The Ostrogoths from the Migration Period to the Sixth Century


Book Description

The Ostrogoths appropriated the remnants of the Roman empire in Italy, Spain, southern Gaul and the north-west Balkans. In this title, studies illuminate the evolution of medieval Europe from Roman civilisation moderated by Germanic outsiders.




The Visigoths from the Migration Period to the Seventh Century


Book Description

Between 376 and 476 the Roman Empire in western Europe was dismantled by aggressive outsiders, "barbarians" as the Romans labelled them. Chief among these were the Visigoths, a new force of previously separate Gothic and other groups from south-west France, initially settled by the Romans but subsequently, from the middle of the fifth century, achieving total independence from the failing Roman Empire, and extending their power from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar. These studies draw on literary and archaeological evidence to address important questions thrown up by the history of the Visigoths and of the kingdom they generated: the historical processes which led to their initial creation; the emergence of the Visigothic kingdom in the fifth century; and the government, society, culture and economy of the "mature" kingdom of the sixth and seventh centuries. A valuable feature of the collection, reflecting the switch of the centre of the Visigothic kingdom from France to Spain from the beginning of the sixth century, is the inclusion, in English, of current Spanish scholarship. Dr PETER HEATHER teaches in the Department of History at University College London. Contributors: Dennis H. Green, Peter Heather, Ana Jimenez Garnica, Giorgio Ausenda, Ian Nicholas Wood, Isabel Velazquez, Felix Retamero, Pablo C. Diaz, Mayke de Jong, Gisela Ripoll Lopez, Andreas Schwarcz




Goths and Romans, 332-489


Book Description

This book examines the collision of Goths and Romans in the fourth and fifth centuries. In these years Gothic tribes played a major role in the destruction of the western half of the Roman Empire, moving the length of Europe from what is now the USSR to establish successor states to the Roman Empire in southern France and Spain (the Visigoths) and in Italy (the Ostrogoths). Our understanding of the Goths in this "Migration Period" has been based upon the Gothic historian Jordanes, whose mid-sixth-century Getica suggests that the Visigoths and Ostrogoths entered the Empire already established as coherent groups and simply conquered new territories. Using more contemporary sources, Peter Heather is able to show that, on the contrary, Visigoths and Ostrogoths were new and unprecedentedly large social groupings, and that many Gothic societies failed even to survive the upheavals of the Migration Period. Dr Heather's scholarly study explores the complicated interactions with Roman power which both prompted the creation of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths around newly emergent dynasties and helped bring about the fall of the Roman Empire.




The Migration Period between the Oder and the Vistula (2 vols)


Book Description

This collection of studies is the result of a six-year interdisciplinary research project undertaken by an international team, and constitutes a completely new approach to environmental, cultural and settlement changes around the mid-first millennium AD in Central Europe.




Migration Art, A.D. 300-800


Book Description

Grab/Gräberfeld - Donauraum - Schmuckstein.




The Visigoths from the Migration Period to the Seventh Century


Book Description

Studies of the advances made by the Visigoths from the decline of the Roman Empire to the seventh century, when their kingdom stretched from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar. Studies of the advances made by theVisigoths from the decline of the Roman Empire to the seventh century, when their kingdom stretched from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar. Between 376 and 476 the Roman Empire in western Europe was dismantled by aggressive outsiders, "barbarians" as the Romans labelled them. Chief among these were the Visigoths, a new force of previously separate Gothic and other groups from south-west France, initially settled by the Romans but subsequently, from the middle of the fifth century, achieving total independence from the failing Roman Empire, and extending their power from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar. These studies draw on literary and archaeological evidence to address important questions thrown up by the history of the Visigoths and of the kingdom they generated: the historical processes which led to their initial creation; the emergence of the Visigothic kingdom in the fifth century; and the government, society, culture and economy of the "mature" kingdom of the sixth and seventh centuries. A valuable feature of the collection, reflecting the switch of the centre of the Visigothic kingdom from France to Spain from the beginning of the sixth century, is the inclusion, in English, of current Spanish scholarship. Dr PETER HEATHER teaches in theDepartment of History at University College London. Contributors: Dennis H. Green, Peter Heather, Ana Jimenez Garnica, Giorgio Ausenda, Ian Nicholas Wood, Isabel Velazquez, Felix Retamero, Pablo C. Diaz, Mayke de Jong, Gisela Ripoll Lopez, Andreas Schwarcz




The Anglo-Saxons from the Migration Period to the Eighth Century


Book Description

The culture of early Anglo-Saxon England explored from an inter-disciplinary perspective. A stimulating contribution to the field of Anglo-Saxon studies. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY A mind-stretching read. NOTES AND QUERIES The papers contained in this volume, by leading researchers in the field, cover a wide range of social, economic and ideological aspects of the culture of early Anglo-Saxon England, from an inter-disciplinary perspective. The status of `Anglo-Saxondom' and `Englishness' as cultural and ethnic categories are a recurrent focus of debate, while other topics include the reconstruction of settlement patterns; social and political structures; farming in medieval England; and the spiritual world of the Anglo-Saxons. As a whole, the contributionsoffer fascinating insights into key contemporary research questions and projects, and into the character and problems of interdisciplinary approaches. Dr JOHN HINES is Reader in the School of History and Archaeology atthe University of Wales, Cardiff. Contributors: WALTER POHL, IAN WOOD, DELLA HOOKE, DOMINIC POWLESLAND, HEINRICH HÄRKE, THOMAS CHARLES-EDWARDS, PATRIZIA LENDINARA, PETER FOWLER, CHRISTOPHER SCULL, JANE HAWKES, D.N. DUMVILLE, JOHN HINES, GIORGIO AUSENDA




The Continental Saxons from the Migration Period to the Tenth Century


Book Description

Jural relations desumed from Carolingian capitularies show interesting connections to preceding customary norms, whilst the vicissitudes of the regional economy, based on agriculture and animal husbandry, from Roman to Migration and later periods are highlighted by the study of vegetable remains and pollen analysis."--Jacket.




The Scandinavians from the Vendel Period to the Tenth Century


Book Description

Ethnographic studies trace the background to and impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period. Using the evidence of archaeology, poetry, legal texts and annals, this volume investigates the social, economic and symbolic structures of early Scandinavia at the time of the Viking expansion. The contributors provide an outlineethnograpjy, covering dwellings and settlements, kinship and social relations, law, political structures and external relations, rural and urban economies, and the ideology of warfare. The topics are discussed through case-studies from the contributors' recent research, illustrating the changing scholarly interpretations of this formative period in Scandinavian history. By addressing these key research questions, the contributions trace the background toand the impact of urbanisation and Christianisation, and the development of royal power, which stimulated the transition from the Viking age to the medieval period in Scandinavia. This book brings together for the first time in English a wealth of current Scandinavian archaeological, historical and cultural research. JUDITH JESCH is Reader in Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham. Contributors: LENA HOLMQUIST OLAUSSON, BENTE MAGNUS, E. VESTERGAARD, BIRGIT ARRHENIUS, STEFAN BRINK, LISE BENDER JORGENSEN, SVEND NIELSEN, FRANDS HERSCHEND, NIELS LUND, DAVID N. DUMVILLE, JUDITH JESCH, DENNIS H. GREEN.




The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction


Book Description

The Gothic is wildly diverse. It can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films, and a distinctive style of rock music. It has influenced political theorists and social reformers, as well as Victorian home décor and contemporary fashion. Nick Groom shows how the Gothic has come to encompass so many meanings by telling the story of the Gothic from the ancient tribe who sacked Rome to the alternative subculture of the present day. This unique Very Short Introduction reveals that the Gothic has predominantly been a way of understanding and responding to the past. Time after time, the Gothic has been invoked in order to reveal what lies behind conventional history. It is a way of disclosing secrets, whether in the constitutional politics of seventeenth-century England or the racial politics of the United States. While contexts change, the Gothic perpetually regards the past with fascination, both yearning and horrified. It reminds us that neither societies nor individuals can escape the consequences of their actions. The anatomy of the Gothic is richly complex and perversely contradictory, and so the thirteen chapters here range deliberately widely. This is the first time that the entire story of the Gothic has been written as a continuous history: from the historians of late antiquity to the gardens of Georgian England, from the mediaeval cult of the macabre to German Expressionist cinema, from Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy to American consumer society, from folk ballads to vampires, from the past to the present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.