Mathisen Ralph W., Shanzer Danuta (eds.) Society and Culture in Late Antique Gaul: Revisiting the Sources

Routledge, 2017. — xiii + 328 p.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.The overall conclusion from this collection of sixteen essays is that Late Antique Gaul was a rich, diverse and thriving place after Roman rule. Based firmly on sources of the 5th and 6th centuries, contributions explore different aspects of the archaeology, literature, social and religious history, philology, philosophy, epigraphy and numismatics of the period, examining the transformation of Roman Gaul into Barbarian Gaul.