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Cambridge Medieval Textbooks
Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376 - 568
This is a major survey of the barbarian migrations and their role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the creation of early medieval Europe, one of the key events in European history. Unlike previous studies it integrates historical and archaeological evidence and discusses Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe and North Africa, demonstrating that the Roman Empire and its neighbours were inextricably linked. A narrative account of the turbulent fifth and early sixth centuries is followed by a description of society and politics during the migration period and an analysis of the mechanisms of settlement and the changes of identity. Guy Halsall reveals that the creation and maintenance of kingdoms and empires was impossible without the active involvement of people in the communities of Europe and North Africa. He concludes that, contrary to most opinions, the fall of the Roman Empire produced the barbarian migrations, not vice versa.
614 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2007
34 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
Guy Halsall
18 books13 followersBorn 1964, Professor of History at York where he specialises in the late Roman and early medieval period with particular attention to the problems of the relationship between archaeology and documentary history.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 17, 2018
Less for the narrative history (Part II) than for the discussions of Romans and Barbarians in an Imperial (Part I) and a Post-Imperial World (Part III). Superb consideration of the issues.
Addendum. This book is even better now I use it in detail. That narrative part that wasn't such fun to read straight through, turns out to be enormously well-constructed/thought through.
Addendum. This book is even better now I use it in detail. That narrative part that wasn't such fun to read straight through, turns out to be enormously well-constructed/thought through.
March 24, 2011
A major addition to this growing field. Knowledge of the transition from the Roman world to the European world (from about 400AD to about 800AD, aka Late Antiquity, Early Medieval) has been growing rapidly. This knowledge is just now being synthesized and published in books.
This book is from the perspective of the movements of the non-Roman barbarians into what is now western Europe. The author emphasizes the fluidity of ethnic identification as well as the relatively low numbers of the invaders, while acknowledging the major impact they had on culture, society and politics.
I would recommend this book plus
Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400-800 by Chris Wickham. In combination they give an excellent view of the changes that occurred, and the current ideas as to why. These are both upper undergraduate, early graduate level reading. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians is an easier read, aimed at the educated public although his perspective is more military and cataclysmic.
It helps if you have a basic understanding of the history of this time. The Civilization of the Middle Ages by Norman Cantor is a good start, although he (necessarily) does not go in depth. If you want to read a classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon is also a start. (It's where I started.)
This book is from the perspective of the movements of the non-Roman barbarians into what is now western Europe. The author emphasizes the fluidity of ethnic identification as well as the relatively low numbers of the invaders, while acknowledging the major impact they had on culture, society and politics.
I would recommend this book plus
Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400-800 by Chris Wickham. In combination they give an excellent view of the changes that occurred, and the current ideas as to why. These are both upper undergraduate, early graduate level reading. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians is an easier read, aimed at the educated public although his perspective is more military and cataclysmic.
It helps if you have a basic understanding of the history of this time. The Civilization of the Middle Ages by Norman Cantor is a good start, although he (necessarily) does not go in depth. If you want to read a classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon is also a start. (It's where I started.)
April 4, 2013
Beautifully written book, of great scholarly value and depth. The author demonstrates a deep knowledge of the period. All most contentious issues of the period are thoroughly debated and well researched. Most of his theories are quite compelling (although I do not necessarily agree with some of them, my position being closer to Heather, in more than one instance), but make no mistakes: this book is a must-read for all seriously interested in a deep scholarly analysis of this fascinating and crucial historical period.
June 12, 2021
Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West 376-568, Guy Halsall, 2007, 591 pages all in
This is a great book and although it doesn't deal specifically with Anglo-Saxon England, it is nevertheless valuable to those with an interest in the early Anglo-Saxon period. It's a beast of a book, with absolutely loads of research to take in, but as Halsall writes elegantly, it isn't a burden to read.
What this book provides is context. All too often England is seen as being separate to the continent and through giving a thorough account of the reasons for the decline of the Roman West and for the various barbarian migrations it gives any student of 5th and 6th century England a much deeper understanding of the bigger picture and how England fitted into this. One particular example is the probable context for St Germanus of Auxerre's visits to Britain. I made a surprising number of notes from it that were applicable to my interest in Anglo-Saxon England.
Halsall is excellent on the reasons why early Roman sources on the Germans shouldn't be extrapolated from when dealing with later Germans and also the general inapplicability of extrapolating from these sources when trying to say something about the Anglo-Saxons. He convincingly demonstrates how ethnicity is multi-layered and fluid, shows the difficulty of governing a realm of any size without a literate bureaucracy and makes sense of a confusing era that is far more nuanced than the popularly understood narrative would have you consider.
Interestingly none of the barbarian tribes wished to bring down Rome, but instead the decisive acts that brought about the fall of Rome had their genesis in factional power struggles at the centre of the empire. Beyond this, Halsall made some important points about migration into the empire often being linked to internal conflict and he says some very interesting things about the land question of the different successor states, showing how each one would have been different and would once again depend upon context.
I was rather unfortunate in that I bought an ex library copy with lots of passages underlined and a spine that if not broken, felt at least fractured. So may whoever described it as 'acceptable' quality step on a lot of Lego first thing in a morning.
This is a great book and although it doesn't deal specifically with Anglo-Saxon England, it is nevertheless valuable to those with an interest in the early Anglo-Saxon period. It's a beast of a book, with absolutely loads of research to take in, but as Halsall writes elegantly, it isn't a burden to read.
What this book provides is context. All too often England is seen as being separate to the continent and through giving a thorough account of the reasons for the decline of the Roman West and for the various barbarian migrations it gives any student of 5th and 6th century England a much deeper understanding of the bigger picture and how England fitted into this. One particular example is the probable context for St Germanus of Auxerre's visits to Britain. I made a surprising number of notes from it that were applicable to my interest in Anglo-Saxon England.
Halsall is excellent on the reasons why early Roman sources on the Germans shouldn't be extrapolated from when dealing with later Germans and also the general inapplicability of extrapolating from these sources when trying to say something about the Anglo-Saxons. He convincingly demonstrates how ethnicity is multi-layered and fluid, shows the difficulty of governing a realm of any size without a literate bureaucracy and makes sense of a confusing era that is far more nuanced than the popularly understood narrative would have you consider.
Interestingly none of the barbarian tribes wished to bring down Rome, but instead the decisive acts that brought about the fall of Rome had their genesis in factional power struggles at the centre of the empire. Beyond this, Halsall made some important points about migration into the empire often being linked to internal conflict and he says some very interesting things about the land question of the different successor states, showing how each one would have been different and would once again depend upon context.
I was rather unfortunate in that I bought an ex library copy with lots of passages underlined and a spine that if not broken, felt at least fractured. So may whoever described it as 'acceptable' quality step on a lot of Lego first thing in a morning.
November 12, 2025
By far the best book on the fall of Rome I have read. Halsall's mastery of the topic is awe inspiring. Also includes some banger lines.
"Far from passive and dissolute, the empire did not die quietly: 'It went down kicking, gouging, and screaming"
and
'The Roman Empire was not murdered and nor did it die a natural death; it accidentally committed suicide'
I feel smarter for having read this book and I plan on dropping quotes from it constantly.
"Far from passive and dissolute, the empire did not die quietly: 'It went down kicking, gouging, and screaming"
and
'The Roman Empire was not murdered and nor did it die a natural death; it accidentally committed suicide'
I feel smarter for having read this book and I plan on dropping quotes from it constantly.
April 17, 2018
I was first introduced to this book through the podcast Tides of History by Patrick Wyman, who highlighted the following one sentence from Halsall's book over and over in his show:
The Roman Empire was not murdered and nor did it die a natural death; it accidentally committed suicide.
Immediately intrigued, I dived myself into Halsall's book and found it one of, if not the most detailed account of late antique Roman-barbarian relations. The book's title already suggests the author's opinion on the age-long decline-and-fall controversy -- i.e. was there really a decline and a fall of the Roman Empire, or was it simply a period of transformation mistaken as collapse of civilization -- Halsall was a proponent of the transformation theory of late antiquity, albeit with adequate acknowledgements of the violent and destructive nature of this period (You can tell from the above quote). What sets this book different was rather its perspective; Halsall strived to explore this transformative period of history not by recounting major political events similar to traditional narratives, but take the perspective of the non-Romans -- those migrating tribes beyond the Frontier -- what were their lives like, and how did their lives change during this tumultuous, if not opportunity-laden period?
Most of us made the assumption that the Roman world and the world beyond the frontier were two distinctively separated worlds, whose relations were often identified with wars, incursions, and conspiracies -- that was hardly the case in late antiquity. The borders of late Roman Empire were especially fluid and dynamic, with vast swaths of frontier lands gradually blending in with their barbarian neighbours, forming a unique ecosystem that characterized much of the northern borderlands. Cross-border interactions hence became quite normal, especially with the steady militarization of frontier societies often accompanied with barbarian immigrations -- indeed by the fifth century, the defensive function of imperial borders had effectively ceased to exist, as the mission of defence would often be carried out by barbarians themselves, either acted as mercenaries or members of the regular Roman army, whose loyalty to the imperial court was highly suspicious. It was not that the military was "barbarized", as much as it was not the case that the barbarians were "militarized" (they were always ready to engage in military conflicts anyway), but rather the whole region developed a distinct frontier identity that incorporated elements from its previous civilian society, the military, the barbarians, and those who are constantly shifting in between the three classification. A roman military commander may adopt barbarian clothing as he spent years fighting both alongside and against barbarian, whereas a barbarian chieftain may send one of his sons to join the mercenary while letting another son to lead raids into Roman territory. In short, the solid boundaries that once defined what was Roman and what was barbarian slowly but surely disappeared.
The study of barbarian migrations and their lives in the frontier regions largely depends on archaeological discoveries, for documentary records of these events and activities were severely lacking. These archaeological discoveries are often able to alter our perceptions about the Romans and the barbarians sharply; the spread of Roman burial rites into Germania Magna was a great example, which partially debunked the aforementioned "barbarization of the military" argument. Other excavations revealed so far unknown aspects of barbarian societies beyond the frontier -- turned out they were quite advanced in some ways and were extremely alarmed to whatever was happening in the Empire. Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that by the midst of the fifth century frontier defence had become a sort of private business conducted by members of the same noble family or barbarian clan.
At this point I'd like to come back to that thought-provoking quote I put up at the beginning of this review. Though not without flaws, this has to be one of the most succinct yet sufficiently accurate description of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. If you find this quote convincing and eager to know its thought process, then this is the right book for you.
The Roman Empire was not murdered and nor did it die a natural death; it accidentally committed suicide.
Immediately intrigued, I dived myself into Halsall's book and found it one of, if not the most detailed account of late antique Roman-barbarian relations. The book's title already suggests the author's opinion on the age-long decline-and-fall controversy -- i.e. was there really a decline and a fall of the Roman Empire, or was it simply a period of transformation mistaken as collapse of civilization -- Halsall was a proponent of the transformation theory of late antiquity, albeit with adequate acknowledgements of the violent and destructive nature of this period (You can tell from the above quote). What sets this book different was rather its perspective; Halsall strived to explore this transformative period of history not by recounting major political events similar to traditional narratives, but take the perspective of the non-Romans -- those migrating tribes beyond the Frontier -- what were their lives like, and how did their lives change during this tumultuous, if not opportunity-laden period?
Most of us made the assumption that the Roman world and the world beyond the frontier were two distinctively separated worlds, whose relations were often identified with wars, incursions, and conspiracies -- that was hardly the case in late antiquity. The borders of late Roman Empire were especially fluid and dynamic, with vast swaths of frontier lands gradually blending in with their barbarian neighbours, forming a unique ecosystem that characterized much of the northern borderlands. Cross-border interactions hence became quite normal, especially with the steady militarization of frontier societies often accompanied with barbarian immigrations -- indeed by the fifth century, the defensive function of imperial borders had effectively ceased to exist, as the mission of defence would often be carried out by barbarians themselves, either acted as mercenaries or members of the regular Roman army, whose loyalty to the imperial court was highly suspicious. It was not that the military was "barbarized", as much as it was not the case that the barbarians were "militarized" (they were always ready to engage in military conflicts anyway), but rather the whole region developed a distinct frontier identity that incorporated elements from its previous civilian society, the military, the barbarians, and those who are constantly shifting in between the three classification. A roman military commander may adopt barbarian clothing as he spent years fighting both alongside and against barbarian, whereas a barbarian chieftain may send one of his sons to join the mercenary while letting another son to lead raids into Roman territory. In short, the solid boundaries that once defined what was Roman and what was barbarian slowly but surely disappeared.
The study of barbarian migrations and their lives in the frontier regions largely depends on archaeological discoveries, for documentary records of these events and activities were severely lacking. These archaeological discoveries are often able to alter our perceptions about the Romans and the barbarians sharply; the spread of Roman burial rites into Germania Magna was a great example, which partially debunked the aforementioned "barbarization of the military" argument. Other excavations revealed so far unknown aspects of barbarian societies beyond the frontier -- turned out they were quite advanced in some ways and were extremely alarmed to whatever was happening in the Empire. Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that by the midst of the fifth century frontier defence had become a sort of private business conducted by members of the same noble family or barbarian clan.
At this point I'd like to come back to that thought-provoking quote I put up at the beginning of this review. Though not without flaws, this has to be one of the most succinct yet sufficiently accurate description of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. If you find this quote convincing and eager to know its thought process, then this is the right book for you.
Read
January 7, 2024Excellent and magisterial survey of the years around the fall of the Western Empire. Although it makes this one do the most challenging works that I’ve read in grad school, The amount of research and erudition that went into this book is truly impressive and make this a must-read for any student of the times.
4.5 stars because there’s just a bit too much “renegotiating identities” for my taste.
4.5 stars because there’s just a bit too much “renegotiating identities” for my taste.
December 1, 2021
Necessary book for forming a fuller view of post-Roman Europe.
Read
May 21, 2024I don’t usually count books I read for my degree but I dedicated so much time to this one I’m counting it
March 3, 2016
I wish I could give this one three and a half stars. While much of the content is excellent, Halsall also leaves his readers hanging with several unproven or poorly proven point. Halsall's ideas are constantly fascinating and refreshing, but it feels like his page space that could be devoted towards better defending them is given over too often to the discussion of "Germanic" vs. "Roman" concepts, a rather tired topic by this point.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews