Theodore R. Weeks

Maria Bucur

Ralph Mathisen

Sally McKee

Frank L. Kidner

Developed by a team of authors who have spent many years making history accessible to a diverse range of readers, each chapter of MAKING EUROPE begins with clear learning objectives and timelines, and continues with an accessible narrative that uses focus questions throughout the text to help all readers understand historical concepts. The Check-In feature and the Test Yourself questions at the end of each chapter help you assess your understanding of the material. The text uses stories of ordinary people and their impact on history, and visually stunning images and maps that make learning history interesting. Available in the following split options: MAKING EUROPE, Second Edition Complete; Since 1300; Volume 1: To 1790; and Volume 2: Since 1550. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Making Europe: The Story of the West, Volume I to 1790

Making Europe: The Story of the West

THE GLOBAL WEST: CONNECTIONS AND IDENTITIES (formerly MAKING EUROPE) isn't a traditional Western civ textbook--instead, it paints a globally connected portrait of the West through the lenses of politics, religion, social history, biography and cultural identity. Developed by authors who've spent years making history accessible to a diverse range of students, the book excels at teaching students the who, what and how of the subject: how to read primary documents, how to compare and contrast Western and non-Western sources and how to draw connections across time and geographic regions. Western civilization is the most difficult history course for many students. With a clear message that helps them grasp the origins of today's interconnected world, THE GLOBAL WEST aims to change that. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

The Global West: Connections & Identities

Danuta Shanzer

Late Roman Gaul is often seen either from a classical Roman perspective as an imperial province in decay and under constant threat from barbarian invasion or settlement, or from the medieval one, as the cradle of modern France and Germany. Standard texts and "moments" have emerged and been canonized in the scholarship on the period, be it Gaul aflame in 407 or the much-disputed baptism of Clovis in 496/508. This volume avoids such stereotypes. It brings together state-of-the-art work in archaeology, literary, social, and religious history, philology, philosophy, epigraphy, and numismatics not only to examine under-used and new sources for the period, but also critically to reexamine a few of the old standards. This will provide a fresh view of various more unusual aspects of late Roman Gaul, and also, it is hoped, serve as a model for ways of interpreting the late Roman sources for other areas, times, and contexts.

Revisiting the Sources

Society and Culture in Late Antique Gaul

Skin-clad barbarians ransacking Rome remains a popular image of the "decline and fall" of the Roman Empire, but why, when, and how the Empire actually fell are still matters of debate among students of classical history. In this pioneering study, Ralph W. Mathisen examines the "fall" in one part of the western Empire, Gaul, to better understand the shift from Roman to Germanic power that occurred in the region during the fifth century AD Mathisen uncovers two apparently contradictory trends. First, he finds that barbarian settlement did provoke significant changes in Gaul, including the disappearance of most secular offices under the Roman imperial administration, the appropriation of land and social influence by the barbarians, and a rise in the overall level of violence. Yet he also shows that the Roman aristocrats proved remarkably adept at retaining their rank and status. How did the aristocracy hold on? Mathisen rejects traditional explanations and demonstrates that rather than simply opposing the barbarians, or passively accepting them, the Roman aristocrats directly responded to them in various ways. Some left Gaul. Others tried to ignore the changes wrought by the newcomers. Still others directly collaborated with the barbarians, looking to them as patrons and holding office in barbarian governments. Most significantly, however, many were willing to change the criteria that determined membership in the aristocracy. Two new characteristics of the Roman aristocracy in fifth-century Gaul were careers in the church and greater emphasis on classical literary culture. These findings shed new light on an age in transition. Mathisen's theory that barbarian integration into Roman society was a collaborative process rather than a conquest is sure to provoke much thought and debate. All historians who study the process of power transfer from native to alien elites will want to consult this work.

Ralph Mathisen

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