The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)

Tiré du site de l'éditeur : "The Merovingian era is one of the best studied yet least well known periods of European history. From the fifth to the eighth centuries, the inhabitants of Gaul (what now comprises France, southern Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhineland Germany, and part of modern Switzerland), a mix of Gallo-Roman inhabitants and Germanic arrivals under the political control of the Merovingian dynasty, sought to preserve, use, and reimagine the political, cultural, and religious power of ancient Rome while simultaneously forging the beginnings of what would become medieval European culture. The forty-six essays included in this volume highlight why the Merovingian era is at the heart of historical debates about what happened to Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The essays demonstrate that the inhabitants of the Merovingian kingdoms in these centuries created a culture that was the product of these traditions and achieved a balance between the world they inherited and the imaginative solutions they bequeathed to Europe. The Handbook highlights new perspectives and scientific approaches that shape our changing view of this extraordinary era by showing that Merovingian Gaul was situated at the crossroads of Europe, connecting the Mediterranean and the British Isles with the Byzantine empire, and it benefited from the global reach of the late Roman Empire. It tells the story of the Merovingian world through archaeology, bio-archaeology, architecture, hagiographic literature, history, liturgy, visionary literature and eschatology, patristics, numismatics, and material culture." The Merovingian World Has Become More Visible In Anglophone Historical Studies In The Past Two Decades As Attention To The Social And Economic Networks Of Empires And Modes Of Communication Has Begun To Change Older Frameworks That Viewed These Centuries In Terms Of Decline And Characterized Them As The Dark Ages. The Merovingian Epoch Witnessed, Something Which We Understand From The Perspective Of Hindsight, A Tilt To The Middle Ages. The Forty-six Essays Included In This Volume Thus Highlight The Vitality And Importance Of The Merovingian Kingdoms In The Fifth Through Eighth Centuries. Rather Than Suggest That This Was A Chaotic And Obscure Interlude Between The Fall Of The Roman Empire And The Rise Of The Carolingians, And Named For A Dynasty With A Reputation For Few Accomplishments And Even Fewer Memorable Kings, The Essays Demonstrate That The Merovingian Era Is An Important Field In Its Own Right. The Handbook's Contributors Highlight Recent Research That Moves Beyond The Political Developments That Were Until Recently The Bread And Butter Of Most Historians, And Include Many Contributions Based On Material Culture That Shed New Light On Subjects That Previously Were Inaccessible. They Demonstrate That The Merovingian World Was At The Center Of A Wide-ranging Merovingian Empire Of Elites, Peasants, Economies, And Cultures, And Its Story Must Be Told Through Archaeology, Bio-archaeology, Architecture, Hagiographic Literature, Manuscripts, Liturgy, Visionary Literature And Eschatology, Patristics, Numismatics, And Material Culture. In Addition To Mainland France, The Essays Encompass The Geographic Conduits Of Power, Culture, And Trade That Connected The Merovingian World With Anglo-saxon England, Ireland, Frisia, Spain, Italy, North Africa, And The Byzantine Empire. This Network-empire Of Intersecting (and Often Conflicting) Identities, Political Interests, Religions, Economies, Patronage, And Cultures, Were Intrinsically Connected To Contemporary Developments Not Just Among The Burgundians And Visigoths, But Among The Byzantines, Avars, Anglo-saxons, Frisians, And The Irish, Fields That Were Once Viewed, Like The Merovingians Themselves, In Isolation. These Important Developments Reveal Why The Merovingian Period Has Attracted New Audiences And Why It Will Never Be Viewed As A Backwater Again. Tiré du site de l'éditeur : "The Merovingian era is one of the best studied yet least well known periods of European history. From the fifth to the eighth centuries, the inhabitants of Gaul (what now comprises France, southern Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhineland Germany, and part of modern Switzerland), a mix of Gallo-Roman inhabitants and Germanic arrivals under the political control of the Merovingian dynasty, sought to preserve, use, and reimagine the political, cultural, and religious power of ancient Rome while simultaneously forging the beginnings of what would become medieval European culture. The forty-six essays included in this volume highlight why the Merovingian era is at the heart of historical debates about what happened to Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The essays demonstrate that the inhabitants of the Merovingian kingdoms in these centuries created a culture that was the product of these traditions and achieved a balance between the world they inherited and the imaginative solutions they bequeathed to Europe. The Handbook highlights new perspectives and scientific approaches that shape our changing view of this extraordinary era by showing that Merovingian Gaul was situated at the crossroads of Europe, connecting the Mediterranean and the British Isles with the Byzantine empire, and it benefited from the global reach of the late Roman Empire. It tells the story of the Merovingian world through archaeology, bio-archaeology, architecture, hagiographic literature, history, liturgy, visionary literature and eschatology, patristics, numismatics, and material culture." The Merovingian era is one of the best studied yet least known periods of European history. From the fifth to the eighth centuries, the inhabitants of Gaul (what now comprises France, southern Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhineland Germany and part of modern Switzerland), a mix of Gallo-Romans and Germanic arrivals under the political control of the Merovingian dynasty, sought to preserve, use, and reimagine the political, cultural, and religious power of ancient Rome while simultaneously forging the beginnings of what would become medieval European culture and identity. As a result, the Merovingian era is at the heart of historical debates about what happened to western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In this collection of 46 essays by scholars we encounter the new perspectives and scientific approaches that shape our changing view of this extraordinary era Part I. Merovingian historiography and the history of archaeology -- Part II. Expressing identity -- Part III. Structures of power -- Part IV. Merovingian Gaul in a wider context -- Part V. Merovingian written culture -- Part VI. Merovingian landscape -- Part VII. Economies, exchange, and production -- Part VIII. The supernatural and the afterlife In recent decades, the Merovingian world has become more visible in Anglophone historical studies. The forty-six essays included in this collection highlight the vitality and importance of the Merovingian kingdoms in the fifth through eighth centuries.