxist framework on how European society changed from late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, and has pioneered comparative socio-economic analysis in this period. In 2005 his work Framing the Early Middle Ages was published, which claims to be the first synthesis of early medieval European history since the 1920s. It is exceptional for its use of hitherto unincorporated evidence from both documentary and archaeological sources, as well as its bold use of comparative methods and rejection of national narratives. It has been awarded prizes, including the Wolfson History Prize in 2005, the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2006 and the American Historical Association awarded its James Henry Breasted Prize in January 2007. He has edited Marxist History Writing for the Twenty-First Century, a volume that sees various academics discuss the status and profile of Marxist historiography, and has written a general history of early medieval Europe, published by Penguin, which examines cultural, religious and intellectual developments of the period not covered in his previous socio-economic study. Personal life In 1990, Wickham married Leslie Brubaker, a Byzantine scholar. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was previously a member of the Democratici di Sinistra (Democrats of the Left). Honours In 1998, Wickham was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). In 2006, he was awarded the Wolfson History Prize for his book Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean 400–800. In 2014, he was awarded the Serena Medal by the British Academy "in recognition of his reputation as a medieval historian of exceptional distinction who has transformed our understanding of the early medieval Italian world.". Published works Books Authored Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society, 400–1000 (1981) Studi sulla società degli Appennini nell'alto Medioevo. Contadini, signori e insediamento nel territorio di Valva (Sulmona) (1982) Il problema dell'incastellamento nell'Italia centrale. L'esempio di San Vincenzo al Volturno (1985) The Mountains and the City: The Tuscan Apennines in the Early Middle Ages (1988) Social Memory (1992; with Chris Fentress) Land and Power: Studies in Italian and European Social History, 400–1200 (1994) Community and Clientele in Twelfth-Century Tuscany: The Origins of the Rural Commune in the Plain of Lucca (1998) Courts and Conflict in Twelfth-Century Tuscany (2003) Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean 400–800 (2005) The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 (2009) Medieval Rome: Stability and