Overview

The Merovingian era is one of the best studied yet least-known periods of European history. From the fifth to the eighth centuries, the inhabitants of Gaul (what now comprises France, southern Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhineland Germany, and part of modern Switzerland), a mix of Gallo-Roman inhabitants and Germanic arrivals under the political control of the Merovingian dynasty, sought to preserve, use, and reimagine the political, cultural, and religious power of ancient Rome while simultaneously forging the beginnings of what would become medieval European culture.The forty-six essays included in this volume highlight why the Merovingian era is at the heart of historical debates about what happened to Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The essays demonstrate that the inhabitants of the Merovingian kingdoms in these centuries created a culture that was the product of these traditions and achieved a balance between the world they inherited and the imaginative solutions they bequeathed to Europe. The Handbook highlights new perspectives and scientific approaches that shape our changing view of this extraordinary era by showing that Merovingian Gaul was situated at the crossroads of Europe, connecting the Mediterranean and the British Isles with the Byzantine empire, and it benefited from the global reach of the late Roman Empire. It tells the story of the Merovingian world through archaeology, bio-archaeology, architecture, hagiographic literature, history, liturgy, visionary literature and eschatology, patristics, numismatics, and material culture.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bonnie Effros (Head of the Department of History, Head of the Department of History, University of British Columbia) ,  Isabel Moreira (Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Professor, University of Utah)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.30cm , Height: 5.30cm , Length: 16.30cm
Weight:   1.746kg
ISBN:  

9780197785263

ISBN 10:   0197785263
Pages:   1168
Publication Date:   29 August 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Stock Indefinitely
Availability:   To order  

Table of Contents

"Acknowledgments Abbreviations List of Contributors Map of Merovingian Gaul Merovingian Family Tree Introduction 1. Pushing the Boundaries of the Merovingian World Bonnie Effros and Isabel Moreira PART I MEROVINGIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2. From Gaul to Francia: The Impact of the Merovingians Paul Fouracre 3. Writing the History of Merovingian Gaul: An Historiographical Survey Agnès Graceffa 4. Two Centuries of Excavating Merovingian-Era Cemeteries in France Bonnie Effros PART II EXPRESSING IDENTITY 5. Transformations of Identities: Barbarians and Romans in the Merovingian Realm Magali Coumert 6. Migrants and Minorities in Merovingian Gaul Wolfram Drews 7. Human Remains and What They Can Tell Us about Status and Identity in the Merovingian Period Andrea Czermak 8. Gender in Merovingian Gaul Guy Halsall 9. Children's Lives and Deaths in Merovingian Gaul Émilie Perez PART III STRUCTURES OF POWER 10. The Merovingian Polity: A Network of Courts and Courtiers Yitzhak Hen 11. Elite Women in the Merovingian Period Edward James 12. The Military and Its Role in Merovingian Society Laury Sarti 13. Corporate Solidarity and Its Limits within the Gallo-Frankish Episcopate Gregory Halfond 14. Public Health, Hospitals, and Charity Peregrine Horden 15. Merovingian Monasticism: Voices of Dissent Albrecht Diem PART IV MEROVINGIAN GAUL IN A WIDER CONTEXT 16. The Merovingians and Byzantium: Diplomatic, Military, and Religious Issues, 500-700 Stefan Esders 17. The Movement of People and Things between Britain and France in the Late- and Post-Roman Periods Robin Fleming 18. De gente Scottorum monachi: The Irish in Merovingian Settlement Strategy Jean-Michel Picard 19. ""Alors commença la France"": Merovingian Expansion South of the Loire, 495-510 Ralph W. Mathisen 20. The Merovingians, the Avars, and the Slavs Matthias Hardt 21. The Merovingians and Italy: Ostrogoths and Early Lombards Jonathan J. Arnold PART V MEROVINGIAN WRITTEN CULTURE 22. The History of Historiography in the Merovingian Period Helmut Reimitz 23. Merovingian Legal Cultures Alice Rio 24. Merovingian Hagiography Jamie Kreiner 25. Letters and Communication Networks in Merovingian Gaul Andrew Gillett 26. Merovingian Epigraphy, Frankish Epigraphy, and the Epigraphy of the Merovingian World. Mark Handley PART VI MEROVINGIAN LANDSCAPES 27. The Role of the City in Merovingian Francia S. T. Loseby 28. The Fate of Small Towns, Hilltop Settlements, and Elite Residences in Merovingian-Period Gaul Luc Bourgeois 29. The Fate of Late-Roman Villas in Southern Gaul between the Sixth and Seventh Centuries. Alexandra Chavarría Arnau 30. Merovingian Religious Architecture: Some New Reflections Pascale Chevalier 31. Rural Life and Work in Northern Gaul during the Early Middle Ages Edith Peytremann 32. Good and Bad Plants in Merovingian Francia Paolo Squatriti 33. Livestock and the Early Medieval Diet in Northern Gaul Jean-Hervé Yvinec and Maude Barme PART VII ECONOMIES, EXCHANGE, AND PRODUCTION 34. Maritime and River Traders, Landing Places, and Emporia Ports in the Merovingian Period in and around the Low Countries Dries Tys 35. The Evidence of Numismatics: ""Merovingian"" Coinage and the Place of Frankish Gaul and Its Cities in an ""Invisible"" Roman Empire Jürgen Strothmann 36. Bead and Garnet Trade between the Merovingian, Mediterranean, and Indian Worlds Constantin Pion, Bernard Gratuze, Patrick Périn, and Thomas Calligaro 37. Merovingian Gaul and the Mediterranean: Ceramics and Trade Michel Bonifay and Dominique Pieri 38. Long-Distance Trade and the Rural Population of Northern Gaul Frans Theuws 39. Belt Buckles and Burials in Southwestern Gaul Ralph J. Patrello PART VIII THE SUPERNATURAL AND THE AFTERLIFE 40. Amulets and Identity in the Merovingian World Genevra Kornbluth 41. Magic and Divination in the Merovingian World William E. Klingshirn 42. Visions and the Afterlife Isabel Moreira 43. Inscribed in the Book of Life: Liturgical Commemoration in Merovingian Gaul Els Rose 44. Liturgy and the Laity Lisa Kaaren Bailey 45. The Life of Penance Kevin Uhalde 46. Merovingian Meditations on Jesus Lynda Coon Index"

Reviews

"The Handbook includes forty-six essays written by the most prominent scholars of the Merovingian period, including well-established experts and early-career ones. This combination of authors creates a volume that succeeds in giving diverse perspectives on the Merovingians and which provides its readers with a range of methodological approaches to study late antique and early medieval history, as well as a rich bibliography of primary and secondary sources that should help anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the history of this period."" Tamar Rotman, Independent Scholar, Speculum The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World...offers rich discussions about their history from various methodological perspectives. In doing so, it joins other recent volumes on the Merovingians that aim to give a broader outlook on the period, yet none of them is as extensive as the volume under review.... A volume that succeeds in giving diverse perspectives on the Merovingians and which provides its readers with a range of methodological approaches to study late antique and early medieval history, as well as a rich bibliography of primary and secondary sources that should help anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the history of this period.... Extremely useful for students and scholars alike. * Speculum * The academic world of Merovingian studies finds here an extremely helpful, comprehensive, thoughtful, up-to-date representation of the epoch. The two editors may be congratulated for having brought all theseauthors and their papers together. * Early Medieval Europe * Editors Bonnie Effros and Isabel Moreira have given us an exceptional reference book with The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World. While knowledge of languages other than English is not necessary, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, and Greek scholarship is brought to the attention of the reader, often for the first time in an English publication."" Jessica Gauthier, McGill University, Arc - Journal of the School of Religious Studies, McGill University"

Author Information

Bonnie Effros, Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of British Columbia; Isabel Moreira, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Utah. Bonnie Effros is Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of British Columbia. Isabel Moreira is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Utah.

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