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"Thorough and convincing... likely to become the standard work on the subject." —Library Journal
"Highly readable." —Medieval Literature
"A major work of synthesis." —Walter E. Kaegi
"Burns has achieved much for the modern study of Ostrogoths." —Antiquaries Journal
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"A Superb Overview of the Ostrogoths",
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This review is from: A History of the Ostrogoths (Paperback)
Thomas Burns' work on the Ostrogothic peoples is interesting, comprehensive, and full of abundant research material for individuals particularly inclined to the study of Germanic tribes and the Later Roman Empire. From the Goths early migrations, incursions, and relations with Rome, all the way to transient dominance under Theodoric the Great and his lesser successors, Burns, the accomplished scholar, artfully blends his deep knowledge of the original sources with contemporary archaeological lore. In doing so, he pieces together fragments of a civilization often clouded by obscurity and presents a work that grasps with clarity all aspects of Ostrogothic society: religion, warfare, art, administration, and the Goths social adaptations within the confines of the Imperial borders to name a few. This work is likely to be the best study of its kind; Thomas Burns has much to offer.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, But Dated,
By
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This review is from: A History of the Ostrogoths (Paperback)
The Ostrogoths are best known for being the briefly in charge of the Italian part of the formerly Roman Empire in the very "Dark Ages" in the 5th and 6th century AD. They were eventually dispatched by the Greek-led Byzantine army in the mid 6th century, and they left little behind except a well known Gothic language Bible that has become a cornerstone of Indo-European comparative linguistics.The Ostrogoths are often compared to their better known cousins, the Visigoths- the Visigoths were the conquerors of Spain until the Muslims wiped them out after the Ostrogoths lost Italy to the Eastern Roman Empire. If you look at a chart comparing the various branches of the Germanic language family (which includes English, yeah?) the Ostrogoths are in the "Eastern Germanic" branch. By Eastern Germanic linguists are not referring to the 20th century East Germany, rather the Goths had their roots in the Steppes of Russia. The general consensus is that they came west as part of the Hunnic armies, and probably first entered the Roman Empire during the great western raids Attila of the Hun. After the Hunnic Emprie collapsed, the Ostrogoths perambulated about the Balkans, unable to settle down and farm (which is what they probably wanted to do) until their great leader Theodoric (one of several Gothic Theodorics who were running around at the same time.) Theodoric managed to unite a bunch of related Gothic tribes into the "Ostrogoths" and they stormed into the Italian peninsula, eventually establishing their capital in Ravena. The Ostrogoths settled inside of Italy, and Theodoric spent the next thirty ish years (490 AD-526 AD) trying to establish the kind of Indo-European Kingdom that is familiar to readers of the Rig Veda: a military elite ruling over a pre-existing domestic population. Theodoric was mostly a failure in this regard, but the fact that the conquered peoples were in the heartland of the Roman Empire means that we know a fair deal about Theodoric, his empire and Gothic society. One of the main points that Burns makes is that the Ostrogoths were uncomfortable with what we moderns call "institutions." Loyalty to government was family and personality based: Most often both attributes needed to be embodied in a single individual for Ostrogothic government to actually exist in any substantial form. The Ostrogoths practiced the Germanic/Indo-European custom known as Comitatus, wherein a leader is supported by a small group of warriors (King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is an English remnant of the larger Germanic concept.) These Warriors were bound to the LEADER, not to the "state" or "nation." Such was their loyalty that the death of the Leader meant the death of the remaining members of the Comitatus. The Comitatus was remarkably successful both inside and outside Indo-European speaking traditions. For example, the Mamalukes of the Ottoman Empire (a Turkish speaking state) were as pure an example of Comitatus as any Indo European version. Another example is the so-called "Slave Empire" of the Mughals.(another Turkish speaking group) The Mughal Empire was called the "slave empire" because the Mughals had been in the Comitatus of the Persian speaking armies of Islam during their conquest of Central Asia. The Establishment of Ostrogothic rule in Italy is one of the better documented transitions from "barbarian" Indo European traditions to the "civilized" Mediterranean/Greek/Roman model of government. Unfortunately, this book does little to explore that interesting development, being content to lay out the history, customs & culture of Ostrogoths in more or less conventional fashion. Honestly though, I couldn't find anything better. Not written in English, anyway.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Poor tree-to-forest ratio,
By
This review is from: A History of the Ostrogoths (Paperback)
This book covers the Ostrogoths from vague Tacitus-and-archaeology prehistory through the destruction of the kingdom in Italy. The writing is unengaging and confused; although the chapters are in chronological order, within each chapter decidedly not; sometimes poor editing is clearly to blame, like when the same sentence is the topic sentence of two consecutive paragraphs. There's many times when Burns will discuss the implications of an historical incident without telling us what the actual event was; he does nothing to make it easier to follow the rivalry between Theodoric Strabo and Theodoric son of Theudimer.Some coverage of material culture, but it's mostly tangential. Indecisive on the question of 'hospitalitas': Burns seems to think it really meant taking possession of a literal third of each estate followed presumably by some kind of re-arrangement and re-shuffling, since he acknowledges that the Goths in Italy tended to live in distinct districts and that the agricultural system needed a full balance of arable, pasture, and woodland in each estate. The one chapter that did very much interest me was on the period of Hunnic overlordship, from the death of Ermanaric to the death of Attila: so much of this clicked with the stories and sagas from early Germanic history with which I'm more familiar that it was most engaging. Not enough forest, too many trees and not enough trails. I would recommend Peter Heather's books on the Goths by preference. Good notes and bibliography, though.
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