From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms

This prestigious collection of essays by leading scholars provides a thorough reassessment of the medieval era which questions how, when and why the Middle Ages began, and how abruptly the shift from the Roman Empire to Barbarian Europe happened. Presenting the most current work including newly-available material such as translations of French and German essays, From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms gathers the key thinkers in the field together in one easy-to-use volume. Examining a wealth of material on the origins of the Barbarian people and their tribes, Thomas F.X. Noble studies the characteristics of the tribes and debates whether they were blood-tied clans or units bound by social, political and economic objectives. Highly readable and student friendly, From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms includes a general introduction, clear prologues to each section and makes the key debates of the subject accessible to students.

Thomas F. X. Noble is Director of the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He is co-author of Western Civilization: The Continuing Experiment (2004) and author of The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825 (1998).

Introduction: Romans, Barbarians and the Transformation of the Roman Empire Part 1: Barbarian Ethnicity and Identity 1. The Crisis of European Identity 2. Gothic History as Historical Ethnography 3. Origo et Religio: Ethnic Traditions and Literature in Early Medieval Texts 4. Does the Distant Past Impinge on the Invasion Age Germans? 5. Defining the Franks: Frankish Origins in Early Medieval Historiography 6. Telling the Difference: Signs of Ethnic Identity 7. Gender and Ethnicity in the Early Middle Ages 8. Archaeologists and Migrations Part 2: Accommodating the Barbarians 9. Movers and Shakers: The Barbarians and the Fall of Rome 10. The Barbarians in Late Antiquity and How They Were Accommodated in the West 11. Foedera and Foederati in the Fourth Century 12. Cities, Taxes and the Accommodation of the Barbarians Part 3: Barbarian and Roman in the Merovingian Kingdom in Gaul 13. Grave Goods and the Ritual Expression of Identity 14. The Two Faces of Childeric: History, Archaeology, Historiography 15. Frankish Victory Celebrations 16. Administrations, Law and Culture in Merovingian Gaul 17. Pax et Disciplina: Roman Public Law and the Merovingian State