Oxford handbook of the Merovingian world, The
Merovingians Gaul France
Oxford University Press
2020
EISBN 9780197510803
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.
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 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.
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.
