Post-Roman Transitions (Hardcover)

Walter Pohl

ISBN 10: 2503543278 / ISBN 13: 9782503543277

Published by Brepols N.V., Turnhout, 2013

About this Item

Hardcover. This volume looks at changing identities during the transition from the Roman Empire to a political world defined by a different kingdoms and peoples in western Europe. It addresses 'ethnicity' in the context of alternative modes of identification, mainly Christianity and Romanness. To widen the horizon of current debates, it shows that the ancient dichotomy between barbarians and Romans is hardly helpful in understanding the complex transitions to a post-imperial age in the West. In a broad sweep of regional examples, from Spain and North Africa to Dalmatia and the British Isles, the book follows the unfolding of Christian and barbarian identities: How were both the Roman and the barbarian past used for the formation and legitimation of new identities? The 'scripts of Romanness' changed in the early Middle Ages, and so did the significance of othering pagans, heretics, or barbarians. The contributions trace the tenacity and the ambiguity of traditional narratives and signs of distinction: manuscripts and material remains, costume and epigraphy, historiography and hagiography were used in creative ways to shape civic, local, or religious communities. Many of the contributions show the fundamental importance of Christian 'strategies of identification' for creating a stronger political role for ethnicity in the post-Roman kingdoms. As such, they follow a line of argument that has also been explored in the book's companion volume in this series, Strategies of Identification: Ethnicity and Religion in Early Medieval Europe (CELAMA 13). This volume looks at changing identities during the transition from the Roman Empire to a political world defined by a different kingdoms and peoples in western Europe. It addresses 'ethnicity' in the context of alternative modes of identification, mainly Christianity and Romanness. To widen the horizon of current debates, it shows t Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9782503543277

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Post-Roman Transitions (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Brepols N.V., Turnhout
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 2503543278
• ISBN 13: 9782503543277
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

What were the social contexts, cultural resources, and political consequences of the new models for identification which emerged during the transition from the Roman empire to the medieval world?

This volume looks at changing identities during the transition from the Roman Empire to a political world defined by a different kingdoms and peoples in western Europe. It addresses 'ethnicity' in the context of alternative modes of identification, mainly Christianity and Romanness. To widen the horizon of current debates, it shows that the ancient dichotomy between barbarians and Romans is hardly helpful in understanding the complex transitions to a post-imperial age in the West. In a broad sweep of regional examples, from Spain and North Africa to Dalmatia and the British Isles, the book follows the unfolding of Christian and barbarian identities: How were both the Roman and the barbarian past used for the formation and legitimation of new identities?

The 'scripts of Romanness' changed in the early Middle Ages, and so did the significance of othering pagans, heretics, or barbarians. The contributions trace the tenacity and the ambiguity of traditional narratives and signs of distinction: manuscripts and material remains, costume and epigraphy, historiography and hagiography were used in creative ways to shape civic, local, or religious communities. Many of the contributions show the fundamental importance of Christian 'strategies of identification' for creating a stronger political role for ethnicity in the post-Roman kingdoms. As such, they follow a line of argument that has also been explored in the book s companion volume in this series, Strategies of Identification: Ethnicity and Religion in Early Medieval Europe (CELAMA 13).

Review

"...this is an important volume that both mixes the work of young scholars with that of already established ones, as well as crossing a variety of disciplines, textual and material." --Veronica West-Harling, The Medieval Review, 15.05.13