The Ostrogoths from the Migration Period to the Sixth Century: An Ethnographic Perspective

Front Cover
S. J. B. Barnish, Federico Marazzi
Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2007 - History - 497 pages
Essays examining the Ostrogoths, the richest and most powerful Germanic tribe to emerge after the fall of the Roman Empire, and their role in the evolution of medieval Europe.

Among the Germanic tribes who ruled the fragments of the western Roman empire, the Ostrogoths enjoyed the greatest wealth and splendour. Conquering Italy itself from the warlord Odoacer, they inherited the buildings, traditions, and administrative apparatus of imperial rule, and revived the empire in Spain, southern Gaul and the northwest Balkans. Aspects of their history and empire examined here include their ethnic identity in Italy and relations (as Asian heretics) with the Catholic Church; the vicissitudes of sixth century Rome, the monuments of the period in Ravenna; their influence on the economy, settlements, and social structures throughout Italy; the interweaving of society and administration with their internal and external politics; and the history of their Spanish empire. There are also studies of the Goths in eastern Europe before the emergence of the Ostrogoths, and under Hunnic rule. The whole significantly advances an understanding of how medieval Europe evolved from the combination of Roman civilisation with Germanic outsiders.

Contributors: S. BARNISH, G.P. BROGLIO, T.S. BROWN, P.C. DIAZ, D.H. GREEN, W. HAUBRICHS, P. HEATHER, M. KAZANSKI, A. KOKOWSKI, F. MARAZZI, G. NOYE, I. WOOD

 

Contents

INTRODUCTION G Ausenda F Marazzi
5
FROM THE END OF THE FIFTH TO THE
13
Discussion
100
DWELLINGS AND SETTLEMENTS IN GOTHIC ITALY G P Brogiolo
113
GERMANIC AND GOTHIC KINSHIP TERMINOLOGY W Aubrichs
145
Discussion
173
SOCIAL RELATIONS IN SOUTHERN ITALY G Noyé
186
THE AGRICULTURE OF THE GOTHS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND FIFTH
221
OF THE SIXTH CENTURY F Marazzi
279
POLITICAL RELATIONS
317
OSTROGOTHIC POLITICAL
353
LINGUISTIC AND LITERARY TRACES
387
THE EVIDENCE
417
CONCLUSION
443
INDEX
481
Copyright

Discussion
236

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