Lägg till bokmärkeBarbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered
A surprising look at the least-appreciated yet profoundly important period of European history: the so-called Dark Ages.
The barbarians who destroyed the glory that was Rome demolished civilization along with it, and for the next four centuries the peasants and artisans of Europe barely held on. Random violence, mass migration, disease, and starvation were the only way of life. This is the picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote. But archaeology tells a different story. Peter... (show more)
A surprising look at the least-appreciated yet profoundly important period of European history: the so-called Dark Ages.
The barbarians who destroyed the glory that was Rome demolished civilization along with it, and for the next four centuries the peasants and artisans of Europe barely held on. Random violence, mass migration, disease, and starvation were the only way of life. This is the picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote. But archaeology tells a different story. Peter S. Wells, one of the world's leading archaeologists, surveys the archaeological record to demonstrate that the Dark Ages were not dark at all. The kingdoms of Christendom that emerged starting in the ninth century sprang from a robust, previously little-known, European culture, albeit one that left behind few written texts. This recently recognized culture achieved heights in artistry, technology, craft production, commerce, and learning. Future assessments of the period between Rome and Charlemagne will need to incorporate this fresh new picture. 24 illustrations. (show less)
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Interesting in that it examines the Dark Ages from the perspective of Archaeology, and shows that there were distinct cultural developments that puncture the myth of the brutal, short and dark--intellectually speaking--ages. However, Wells glosses over certain aspects. The migration myth he dismisses far too easily. No, massive hordes did not completely overwhelm and wipe out the previous local/Romano culture, causing massive relocation. However; there is distinct evidence that the ruling cla... (show more)
Interesting in that it examines the Dark Ages from the perspective of Archaeology, and shows that there were distinct cultural developments that puncture the myth of the brutal, short and dark--intellectually speaking--ages. However, Wells glosses over certain aspects. The migration myth he dismisses far too easily. No, massive hordes did not completely overwhelm and wipe out the previous local/Romano culture, causing massive relocation. However; there is distinct evidence that the ruling class of former Roman areas was supplanted or taken over by barbarian invaders. No, it was not always a violent integration, but there is reason that part of southeastern England is called litus Saxonicum--the Saxon Shore--and was provisioned as a military command with sea facing fortifications. And while Wells is correct in asserting that the levels of migration asserted by historic authorities such as Gildas were hyperbolic, he seems to have missed the further mentions in the same historical records that attest to British leader bending the knee to Saxon pirate lords, and turning against their own people. Wells, in short, makes very good points, but he has a tendency to gloss over the fact that there was violence during the Dark Ages, and some of this violence was the result of tenacious Roman/local survivals of vestiges of Roman civil and military organization fighting against what they view as the onrushing night of pagan invaders. An interesting different portrait of the Dark Ages, but one best ingested with liberal applications of additional source material. (show less)
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This book is a summary-level, popular-history review of European cultural and social history from late Roman times to the ninth century. The point of the book is to portray Europe during this time as a vibrant and thriving culture with public safety and peace rather than the common picture, which is a Hobbesian time of chaos, fear, ignorance, and darkness; and to stress the continuity of life in these areas as opposed to the commonly held picture of radical discontinuity as the Roman Empire c... (show more)
This book is a summary-level, popular-history review of European cultural and social history from late Roman times to the ninth century. The point of the book is to portray Europe during this time as a vibrant and thriving culture with public safety and peace rather than the common picture, which is a Hobbesian time of chaos, fear, ignorance, and darkness; and to stress the continuity of life in these areas as opposed to the commonly held picture of radical discontinuity as the Roman Empire collapsed and fell into barbarism. The primary evidence presented is archaeological, from human waste (which gives information about diet and health) to ornate gold jewelry. One special piece is a bronze Buddha found in a sixth century Swedish trading and manufacturing town, Helgo. There are helpful maps telling where all the obscure place names are. The book is not exciting -- it just plods along, low key, and makes its case successfully. (show less)
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