Late Rome, Byzantium, and early medieval western Europe

Anthropos , Seite 451 - 472

Zubin Mistry’s Abortion in the Early Middle Ages, c.500–900 seeks to uncover the cultural significance of abortion in early medieval societies. While evidence about pre-modern attitudes to abortion in early medieval Western Europe is fragmentary, Mistry manages to summon a range of sources, all condemning the practice. In excerpts of canon laws, penitentials, sermons, saints’ lives, and biblical commentaries, he reads deeply into the context that occasioned authoritative statements on abortion. The resulting monograph is the first to comprehensively gather all of the authoritative fragments on abortion in continental Western Europe from the period and to consider their cumulative effects, addressing how they relate to one another to reflect, if not a cohesive discourse on abortion, then at least the “thought-worlds” of their authors. Abortion in the Early Middle Ages firmly establishes that reactions to the practice of abortion were situational, rooted in specific historical circumstances, and unrepresentative of contemporary abstract concerns about fetal “life.”

Notes on Contributors. PART I THE MIDDLE AGES. 1 The Idea of a Middle Ages (Edward D. English and Carol Lansing). PART II EARLY MEDIEVAL FOUNDATIONS. 2 Economies and Societies in Early Medieval Western Europe (Matthew Innes). 3 Politics and Power (Hans Hummer). 4 Religious Culture and the Power of Tradition in the Early Medieval West (Yitzhak Hen). PART III POPULATIONS AND THE ECONOMY. 5 Economic Takeoff and the Rise of Markets (James Paul Masschaele). 6 Rural Families in Medieval Europe (Phillipp R. Schofield). 7 Marriage in Medieval Latin Christendom (Martha Howell). 8 Gender and Sexuality (John Arnold). 9 Society, Elite Families, and Politics in Late Medieval Italian Cities (Edward D. English). PART IV RELIGIOUS CULTURE. 10 New Religious Movements and Reform (Maureen C. Miller). 11 Monastic and Mendicant Communities (Constance H. Berman). 12 Hospitals in the Middle Ages (James W. Brodman). 13 Popular Belief and Heresy (Carol Lansing). 14 Jews in the Middle Ages (Kenneth R. Stow). 15 Muslims in Medieval Europe (Olivia Remie Constable). PART V POLITICS AND POWER. 16 Confl ict Resolution and Legal Systems (Thomas Kuehn). 17 Medieval Rulers and Political Ideology (Robert W. Dyson). 18 Papal Monarchy (Andreas Meyer). 19 Urban Historical Geography and the Writing of Late Medieval Urban History (Teofi lo F. Ruiz). 20 Bureaucracy and Literacy (Richard Britnell). 21 The Practice of War (Clifford J. Rogers). 22 Expansion and the Crusades (Christopher Tyerman). PART VI TECHNOLOGIES AND CULTURE. 23 Romanesque and Gothic Church Architecture (Stephen Murray). 24 Aristocratic Culture: Kinship, Chivalry, and Court Culture (Richard E. Barton). 25 Philosophy and Humanism (Stephen Gersh). 26 Philosophy and Theology in the Universities (Philipp W. Rosemann). PART VII THE EUROPEAN MIDDLE AGES. 27 Medieval Europe in World History (R. I. Moore). Index.

Why did commercial cities begin to emerge in Western Europe as they did after 1100 CE? In this chapter, I review and synthesize important thinking about the evolution of commercial cities as a market economy took hold. After discussing ideas about the state in prehistory, I trace thinking about the economic functioning of communities in the ancient world, Roman World, early medieval Western Europe, and into the rise of commercial cities. I integrate the work of Abu-Lughod, Bairoch, Braudel, Cooley, Heaton, Hurd, Mann, Marshall, Power, Smith, Tawney, Tilly, and Weber. I am not so much interested in the historical accuracy of their thinking as I am in how these writers each conceptualized a process based on purposeful behavior. Of particular interest to me is the how the notion and practice of the state changed and how this affected the formation of cities. I build this review around seven themes. Continuing from Chap. 1, I see these as follows: the importance of the governance of a nation to the urban economy; occupational division of labor, command and control, and power; decentralization and entitlement within governance; the functioning of a community as settlement, trading city, or commercial city; the significance of transportation costs, the spatial division of labor, and trade; importance of networks, routes, and nodes in circuits of trade ; and the conflicted role of the city.

Reviewed by: The origin legends of early medieval Britain and Ireland by Lindy Brady Donato Sitaro (bio) Lindy Brady, The origin legends of early medieval Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. ISBN 9781009225618 (hardback), 9781009225670 (ebook). x + 272 pages. $99.00. Origin myths and legends are prominent features of early medieval writings and mentalities. They became a popular genre, an ever-growing corpus of traditions and pseudo-histories, and eventually a late-antique/early medieval 'scholarly preoccupation', as underlined by Brady & Wadden in the foreword to their edited volume Origin legends in early medieval Western Europe (2022: 4). Despite not being the first recorded origines gentium, the Insular origin myths stand out as precious hermeneutic objects for scholars of early medieval culture, as part of a genre 'that has shaped national identity and collective history from the early medieval period to the present day', as we read in the synopsis. The variety of their approach and their richness in contents and traditions make the British, Irish, Pictish, and Anglo-Saxon origin narratives a perfect subject for a dedicated volume. Discussing these apparently divergent narratives in comparative terms was not an easy task, but Brady bravely attempts it in a relatively compact and easily readable book. Divided into five main chapters, the book is prefaced by a 27-page introductory section, eloquently titled 'The anachronism of nationalism', where modern scholarly debate around the contested concepts of ethnicity, post-Roman identities, and early medieval writers' agendas is summarized and discussed. Brady's approach consciously differs from the two major historiographical standpoints on ethnic identities, as it neither gives excessive weight to the influence of Classical ethnography (as Goffart did), [End Page 156] nor does it look too far forward by extending the effects of enduring ethnic identities from the Migration Period deep into the Middle Ages (as in certain readings by Wolfram and Pohl). Brady decides to look 'sideways' (21) to explore the textual and conceptual interrelations between the origin legends of the British Isles without attempting to construct from the texts a straightforward idea of the development of ethnic identities. She looks at the development of origin stories within and among the texts surveyed, more than outside and beyond them. For this reason, the interpretative keywords for Brady's analysis of the sources are 'discourse' and 'development' (3). Her assessment that the concepts enshrined in early medieval origin narratives were communicating and were part of a shared intellectual milieu is repeated throughout the introduction and beyond (1, 4, 16, 21, 63, 227, 229). This assumption finds support in the first chapter through a survey of the textual history of the Insular works containing origin stories: Gildas's De excidio, Bede's Historia ecclesiastica, the ninth-century Historia Brittonum, and the later Irish Lebor Bretnach and Lebor gabála Érenn. While the first two works are referred to in cursory fashion as embryonic nuclei of traditions that would develop later, the latter three pseudo-histories are discussed in depth throughout the book. The Historia Brittonum is given a justified pre-eminence as 'a valuable microcosm of the intellectual connections which form the focus of the study' (16). After the presentation of the sources, the proper narratological analysis begins: chapters 2, 3, and 4 focus on exile, kin-slaying, and intermarriage and incest, respectively. Having established the interrelated nature of the Insular writings in chapter 1, Brady is able to conduct a comparative survey of shared concepts and their development within three concentric levels of investigation corresponding to the three-part structure of these chapters: (i) first she explores the wider conceptual resonance of the motif in literature, usually through comparison with biblical and classical archetypes; (ii) then she outlines the recurrence of historical episodes involving the motif (cases of exiles or kin-slayers in the early medieval Insular context); and finally (iii) she considers the meaning of the motif within the Insular origin narratives. The second part of these themed chapters, the attempt to show 'resonances of these topics in [historical] early insular society' (138), could have been the trickiest. However, Brady addresses the eventual collision between literary motifs and the 'hard facts' drawn from legal and historical records through...

Origin legends in early medieval Western Europe. Edited by Lindy Brady and Patrick Wadden. (Reading Medieval Sources, 6.) Pp. xii + 474 incl. 19 colour and black- and-white ills. Leiden–Boston: Brill, 2023. €198. 978 90 04 40036 8; 2589 2509 - Volume 76 Issue 2

This article explores the architectural features of the High Castle in Lviv in comparison with European fortifications from different historical periods, spanning from the “motte and bailey” castles of the X–XII centuries to the Gothic strongholds of the XIII–XIV centuries and the Renaissance bastion systems of the XVI century. The study aims to identify both similarities and distinctions between the High Castle and its European counterparts by examining aspects such as the use of natural topography for defense, functional zoning, and material evolution in fortification architecture. A key aspect of this comparison lies in the “motte and bailey” castles, a prevalent fortification type in early medieval Western Europe. These castles typically featured an artificial or natural mound (motte) crowned with a wooden or stone keep, along with an enclosed courtyard (bailey) serving economic and residential functions. The High Castle shares structural similarities with these fortifications due to its elevated location and strategic division into upper and lower courtyards. However, unlike many “motte and bailey” castles, which were predominantly wooden, the High Castle incorporated a combination of wooden and stone structures from the outset, a characteristic more typical of later fortifications such as Carcassonne in France and Windsor Castle in England. The study further examines the impact of Gothic fortifications on the architectural evolution of the High Castle. Gothic castles such as Carcassonne and Hohenzollern prioritized tall stone walls, rounded towers, and complex defensive systems, which allowed for improved visibility and protection. While the High Castle in Lviv incorporated some of these elements, it lacked the double curtain walls and advanced moats typical of fully developed Gothic strongholds. This difference suggests a more localized approach to defensive architecture, integrating Western influences with regional construction traditions.

There is surprisingly little early medieval social history being written. In recent years, more specifically economic history has had a remarkable rebirth, thanks to the (largely unconnected) efforts of archaeologists on the one side and Belgian and German historians on the other; but the study of society in general, outside the restricted spheres of the aristocracy and the church, has been neglected. I speak schematically; obviously, there are notable exceptions. But it is significant that noone, in any country, has thought it worthwhile to attempt a synthesis of early medieval European socio-economic history as a whole that could replace those of Alfons Dopsch or, maybe, André Déléage. It would be hard; but people have tried it for the centuries after 900, with interesting (even if inevitably controversial) results. Why not earlier? Richard Sullivan recently lamented the conservatism of most Carolingian scholarship; in the arena of social history, he could easily have extended his complaints back to 500.

Historians of the early Middle Ages (c. 600–c. 1050) have long used material remains and archeological evidence to learn about that era. Over the last four decades, material culture studies have become a prominent area of historical research, particularly for cultural historians. Recent early medieval studies have followed this trend. In addition, religious and economic studies of the so‐called “Dark Ages” have drawn from material sources. Object‐driven social history has been less popular, but recent work, especially on Francia and Anglo‐Saxon England, demonstrates that such projects offer new findings on a period whose texts rarely address social relations and everyday life directly. Material culture therefore offers rich research possibilities for early medieval social history.

Review| November 01 2022 Archaeology and History: A Late Antiquity for Britain Robin Fleming, The Material Fall of Roman Britain, 300–525 CE. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021. 333 pp. + 22 b/w figs. ISBN: 9780812252446. $45, £36.Mateusz Fafinski, Roman Infrastructure in Early Medieval Britain: The Adaptations of the Past in Text and Stone. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021. 239 pp. + 2 b/w figs. ISBN 9789463727532. €106. Helena Hamerow Helena Hamerow University of Oxford Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Studies in Late Antiquity (2022) 6 (4): 734–739. https://doi.org/10.1525/sla.2022.6.4.734 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Helena Hamerow; Archaeology and History: A Late Antiquity for Britain. Studies in Late Antiquity 1 November 2022; 6 (4): 734–739. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/sla.2022.6.4.734 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentStudies in Late Antiquity Search Archaeology was, once upon a time, referred to as “the handmaiden of history.” Images of artifacts served primarily to adorn the pages of historical accounts regarded by publishers as needing enlivening. How times have changed. Material culture—uncovered for the most part by archaeological excavation—is increasingly playing a central role in the writings of early medieval historians. Notable examples include Chris Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages (2005) and, more recently, John Blair’s Building Anglo-Saxon England (2018).1 The two volumes under review here—both written by historians—bear witness to this growing engagement with material culture and how it is changing the way we view early medieval Britain. The Material Fall of Roman Britain has the archaeological record at its core and uses it to challenge conventional understandings of the notoriously elusive late Roman to post-Roman transition. Refusing to be constrained by traditional disciplinary and chronological divides, the book spans the period... You do not currently have access to this content.

Power and prestige in Europe during the first millennium AD were predominantly expressed in two portable materials: silver and gold. These precious metals underpinned the emergence of early Medieval kingdoms in Europe by providing the raw materials for objects that were used to create, contest and reflect status within and between societies. They also provide a key source of evidence for understanding reactions to the political vacuum caused by the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the early Medieval kingdoms of Europe. While parts of temperate Europe favoured gold, silver was the most important precious metal in northern Britain for over 700 years (c.200–900). Silver was introduced to Scotland by Rome (via subsidies, military pay, diplomacy and loot), first as denarii and later as hacksilver, and rapidly became a vital means of expressing power and prestige in the lands beyond this frontier. Indeed, silver’s Imperial connotations may have been a key part of its attraction. The supply of silver declined with the diminishing influence of the western Roman Empire and this dwindling resource needed to be carefully managed and recycled by early Medieval societies. Together National Museums Scotland and Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie created an international research network of specialists working on silver from the 4th–6th centuries with a focus on the North Sea region. This volume of papers results from meetings of the network in Edinburgh and Schleswig that explored the role of silver in the crucial transition from the late Roman Empire, with barbaricum beyond its frontiers, to early Medieval Europe and the peoples and polities that many modern European nations trace their origins back to. It aims to provide the first comparative, international and cross-disciplinary study of this powerful and valuable material during a pivotal period in Europe's history. It also provides the first full catalogues of a number of important but poorly understood hacksilver hoards from the UK: Norrie’s Law (Fife), Gaulcross (Aberdeenshire), Tummel Bridge (Perthshire) and Patching (Sussex).

Enchanted Europe: Superstition, Reason, and Religion, 1250–1750

This introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the book The Reach of the Republic of Letters: Literary and Learned Societies in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe (2 vols.) and its chapters. The book is the result of two workshops aimed at the discussion of the differences and resemblances between several regional types of literary and learned associations in early modern and late medieval Europe, and their possible interplay. It aims at bridging the gap in the study of literary and learned societies that exists between the perspectives of the history of science, literature, music, and the visual arts, and social and cultural history. These disciplines all study (aspects of ) literary and learned societies for different reasons and from different angles. Keywords: cultural history; early modern Europe; late medieval Europe; learned societies; literary

As part of a unique series covering the grand sweep of Western civilization from ancient to present times, this biographical dictionary provides introductory information on 315 leading cultural figures of late medieval and early modern Europe. Taking a cultural approach not typically found in general biographical dictionaries, the work includes literary, philosophical, artistic, military, religious, humanistic, musical, economic, and exploratory figures. Political figures are included only if they patronized the arts, and coverage focuses on their cultural impact. Figures from western European countries, such as Italy, France, England, Iberia, the Low Countries, and the Holy Roman Empire predominate, but outlying areas such as Scotland, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe are also represented. Late medieval Europe was an age of crisis. With the Papacy removed to Avignon, the schism in the Catholic Church shook the very core of medieval belief. The Hundred Years' War devastated France. The Black Death decimated the population. Yet out of this crisis grew an age of renewal, leading to the Renaissance. The great Italian city-states developed. Humanism reawakened interest in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. Dante and Boccaccio began writing in their Tuscan vernacular. Italian artists became humanists and flourished. As the genius of Italy began spreading to northern and western Europe at the end of the 15th century, the age of renewal was completed. This book provides thorough basic information on the major cultural figures of this tumultuous era of crisis and renewal.

As a result of the role played in urban uprisings and conspiracies in late medieval and early modern western Europe, the butchers’ trade has been one of the most intensively studied food-related occupations. Recent research on medieval butchers has shown a renewed interest in the topic. This article begins by presenting a review and synthesis of the historiography of butchers’ revolts in late medieval cities across western Europe. It then moves on to an analysis of the specific case of Siena, based on original primary research. The aim of the article is to show how Sienese butchers rebelled more than once during the fourteenth century and to examine why it was inevitable that they failed, despite the long-standing alliances they built with part of the educated elite. Indeed, social and political tensions within the guild forced a two-way split within the guild and its elites. These findings definitively call into question the traditional view of the cohesiveness of the butchers’ guilds in medieval Europe and their supposed marginalization in medieval society, advancing understanding of fourteenth-century Siena, of its enduring popular regime and, more generally, of late medieval urban society, politics and revolts. Moreover, such a case study has the potential to enable further comparative analysis across medieval and early modern Europe.