The Inheritance of Rome
Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000
by Chris Wickham · first published 2009
60% recommend40% neutral
An ambitious and enlightening look at why the so-called Dark Ages were anything but thatPrizewinning historian Chris Wickham defies the conventional view of the Dark Ages in European history with a work of remarkable scope and rigorous yet accessible scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of new material and featuring a thoughtful synthesis of historical and archaeological approaches, Wickham argues that these centuries were critical in the formulation of European identity. Far from being a middle period between more significant epochs, this age has much to tell us in its own right about the progres
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Chris Wickham's recent book "The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000" shines a light on this oft misunderstood period, showing ways in which it was darker and ways in which it was lighter.
on “The Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages” ↗…armies became harder, and the empire became harder to defend. And the eastern half of the Empire continued with significant vibrancy for quite some time. I really like this book on this topic: "The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000" https://www.amazon.ca/Inheritance-Rome-Illuminating-Dark-400...
FWIW I'd recommend "The Inheritance of Rome" by Christopher Wickham. It is jumps around a lot but gives a lot of really in-depth analysis of the Eastern Roman Empire and the rise of the Caliphate. It's doesn't look like you may expect.
on “Who Were the Mamluks?” ↗…days with unfathomable wealth. If memory serves me well, one was so wealthy that when they sold their land after becoming Christians they caused a real estate crisis across the Roman Empire. (Source: The inheritance of Rome, Chris Wickham, one of the early chapters.) And just a few centuries earlier, Julius Caesar arguably was one of the richest to have ever lived on earth. It's sensible to expect that families with that…
on “The 'Dark Ages' Weren't as Dark as We Thought” ↗What I take from the scholarship (e.g. Chris Wickham's _The Inheritance of Rome_) is less "the fall of Rome wasn't that bad" as "various things changed in various places, but there wasn't a single event where everything changed" and "the `barbarians' who supposedly took over Rome…
on “No Barbarians Necessary” ↗Fair enough, I'm no medieval scholar, I am/was merely commenting with the interpretation that Chris Wickham (who is) had in his book "The Inheritance Of Rome", where he begins his chapter "The caging of the peasantry" with a brief discussion of this event (and a translation that looks a bit more like the one done from the Latin by the other commenter). He…
on “Could a Peasant Defeat a Knight in Battle?” ↗