After Empire: Towards an Ethnology of Europe's Barbarians (Studies in Historical Archaeoethnology) [Hardcover]

Giorgio Ausenda (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995 | ISBN-10: 0851156347 | ISBN-13: 978-0851156347

The decline of the Roman Empire was compounded by the spread westwards of barbarian tribes from Eastern Europe, settling areas from which the indigenous populations had been cleared by the spread of the power of Rome, while those populations, notably the Celts, were pushed to the fringes of the former empire. These migrations of barbarian peoples, occuring between the 4th and the 9th centuries, were among the most important changes in European society, but they left no historical record in the accepted sense, and it is necessary to study them at a multi-disciplinary level, drawing on the resources of archaeology, sociology and anthropology. It is the recovery of the customs and beliefs of these populations through such means that forms the common purpose of the studies in this book, for during these centuries the traits and attitudes developed which are at the root of present-day Europe: feudalism, the status level achieved by the merchant class, the beginnings of an ideology that led to the separation of church and state, the demise of slavery as an inefficient mode of production, the origin of national identities, and so forth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GIORGIO AUSENDA teaches at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress, San Marino. The Contributors are: GIORGIO AUSENDA, JULIAN D. RICHARDS, JOHN HINES, DAVID TURTON, ROSS BALZARETTI, DENNIS H. GREEN, SVEN SCHÜTTE, DAVID N. DUMVILLE, MORTEM AXBOE, IAN N. WOOD --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851156347
• ISBN-13: 978-0851156347
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,366,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great study in the period from Roman to Medieval times, July 2, 1999

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Robert M. Vermaat - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Empire: Towards an Ethnology of Europe's Barbarians (Studies in Historical Archaeoethnology) (Hardcover)

This is a great study into the difficult field of the transition in Europe from the Roman Empire into the world of what we call the Middle Ages. It tries to combine such field as archaeology, ethnology, language, religion and history, with major contributors such as D.N.Dumville, D.H.Green, J.Hines, J.D.Richards and Ian Wood. Though the invividual contributions are good enough a reason for acquiring this book, it is the discussions at the end of each paper that make it exemplary. These dicussions between the authors are stimulating and challenging, giving far more insight to the reader into the matter discussed . I'll be looking forward to the second volume.