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This comprehensive textbook is the first to synthesise a quarter of
a century of pathbreaking research in an accessible manner for
undergraduate students. Matthew Innes is unique in combining an
account of the historical background of the period with discussion
of the social, economic, cultural and political structures of the
socities within it. Individual chapters include discussion on: Why
the Roman Empire broke down so irrevocably in western Europe; How
it came to be replaced by radically different political systems,
ruled by kings who saw themselves as leaders of ethnic communities;
Whether these changes were the result of lock, stock and barrel
migration of biologically defined peoples or more complex processes
whereby new elites created ethnicity, legitimising their position
through myths of common descent and shared history; Why the
city-based state structure of antiquity was replaced by a system in
which landowners used their private resourves to exercise public
power; How and why the division between civilians and the military,
so fundamental to the ancient state, broke down giving rise to a
world of militarised landlord power; How the conversion of western
Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church as the
central social institution related to these processes of change;
What made western Europe's experience so distinctive in this
period. studying late antique or early medieval history, it will
also interest researchers and postgraduate students because it
synthesises and interprets a great deal of otherwise unavailable
primary research. Especially designed to be student-friendly, An
Introduction to Early Medieval Western Europe contains: chapter
summaries and chronologies; key topic essays discussing
archaeological or documentary evidence; a lavish range or
supporting illustrations from archaeological and historical finds;
bibliographical essays which discuss available sources and
secondary literature, introducing teachers and students to the
specialist literature; a comprehensive glossary and index
'Matthew Innes' new survey fills a nagging void for teachers of
early medieval history ...' - John McCulloh, Kansas State
University. "Innes has done early medieval scholarship a great
service. By surveying and synthesising recent research covering
such a long period, his book will help others to connect the dots
and draw conclusions of their own... This is a very important
book... an excellent resource for teachers and students." - Warren
C. Brown, English Historical Review Surveying the period of
European history, 300-900 AD, this comprehensive and stimulating
textbook is the first to present the last twenty-five years of
research in an accessible manner for undergraduate students. It is
unique in combining an account of the historical background of the
period with discussion of the social, economic, cultural and
political structures of the societies within it. Introduction to
Early Medieval Western Europe, 300-900 includes: chapter summaries
and chronologies key topic essays discussing archaeological or
documentary evidence maps plus supporting illustrations from
archaeological and historical finds bibliographical essays which
discuss available sources and further reading, introducing teachers
and students to specialist literature a comprehensive index. Key
topics discussed are: why the Roman Empire broke down so
irrevocably in Western Europe how it came to be replaced by
radically different political systems why the city-based state
structure of antiquity was replaced how and why the division
between civilians and the military broke down the conversion of
Western Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church
as the central social institution what made Western Europe's
experience so distinctive in this period.
Many more documents survive from the early Middle Ages than from
the Roman Empire. Although ecclesiastical archives may account for
the dramatic increase in the number of surviving documents, this
new investigation reveals the scale and spread of documentary
culture beyond the Church. The contributors explore the nature of
the surviving documentation without preconceptions to show that we
cannot infer changing documentary practices from patterns of
survival. Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages -
from North Africa, Egypt, Italy, Francia and Spain to Anglo-Saxon
England - people at all social levels, whether laity or clergy,
landowners or tenants, farmers or royal functionaries, needed, used
and kept documents. The story of documentary culture in the early
medieval world emerges not as one of its capture by the Church, but
rather of a response adopted by those who needed documents, as they
reacted to a changing legal, social and institutional landscape.
This book, first published in 2000, is a pioneering study of
politics and society in the early Middle Ages. Whereas it is widely
believed that the source materials for early medieval Europe are
too sparse to allow sustained study of the workings of social and
political relationships on the ground, this book focuses on a
uniquely well-documented area to investigate the basis of power.
Topics covered include the foundation of monasteries, their
relationship with the laity, and their role as social centres; the
significance of urbanism; the control of land, the development of
property rights and the organization of states; community, kinship
and lordship; justice and dispute settlement; the uses of the
written word; violence and the feud; and the development of
political structures from the Roman empire to the high Middle Ages.
This volume investigates the ways in which people in the early Middle Ages used the past: to legitimate the present, to understand current events, and as a source of identity. Each essay examines the mechanisms by which ideas about the past were subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) reshaped for present purposes. As well as written histories, also discussed are saints' lives, law codes, buildings, Biblical commentary, monastic foundations, canon law and oral traditions. This is the first book to investigate systematically this important topic.
This volume investigates the ways in which people in the early Middle Ages used the past: to legitimate the present, to understand current events, and as a source of identity. Each essay examines the mechanisms by which ideas about the past were subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) reshaped for present purposes. As well as written histories, also discussed are saints' lives, law codes, buildings, Biblical commentary, monastic foundations, canon law and oral traditions. This is the first book to investigate systematically this important topic.
This book shows just how much can be discovered about the so-called "Dark Ages," between the fall of Rome and the high Middle Ages. Whereas it is believed widely that the source materials for early medieval Europe are too sparse to allow sustained study of social and political relationships, State and Society in the Early Middle Ages offers a detailed analysis of the workings of society at the heart of Charlemagne's empire, and suggests the need to rethink our understanding of political power in this period.
At its height, the Carolingian empire spanned a million square
kilometres of western Europe - from the English Channel to central
Italy and northern Spain, and from the Atlantic to the fringes of
modern Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. As the largest
political unit for centuries, the empire dominated the region and
left an enduring legacy for European culture. This comprehensive
survey traces this great empire's history, from its origins around
700, with the rise to dominance of the Carolingian dynasty, through
its expansion by ruthless military conquest and political
manoeuvring in the eighth century, to the struggle to hold the
empire together in the ninth. It places the complex political
narrative in context, giving equal consideration to vital themes
such as beliefs, peasant society, aristocratic culture and the
economy. Accessibly written and authoritative, this book offers
distinctive perspectives on a formative period in European history.
At its height, the Carolingian empire spanned a million square
kilometres of western Europe - from the English Channel to central
Italy and northern Spain, and from the Atlantic to the fringes of
modern Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. As the largest
political unit for centuries, the empire dominated the region and
left an enduring legacy for European culture. This comprehensive
survey traces this great empire's history, from its origins around
700, with the rise to dominance of the Carolingian dynasty, through
its expansion by ruthless military conquest and political
manoeuvring in the eighth century, to the struggle to hold the
empire together in the ninth. It places the complex political
narrative in context, giving equal consideration to vital themes
such as beliefs, peasant society, aristocratic culture and the
economy. Accessibly written and authoritative, this book offers
distinctive perspectives on a formative period in European history.
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