Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation

(Hardback)

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Description

Even after a thousand years, the word "barbarians" still evokes fear. They destroyed the Roman Empire and plunged Europe into the Dark Ages. But they also laid the foundations of the Christian church and the modern nation-state. This volume reveals the notorious savagery and little-known sophistication of this much-maligned age. In the "Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe", medieval expert Michael Frassetto amasses the evidence for the defence - and prosecution - of this little-understood transition era in the history of Western civilization. Covering nearly 1000 years of history - from the late ancient period through the first centuries of the Middle Ages - this concise but thorough reference work examines the key figures, places, events and ideas of barbarian Europe. The text chronicles the Ancient Visigoths, the rule of Benedict and the sacking of Rome. The easy-to-access alphabetical entries and essays offer more than a mere chronicling of kings and battles and explore the social and cultural history of the era, with special attention played to role of women.

Reviews

"Entries are lively and accurate; they treat changing interpretations of people and events and rely on primary sources for vivid detail while evaluating their usefulness ... The work is arranged to make sources and facts easy to find by means of an alphabetical list of entries, a subject index to entries, a subject bibliography, and an index. Recommended. General readers and undergraduates." - Choice "This is an excellent addition to reference collections ... This is the only volume that focuses entirely on the barbarian period. It is recommended for public and academic libraries." - Booklist "Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe will serve students well as a reference to the era ... articles are detailed, explaining the importance of each entry with an accompanying bibliography at the end. In addition, a subject bibliography in the back provides students with an impressive listing of scholarly resources for their further reading and research ... Taking those points into consideration, this work will be a useful tool on early European history for most reference sections. It is recommended for public, high school, college, and university libraries." - American Reference Books Annual

Author Bio

Michael Frassetto is the religion editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.