Description
Book SynopsisIn this pioneering study, Ralph W. Mathisen examines the "fall" in one part of the western Empire, Gaul, to better understand the shift from Roman to Germanic power that occurred in the region during the fifth century A.D.
Trade ReviewI can warmly recommend Mathisen's latest book to all students of the western provinces in Late Antiquity. It is a well-planned, well-presented, lucid and illuminating work that confidently gathers together ideas that Mathisen and other scholars . . . have been floating for the last few years, and takes them to a very satisfying conclusion. In brief, Mathisen provides an excellent summary of recent research in his field . . . enlivened by his own interpretation of a number of important issues. * International Journal of the Classical Tradition *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction. The Barbarians in Gaul: In Search of an Identity
Part One. Setting the Stage: Romans and Barbarians in Conflict
Chapter One. The Aristocratic Background of Late Roman Gaul
Chapter Two. Gaul, Italy, and Isolationism in the Fifth Century
Chapter Three. The Barbarian Settlement: Impressions of Harassment, Interference, and Oppression
Part Two. Immediate Responses: The Disruption of Old Institutions
Chapter Four. The Intellectual Response: Conflicting Perceptions of the Barbarians
Chapter Five. Gallic Traditionalists and the Continued Pursuit of the Roman Ideal
Chapter Six. Flight and Dislocation, Emigrants and Exiles
Chapter Seven. Between Romania and Barbaria: The Barbarian Alternative
Chapter Eight. Conflicting Loyalties: Collaborators, Traitors, and the Betrayal of Territory
Part Three. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians: The Restructuring of the Gallo-Roman Aristocracy
Chapter Nine. The Acquisition of Church Office and the Rise of an Ecclesiastical Aristocracy
Chapter Ten. The Pursuit of Literary Studies: A Unifying Element
Chapter Eleven. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians
Chapter Twelve. The Final Resolution: Aristocratic Options in Post-Roman Gaul
Epilogue
Appendix A. Roman Emperors
Appendix B. Barbarian Rulers
Glossary
Abbreviations
Notes
Primary Bibliography
Secondary Bibliography
Index
