{"product_id":"roman-aristocrats-in-barbarian-gaul-strategies-for-survival-in-an-age-of-transition-paperback-softback-9780292729834","title":"Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul; Strategies for Survival in an Age of Transition (Paperback \/ softback) 9780292729834","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eRoman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eStrategies for Survival in an Age of Transition\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRalph Whitney Mathisen (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780292729834\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 April 1993\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e293 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI can warmly recommend Mathisen's latest book to all students of the western provinces in Late Antiquity. It is a well-planned, well-presented, lucid and illuminating work that confidently gathers together ideas that Mathisen and other scholars . . . have been floating for the last few years, and takes them to a very satisfying conclusion. In brief, Mathisen provides an excellent summary of recent research in his field . . . enlivened by his own interpretation of a number of important issues.\u003c\/div\u003e (International Journal of the Classical Tradition)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSkin-clad barbarians ransacking Rome remains a popular image of the \"decline and fall\" of the Roman Empire, but why, when, and how the Empire actually fell are still matters of debate among students of classical history. In this pioneering study, Ralph W. Mathisen examines the \"fall\" in one part of the western Empire, Gaul, to better understand the shift from Roman to Germanic power that occurred in the region during the fifth century AD.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMathisen uncovers two apparently contradictory trends. First, he finds that barbarian settlement did provoke significant changes in Gaul, including the disappearance of most secular offices under the Roman imperial administration, the appropriation of land and social influence by the barbarians, and a rise in the overall level of violence. Yet he also shows that the Roman aristocrats proved remarkably adept at retaining their rank and status. How did the aristocracy hold on?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMathisen rejects traditional explanations and demonstrates that rather than simply opposing the barbarians, or passively accepting them, the Roman aristocrats directly responded to them in various ways. Some left Gaul. Others tried to ignore the changes wrought by the newcomers. Still others directly collaborated with the barbarians, looking to them as patrons and holding office in barbarian governments. Most significantly, however, many were willing to change the criteria that determined membership in the aristocracy. Two new characteristics of the Roman aristocracy in fifth-century Gaul were careers in the church and greater emphasis on classical literary culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese findings shed new light on an age in transition. Mathisen's theory that barbarian integration into Roman society was a collaborative process rather than a conquest is sure to provoke much thought and debate. All historians who study the process of power transfer from native to alien elites will want to consult this work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e Introduction. The Barbarians in Gaul: In Search of an Identity\u003cbr\u003e Part One. Setting the Stage: Romans and Barbarians in Conflict\u003cbr\u003e Chapter One. The Aristocratic Background of Late Roman Gaul\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Two. Gaul, Italy, and Isolationism in the Fifth Century\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Three. The Barbarian Settlement: Impressions of Harassment, Interference, and Oppression\u003cbr\u003e Part Two. Immediate Responses: The Disruption of Old Institutions\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Four. The Intellectual Response: Conflicting Perceptions of the Barbarians\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Five. Gallic Traditionalists and the Continued Pursuit of the Roman Ideal\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Six. Flight and Dislocation, Emigrants and Exiles\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Seven. Between Romania and Barbaria: The Barbarian Alternative\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Eight. Conflicting Loyalties: Collaborators, Traitors, and the Betrayal of Territory\u003cbr\u003e Part Three. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians: The Restructuring of the Gallo-Roman Aristocracy\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Nine. The Acquisition of Church Office and the Rise of an Ecclesiastical Aristocracy\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Ten. The Pursuit of Literary Studies: A Unifying Element\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Eleven. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Twelve. The Final Resolution: Aristocratic Options in Post-Roman Gaul\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003cbr\u003e Appendix A. Roman Emperors\u003cbr\u003e Appendix B. Barbarian Rulers\u003cbr\u003e Glossary\u003cbr\u003e Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Primary Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Secondary Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52734463541528,"sku":"9780292729834","price":20.86,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/roman-aristocrats-in-barbarian-gaul-strategies-for-survival-in-an-age-of-transition-paperback-softback-9780292729834","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}