The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 (The Penguin History of Europe)
D**N
Bringing Light to the Dark Ages
The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wickham is the second book in the series the Penguin History of Europe, following The Birth of Classical Europe. Like the earlier book, The Inheritance of Rome is more concerned with the uses the people of the era made of their understanding of the past than with giving a straightforward chronology of the era. In other words, this book deals with the inheritance the Roman Empire bequeathed to the peoples living in the centuries after its collapse in the West. These peoples, whether of the post Roman kingdoms of Western Europe, the Roman remnant of the Byzantine Empire in the East, or the Islamic invaders made differing uses of the institutions and cultural norms left behind by the Romans, each society adapting Roman ways to their particular needs.The Inheritance of Rome covers the centuries between 400 and 1000. While these endpoints may seem somewhat arbitrary, in neither case do they indicate any sort of sharp division, they nevertheless are appropriate as the endpoints for the transformation of Europe from a continent dominated by a centralized empire to the decentralized, feudal Europe of the Central Middle Ages. At the beginning of this period, the Roman Empire was still the same empire that had existed for centuries. No one could have guessed that the western half of the empire would soon be overrun by invaders within 80 years would be gone. For centuries afterwards, no one quite believed that the Roman Empire had actually passed away and much of the history of the Early Middle Ages is the history of trying to restore the Empire, culminating in the great Carolingian project.The Carolingians very consciously made use of the rhetoric of restoration in their policies. They sought to create a universal Christian Empire and were, at least in theory, concerned with the souls of their subjects as much as their lives. The project failed in the end when the Carolingian dynasty died out. The Ottonians tried to continue this legacy, but Europe, under attack from Vikings, Arabs, and others was less inclined to see itself as a whole towards the end of this period. In fact, starting in the middle tenth century, we can begin to speak of the modern nations of Europe, France, Germany, etc. Europe was beginning to grow beyond the inheritance of Rome.The period covered in this book is often referred to as the Dark Ages. Wickham deals with this question through his book. On the one hand, the era was not nearly as dark as is sometimes supposed. There were some strong continuities between the society and institutions of the Roman Empire and the post-Roman polities that succeeded it. The Germans invaders did not simply sweep away Roman institutions and customs, but were rather, eager to adopt Romans ways. On the other hand, Wickham describes a clear simplification and localization of the economies of the entire region, particularly in the centuries of the worst crises, about 500-700. There was a step backwards for much of the region for which the reasons are not entirely known.The Inheritance of Rome is an excellent way to learn about an interesting and important period of our past.
R**R
Winds of Change
This is an exceptionally detailed and well thought out book on what used to be called the 'dark ages', but more accurately is now thought of as the early middle ages. The title of this book reflects Wickham's view that the period from circa 400 to 1000 C.E. represented a transition from the political and social institutions of the Western Roman Empire to an entirely newly set of institutions that yet contained threads of the former empire. It is a fascinating story well told.Wickham provides an excellent account of the disestablishment of the Western Roman Empire and the reinvention of the Eastern Roman Empire as moved from a Roman to a Byzantine (Greek) institution. Unique among historians of the early Middle Ages, Wickham also devotes considerable space to discussing the raise of Islam and the treatment of the roman heritage by Islamic rulers. He also provides important insights into those European societies that were never incorporated into the Roman Empire, but were nonetheless influenced by it. Wickham also makes a particularly important point by noting that European Society in his time period was far from homogenous and the social economic and power structures very much reflected the strong regional differences between even ethnically similar peoples. He notes the role of the Catholic Church in this period in providing cultural unity and for a period during the "Carolingian Century" (751-887) a unique type of political morality. As the11th Century progressed, a new more homogenous social order based on a feudal social structure with the Catholic Church providing a common morality developed. Along with the stability and security provided by this new order came more widespread and complex economic systems. By Wickham's account the "dark ages" were politically confused and economically diverse, but far from "dark."
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