Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West 376-568, Guy Halsall, 2007, 591 pages all in
This is a great book and although it doesn't deal specifically with Anglo-Saxon England, it is nevertheless valuable to those with an interest in the early Anglo-Saxon period. It's a beast of a book, with absolutely loads of research to take in, but as Halsall writes elegantly, it isn't a burden to read.
What this book provides is context. All too often England is seen as being separate to the continent and through giving a thorough account of the reasons for the decline of the Roman West and for the various barbarian migrations it gives any student of 5th and 6th century England a much deeper understanding of the bigger picture and how England fitted into this. One particular example is the probable context for St Germanus of Auxerre's visits to Britain. I made a surprising number of notes from it that were applicable to my interest in Anglo-Saxon England.
Halsall is excellent on the reasons why early Roman sources on the Germans shouldn't be extrapolated from when dealing with later Germans and also the general inapplicability of extrapolating from these sources when trying to say something about the Anglo-Saxons. He convincingly demonstrates how ethnicity is multi-layered and fluid, shows the difficulty of governing a realm of any size without a literate bureaucracy and makes sense of a confusing era that is far more nuanced than the popularly understood narrative would have you consider.
Interestingly none of the barbarian tribes wished to bring down Rome, but instead the decisive acts that brought about the fall of Rome had their genesis in factional power struggles at the centre of the empire. Beyond this, Halsall made some important points about migration into the empire often being linked to internal conflict and he says some very interesting things about the land question of the different successor states, showing how each one would have been different and would once again depend upon context.
I was rather unfortunate in that I bought an ex library copy with lots of passages underlined and a spine that if not broken, felt at least fractured. So may whoever described it as 'acceptable' quality step on a lot of Lego first thing in a morning.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer—no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start againPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
peter
Champion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2021Verified Purchase
tml_mpls
An Original and Though Provoking Synthesis...
Reviewed in the United States on 26 June 2012Verified Purchase
Lori Reeser
New Synthesis
Reviewed in the United States on 14 November 2010Verified Purchase
William Craw
The “Germanic” origins of Alaric.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2019Verified Purchase
buddhawannabe
Ignore the one hostile and misguided review of this book
Reviewed in the United States on 24 October 2015Verified Purchase
