Europe after Rome: A New Cultural History 500-1000 (Paperback)

~ Julia Smith (Author) "As concepts originating in the Italian Renaissance, 'Antiquity' and 'the Middle Ages' are deeply embedded in historical consciousness, and few would doubt that these catchwords..." (more)
Key Phrases: historiarum decem, early medieval men, early medieval thinking, Middle Ages, Roman Empire, Old English (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a masterpiece of condensed exposition. It is also a breakthrough--a truly New Cultural History--in the quiet determination of the author to approach very old themes from angles refreshingly different from those from which they have usually been approached . . . It is, above all, the first complete account of the early middle ages as a civilization in its own right. It catches the living texture of western Europe, from Rome to the Hebrides, for a half millennium of its history. It is truly the study of a civilization in its entirety. . ."--Peter Brown, Princeton University

Product Description

Europe after Rome: A New Cultural History 500-1000 is the first single-author study in more than fifty years to offer an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. Written in an attractive and accessible style, the book makes extensive use of original sources in order to introduce early medieval men and women at all levels of society--from slave to emperor--and allows them to speak to students in their own words. It overturns traditional narratives and instead offers an entirely fresh approach to the centuries from c.500 to c.1000.
Rejecting any notion of a dominant, uniform early medieval culture, Europe after Rome argues that the fundamental characteristic of the early middle ages is diversity of experience. To explain how the men and women who lived in this period ordered their world in cultural, social, and political terms, it employs an innovative methodology that combines cultural history, regional studies, and gender history. Ranging comparatively from Ireland to Hungary and from Scotland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy, the analysis highlights three themes: regional variation, power, and the legacy of Rome. In the context of debates about the social, religious, and cultural meaning of "Europe" in the early twenty-first century, this book seeks the origins of European cultural pluralism and diversity in the early Middle Ages.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192892630
• ISBN-13: 978-0192892638
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #354,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cultural history, Modern-style sociologically oriented, July 8, 2007

By	kjellnilsson (Orebro Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Europe after Rome: A New Cultural History 500-1000 (Hardcover)

This book is not divided into chronological chapters but into thematic chapters, treating each particular aspect of "culture" as she sees it once and for all at one place in the book, much like Norman Davis did in his delightful history of Poland, "Heart of Europe".
There are four major sections, each with two chapters. I: Fundamentals, with the chapters Speaking and writing and Living and dying. II: Affinities, divided into Friends and relations, and Men and women. III: Resources, divided into Labour and lordship, and Getting and giving. IV: Ideologies, divided into Kingship and Christianity and Rome and the peoples of Europe. There follow an Epilogue on pp 293-297, and Notes on pp 298-313 which gives the sources for works quoted. The section Further Reading, occupying pp 314-343 is actually a so called commented bibliography, which I found valuable since it puts the reading list into a historiographic perspective and aids in picking out books that will interest me during further studies.
The topic of the book being Europe in the years 500-1000 AD, which earlier used to be referred to as The Dark Ages, I found it positive, for instance, that she does away with the concept of Barbarians (as opposed to supposedly "civilised" Romans) in a way which Peter Heather (who insists that there was indeed a Fall of the Roman empire, and of civilisation with it) would probably find blasphemous. She shows convincingly that the Europe of AD 1000 was very different from that of AD 500, so obviously a lot of things happened in terms of development within European societies, even during supposedly Dark Ages. No signs of stagnation there !
I noted some negatives. The lack of illustrations is rather unusual for a Cultural History. In fact, the only photo inside the book is the frontispiece (in b/w ! ), showing a Scottish decorated sarcophagus (whose importance is interpreted extensively on pp 7-9), plus there are two colour images on the front wrapper: the inside back flap shows a photo of the author. To give food not just for your thought but for your eyes you must clearly look elsewhere: Check out the (late) mediaeval world in pictures as offered by the Duke of Berry (France), in his commissioned work of exquisite miniatures in "Les très riches heures du duc de Berry" (alternatively called Les très belles heures in some editions; the Germans call this type of books a Stundenbuch, so you could search for all three synonyms to get your hand on copies of such literature). I wish I knew about some similar work covering the period of Miss Smith's book (AD 500-1000) but I don't. If someone out there knows, would you please post an update on this site ! Another feature is heavy-footed language at places, and long sentences (4-5 lines) are usual. But again, the intended readers of a work such as this will be indulgent towards such features.
As you may guess from the above, this is not some lavish coffee-table publication but a high-brow book which gives the reader much food for thought, serving as your companion for the long haul, to argue and disagree with at times. I come away from the first reading with a sense of deep satisfaction, and a wish to continue my studies of Mediaeval Culture.
Not being a professional historian myself I hesitate to mark this work: I might be unfair, but felt I should deduct one star from the maximum due to the slight deficiencies noted. But it might very well be regarded a 5-star work given its own premises, I guess.

9 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, March 31, 2009

By	Veglia Borletti (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

---The once called 'dark ages' is my favorite period of history. I love the idea of the world - Europe, that is - after the fall of the Empire. I want to know all about the early medievel kings. How did men become kings in the first place, after Rome lost authoritian control? She names any number of kings, but doesn't tell us who they really were or where were their kingdoms. What authority did they have? Were they evil barbarian kings that waged constant war with each other or gentle law givers ushering in a thousand years of peace?
---And how did the common people live? Mostly in cities or on small farms in remote forests, on mountain side or on the plains? How and how often did they came together at fairs, markets, dances, church. What did they do when they came together? On horses or on foot? With carts bringing crops to market? Selling knitting or crafts? I want to know what they wore and did for labor and fun. Am I confusing cultural history with social history?
---Alas, 'Europe after Rome' told me nothing at all of what I wanted to know. As much as I admire anyone who can put together a scholarly volume, which this is, I guess, I must not be a scholar because this is not an edifying volume. It is irredeemably confused in its discussion and presentation. The author uses big words and long sentences in paragraphs without coherence or meaning. I could not follow it or keep awake.
---The author was clearly dismissive of the role of the church in this period, though it was only the church, apparently, that kept learning alive at all. She was somewhat more clear in respect of some women's issues. I take her to believe that women were not sufficiently empowered. I ken that she is concerned that abortion was not more readily available through 'abortifacient' herbs that were known.
---I really shouldn't be overly harsh, because a great deal of effort and research went into the work and Ms. Smith is a respected scholar. She deserves credit for her effort. But revising history from a woman's liberation point of view, though it isn't a large part of the book, is anachronistic in my mind and it rubbed me the wrong way.
---If you want a copy, well, I won't be going back to mine.