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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.12
EAN: 9780393060751
ISBN: 0393060756
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: July 14, 2008
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Sales Rank: 36471
Studio: W. W. Norton
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A surprising look at the least-appreciated yet profoundly important period of European history: the so-called Dark Ages.
The barbarians who destroyed the glory that was Rome demolished civilization along with it, and for the next four centuries the peasants and artisans of Europe barely held on. Random violence, mass migration, disease, and starvation were the only way of life. This is the picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote. But archaeology tells a different story. Peter S. Wells, one of the world's leading archaeologists, surveys the archaeological record to demonstrate that the Dark Ages were not dark at all. The kingdoms of Christendom that emerged starting in the ninth century sprang from a robust, previously little-known, European culture, albeit one that left behind few written texts. This recently recognized culture achieved heights in artistry, technology, craft production, commerce, and learning. Future assessments of the period between Rome and Charlemagne will need to incorporate this fresh new picture. 24 illustrations.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Barbarians to Angels is a fun, quick read, but maddening at the same time. Sometimes it feels as though Wells is attacking a straw man by dispelling myths that few share any more (at least, those who pay any attention to post-Roman society at all). Sure, there were interesting cultural trends among the tribes that took the place of declining Roman society, and sure, people like Gibbon exaggerated the differences between Rome and what came after. But Wells is too brief to make a good case for re ... Read More
Rating: -
I never cease to be amazed at the conclusions archeologists can draw from looking at a few shards of pottery and funereal remains from long ago. Dr. Wells is a gifted interpreter and storyteller who had much more fascinating material to work with than just a few scraps. Based on the treasures that have been uncovered during the last century, he enthusiastically and rather convincingly fills in the gaps of recorded European history between the decline of the Roman Empire and Charlemagne's time.
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Rating:  -
I vaguely recall Ludwig von Mises, the famous free-market economist, writing that the Roman Empire fell because its economy was ruined by inflation and price controls. Because of the decrease in productivity, Rome was unable to fight back the hordes of barbarians attacking the empire.
Wells explains how grave goods, artifacts, soil analysis, etc. gives a better picture of the emergence of Western civilization than the writings of pro-Roman fanatics like Gibbons, St. Jerome, Augustine, etc. ... Read More
Rating: -
Like another reviewer, I remain unconvinced of the author's thesis about post-Roman Europe. He rejects the term "barbarians" for the people who followed the Romans, but because they lacked a written language, their level of "civilization" cannot be demonstrated. The fact that they made and imported decorative objects is not proof of either moral enlightenment or intelligence. I read this book with much interest, and admire its succinct coverage of a complex subject, accessible to the nonspecialist. However, ... Read More
Rating: -
There are so many lengthy difficult books about the Early Middle Ages, written for and by specialists, what a delight to find a short and easy to read summary of the latest scholarship of this rapidly changing multi-disciplinary field, written for a general audience by a medieval scholar with an up to date and useful bibliography.
The term "Dark Ages" has a long and complicated history ever since its invention by Italian Humanists in the 14th and 15th centuries. Modern medieval historians try to ... Read More
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