Popular Culture and the End of Antiquity in Southern Gaul, c. 400–550

Sheds fresh light on the transformation of the classical world, focusing on popular culture and history from below.

Lucy Grig (Author)

9781108491440, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 2024

280 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.1 cm, 0.55 kg

'… highly recommended as an excellent reference for anyone interested in the history of late antique Gaul and the broader cultural transformations of the later Roman Empire.' Carlo Ferrari, H-Soz-Kult

This book offers a new look at the transformation of the classical world in Late Antiquity. It focuses on a particular region, rich in both archaeological and literary evidence, and examines the social, cultural and religious history of late antique southern Gaul through the lens of popular culture. Using material culture, comparative and theoretical material alongside the often dominant normative and prescriptive texts produced by the late antique church, Lucy Grig shines a fresh light on the period. She explores city and countryside alike as contexts for late antique popular culture, and consider a range of case-studies, including the vibrant late antique festival of the Kalends of January. In this way important questions of continuity, change and historical agency are brought to the fore. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

1. Introduction: popular culture and the study of (late) ancient history
2. Urban contexts for popular culture in an age of transformation
3. Popular culture, society and economy: the countryside in transition in late antiquity
4. Christianizing popular culture: the view 'from the pulpit'
5. An alternative view: lived religion as popular culture
6. The Kalends of January: the persistence of popular culture
7. Conclusions: popular culture and the end of antiquity?

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]