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Brill's Companions to European History #9
A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy
A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy is a concise yet comprehensive cutting edge survey of the rise and fall of Italy’s first barbarian kingdom, the Ostrogothic state (ca. 489-554 CE). The volume’s 18 essays provide readers with probing syntheses of recent scholarship on key topics, from the Ostrogothic army and administration to religious diversity and ecclesiastical development, ethnicity, cultural achievements, urbanism, and the rural economy. Significantly, the volume also presents innovative studies of hitherto under-examined topics, including the Ostrogothic provinces beyond the Italian lands, gender and the Ostrogothic court, and Ostrogothic Italy’s environmental history. Featuring work by an international panel of scholars, the volume is designed for both new students and specialists in the field.
Contributors are Jonathan Arnold, Shane Bjornlie, Samuel Cohen, Kate Cooper, Deborah Deliyannis, Cam Grey, Guy Halsall, Gerda Heydemann, Mark Johnson, Sean Lafferty, Natalia Lozovsky, Federico Marazzi, Christine Radtki, Kristina Sessa, Paolo Squatriti, Brian Swain, and Rita Lizzi Testa.
Contributors are Jonathan Arnold, Shane Bjornlie, Samuel Cohen, Kate Cooper, Deborah Deliyannis, Cam Grey, Guy Halsall, Gerda Heydemann, Mark Johnson, Sean Lafferty, Natalia Lozovsky, Federico Marazzi, Christine Radtki, Kristina Sessa, Paolo Squatriti, Brian Swain, and Rita Lizzi Testa.
564 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2016
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December 31, 2023
This book took me through 19 chapters of content concerning the state, society and religion. With each chapter, a clearer picture emerges of the short-lived Ostrogothic kingdom which Theoderic endeavoured to not only build his dominion over the corpse of Rome but to revive it and restore it to its former splendour and efficiency. In the First Part, we see the king as a man keen to restore the Senate and enforce the law on both Gothic and Roman citizens alike. In this case, two separate secular courts existed but as a result of the decreased tax base and atrophied work force, Gothic counts were tasked with greater jurisdiction in order to fulfil this shortage.
The Second Part's focus on society and culture also highlights the life of Theoderic's daughter and successor, Amalsuentha, literary culture and art & architecture. The former and latter are intertwined in the state's fate and legacy since the heroine's murder provided Justinian and the Eastern Roman regime with the casus belli to invade and assume control of the Italian peninsula. Unfortunately, this not only further ravaged Italy to its lowest point in centuries but also gave the Chalcedonian clerics free reign to censor "Arian" religious imagery in the churches of Ravenna.
Lastly, the Third Part features the church in Rome in tandem with the Gothic administration and its influence, or lack of, in its development. Importantly, the term "Arian" is re-examined as an umbrella term which seemed to be applied to any non-Chalcedonian rather than proponents of the bishop Arius' teachings.
The book was an extremely satisfying read about the Ostrogothic kingdom. Theoderic was the original classical revivalist, a dedicated statesman and patron to the Nicene Romans and Arian Goths. It leaves us with food for thought. Could their survival have stunted the powers of the papacy and united the Italians on a pace similar to the French and Spanish?
The Second Part's focus on society and culture also highlights the life of Theoderic's daughter and successor, Amalsuentha, literary culture and art & architecture. The former and latter are intertwined in the state's fate and legacy since the heroine's murder provided Justinian and the Eastern Roman regime with the casus belli to invade and assume control of the Italian peninsula. Unfortunately, this not only further ravaged Italy to its lowest point in centuries but also gave the Chalcedonian clerics free reign to censor "Arian" religious imagery in the churches of Ravenna.
Lastly, the Third Part features the church in Rome in tandem with the Gothic administration and its influence, or lack of, in its development. Importantly, the term "Arian" is re-examined as an umbrella term which seemed to be applied to any non-Chalcedonian rather than proponents of the bishop Arius' teachings.
The book was an extremely satisfying read about the Ostrogothic kingdom. Theoderic was the original classical revivalist, a dedicated statesman and patron to the Nicene Romans and Arian Goths. It leaves us with food for thought. Could their survival have stunted the powers of the papacy and united the Italians on a pace similar to the French and Spanish?
Displaying 1 of 1 review