Italy in the Early Middle Ages: 476-1000 (Short Oxford History of Italy) [Paperback]

Cristina La Rocca (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0198700482 | ISBN-13: 978-0198700487

In this volume, ten leading international historians and archaeologists provide a fresh and dynamic picture of Italy's history from the end of the Roman Western Empire in 476 to the end of the tenth century. Recent archaeological findings, which have so greatly changed our perceptions and understanding of the period, have been fully integrated into the eleven thematic chapters, which provide a fully rounded overview of the entire Italian peninsula in the early middle ages. The chapters consider such themes as regional diversities, rural and urban landscapes, the organisation of public and private power, the role and structure of ecclesiastical institutions, the production of manuscripts, inscriptions, and private charters.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cristina La Rocca is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Padua and is joint editor of 'Archeologia Medievale'. Her books include 'Pacifico di Verona. Il passato carolingio nella costruzione della memoria urbana' (1995),'Da Testona a Moncalieri. La dinamica del popolamento nella collina torinese'(1986). With D.Modonesi she is the editor of 'Materiali diet� longobarda nel veronese' (1989).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198700482
• ISBN-13: 978-0198700487
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,221,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of a Neglected Period, September 14, 2005

By 

John W. Oliver (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Italy in the Early Middle Ages: 476-1000 (Short Oxford History of Italy) (Paperback)

In an effort to understand more of the historic development of Italy, I picked up this book from the local library. The book covers a wide range of time, from 476-1000, and each chapter is an essay covering a particular aspect of this period. The book is definitely not all inclusive, and it is not meant to be. The essays do give the reader a good sense of what is happening and how Italy is changing through the time period.

Overall, I found the essays to be well-written. Some of the essays are drier than others, making them more difficult to focus your attention upon. I like the idea of the subject specific essay though, allowing the reader to understand an aspect as a whole for a period before passing onto the next.

The book concentrates mostly on Northern and Central Italy. Southern Italy does not receive the same attention. From the text, I would gather that there is less material about the area available to study this period. Perhaps as more archaeological evidence is found and local histories are gathered, we can understand more about what happened in this area in this period (Note: the Byzantine Empire controlled the area for much of this period, as opposed to the Lombards, Goths and Carolingans farther to the north).

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about this period. It is important to understand the transitions that a culture makes if you are going to understand why a land is how it is (and if that makes sense to you, good).