Historical Setting and Sources

Abstract

Abstract In political and religious history, late antiquity marks the end of one world and the beginning of another. The Roman empire slowly disintegrated, Christianity prevailed over other religions, and classical antiquity gave way to the dark ages. In the end, Germanic kings held sway over western Europe. My intention is to find out how these developments affected the status of women. This is not first and foremost a study in legal history. The main source material is composed of legal texts because there is no other group of evidence which one could follow continuously from the early empire through the pivotal hut enigmatic third century up to the beginning of the early middle ages. During late antiquity, other traditional literature dwindled away, and was replaced by the works of Christian bishops and monks. The latter are by no means to be neglected, but they are difficult to compare with earlier material. In the midst of political and religious upheavals, Roman law was a well-established institution, which preserved its mainly secular character. In this study it will gradually appear that from the standpoint of most women late antiquity was not a period of radical change. In particular, the influence of Christianity has been greatly exaggerated.