Imagining Roman Britain


Book Description

An examination of how the Roman past was perceived, and used, by Victorian Britain. The authority of classical texts was challenged in the mid-Victorian era through the unearthing of a very different "Rome" in the material remains under British soil. Developments in archaeology created a new picture of Roman Britain as wealthy and civilized - an image which sat more comfortably with the Victorians' own changing view of empire as they themselves became an imperial power. Changing intellectual ideas ensured that the Roman heritage could nolonger be seen solely as the preserve of the classically educated upper class: excavating with a spade allowed a larger audience to participate and own the Roman past. This book explores the whole phenomena, using archaeological activity in four British provincial towns (Caerleon, Cirencester, Colchester and Chester) to offer an explanation of how and why it happened, and providing authoritative and fresh insights into the way in which Victorian archaeology emerged, developed and altered how the modern world understood the ancient. In the process, it brings to the fore the frequently contradictory and confused ideas about Roman Britain in the Victorian imagination. VIRGINIA HOSELITZ gained her PhD at the Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Bristol.




Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire


Book Description

Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire offers new analysis of the textual depictions of a series of emperors in the fourth century within overlapping historical, religious, and literary contexts. Drawing on the recent Representational Turn in the study of imperial power, these essays examine how literary authors working in various genres, both Latin and Greek, and of differing religious affiliations construct and manipulate the depiction of a series of emperors from the late third to the late fourth centuries CE. In a move away from traditional source criticism, this volume opens up new methodological approaches to chart intellectual and literary history during a critical century for the ancient Mediterranean world.




Imagined Romes


Book Description

This volume explores the conflicting representations of ancient Rome—one of the most important European cities in the medieval imagination—in late Middle English poetry. Once the capital of a great pagan empire whose ruined monuments still inspired awe in the Middle Ages, Rome, the seat of the pope, became a site of Christian pilgrimage owing to the fame of its early martyrs, whose relics sanctified the city and whose help was sought by pilgrims to their shrines. C. David Benson analyzes the variety of ways that Rome and its citizens, both pre-Christian and Christian, are presented in a range of Middle English poems, from lesser-known, anonymous works to the poetry of Gower, Chaucer, Langland, and Lydgate. Benson discusses how these poets conceive of ancient Rome and its citizens—especially the women of Rome—as well as why this matters to their works. An insightful and innovative study, Imagined Romes addresses a crucial lacuna in the scholarship of Rome in the medieval imaginary and provides fresh perspectives on the work of four of the most prominent Middle English poets.




Worlds of Arthur


Book Description

The story of King Arthur - probably the most famous and certainly the most legendary of medieval kings.




The Romans Who Shaped Britain


Book Description

A biographical history of the Romans who conquered and dominated Britain, based on the latest archaeological evidence and original source material. Here are the stories of the people who built and ruled Roman Britain, from the eagle-bearer who leaped off Caesar’s ship into the waves at Walmer in 55BC to the last cavalry units to withdraw from the island under their dragon standards in the early fifth century AD. Through the lives of its generals and governors, this book explores the narrative of Britannia as an integral and often troublesome part of Rome’s empire, a hard-won province whose mineral wealth and agricultural prosperity made it crucial to the stability of the West. But Britannia did not exist in a vacuum, and the authors set it in an international context to give a vivid account of the pressures and events that had a profound impact on its people and its history. The authors discuss the lives and actions of the Roman occupiers against the backdrop of an evolving landscape, where Iron Age shrines were replaced by marble temples and industrial-scale factories and granaries sprang up across the countryside.




The Oxford Handbook of Roman Britain


Book Description

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. Roman Britain is a critical area of research within the provinces of the Roman empire. Within the last 15-20 years, the study of Roman Britain has been transformed through an enormous amount of new and interesting work which is not reflected in the main stream literature.




Under Another Sky


Book Description

The author and classics scholar shares “a delightful, deeply informed recounting of her journeys across Britain in search of its ancient Roman past” (Kirkus, starred review). What does Roman Britain mean to us now? How were its physical remains rediscovered and made sense of? How has it been reimagined, in story and song and verse? Sometimes on foot, sometimes in a magnificent, if not entirely reliable, VW camper van, Charlotte Higgins sets out to explore the ancient monuments of Roman Britain. She explores the land that was once Rome’s northernmost territory and how it has changed since the years after the empire fell. Under Another Sky invites readers to see the British landscape, and British history, in an entirely fresh way: as indelibly marked by how the Romans first imagined and wrote, these strange and exotic islands, perched on the edge of the known world, into existence. Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize




Medieval Schools


Book Description

A sequel to Nicholas Orme's widely praised study, Medieval Children Children have gone to school in England since Roman times. By the end of the middle ages there were hundreds of schools, supporting a highly literate society. This book traces their history from the Romans to the Renaissance, showing how they developed, what they taught, how they were run, and who attended them. Every kind of school is covered, from reading schools in churches and town grammar schools to schools in monasteries and nunneries, business schools, and theological schools. The author also shows how they fitted into a constantly changing world, ending with the impacts of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Medieval schools anticipated nearly all the ideas, practices, and institutions of schooling today. Their remarkable successes in linguistic and literary work, organizational development, teaching large numbers of people shaped the societies that they served. Only by understanding what schools achieved can we fathom the nature of the middle ages.




Classical Caledonia


Book Description

This book focuses on early modern attitudes towards Scotland's ancient past and looks in particular at the ways in which this past was not only misunderstood, but also manipulated in attempts to create a patriotic history for the nation. Adding a new perspective on the formation of Scotland's national identity, the book documents a century-long, often heated debate regarding the extent of Roman influence north of Hadrian's Wall. By exploring the lives and writings of antiquarians, poets and Enlightenment thinkers, it aims to uncover the political, patriotic and intellectual influences which fuelled this debate. Rome versus Caledonia will cast light on a rarely discussed aspect of Scotland's historiography, one which played a vital role in establishing early modern notions of 'Scottishness' at a time when Scotland was coming to terms with radical and traumatic changes to its position within Britain and the wider world.




The Legions of the Mist


Book Description

An awe-inspiring account of the final days of Rome’s forgotten legion. The Ninth Hispana was once the pride of the Roman Army, wreathed in honour for numerous successful campaigns. But by the time it was joined by Centurion Justinius Corvus, it had clearly fallen on hard times. Smarting from the sting of his recent demotion, and a transfer to Britain, a land he despises, Justinius nevertheless works hard to bring to his men some of the same pride he feels as a Roman soldier. As their bond grows strong, with each other and with the occupied land, their skill in combat is tested to its limits against the forces of Vortrix, High King of the Britons. As the battle lines muster, the fate of an Army, and of a nation, will be decided... The Legions of the Mist is an earth-shattering tale of loyalty, love and war, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden and Ben Kane.