Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul: Strategies for Survival in an Age of Transition

by Ralph Whitney Mathisen

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292729834
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	04/01/1993
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	293
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ralph Mathisen is Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction. The Barbarians in Gaul: In Search of an Identity
Part One. Setting the Stage: Romans and Barbarians in Conflict
Chapter One. The Aristocratic Background of Late Roman Gaul
Chapter Two. Gaul, Italy, and Isolationism in the Fifth Century
Chapter Three. The Barbarian Settlement: Impressions of Harassment, Interference, and Oppression
Part Two. Immediate Responses: The Disruption of Old Institutions
Chapter Four. The Intellectual Response: Conflicting Perceptions of the Barbarians
Chapter Five. Gallic Traditionalists and the Continued Pursuit of the Roman Ideal
Chapter Six. Flight and Dislocation, Emigrants and Exiles
Chapter Seven. Between Romania and Barbaria: The Barbarian Alternative
Chapter Eight. Conflicting Loyalties: Collaborators, Traitors, and the Betrayal of Territory
Part Three. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians: The Restructuring of the Gallo-Roman Aristocracy
Chapter Nine. The Acquisition of Church Office and the Rise of an Ecclesiastical Aristocracy
Chapter Ten. The Pursuit of Literary Studies: A Unifying Element
Chapter Eleven. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians
Chapter Twelve. The Final Resolution: Aristocratic Options in Post-Roman Gaul
Epilogue
Appendix A. Roman Emperors
Appendix B. Barbarian Rulers
Glossary
Abbreviations
Notes
Primary Bibliography
Secondary Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

I can warmly recommend Mathisen's latest book to all students of the western provinces in Late Antiquity. It is a well-planned, well-presented, lucid and illuminating work that confidently gathers together ideas that Mathisen and other scholars . . . have been floating for the last few years, and takes them to a very satisfying conclusion. In brief, Mathisen provides an excellent summary of recent research in his field . . . enlivened by his own interpretation of a number of important issues.

International Journal of the Classical Tradition

I can warmly recommend Mathisen's latest book to all students of the western provinces in Late Antiquity. It is a well-planned, well-presented, lucid and illuminating work that confidently gathers together ideas that Mathisen and other scholars . . . have been floating for the last few years, and takes them to a very satisfying conclusion. In brief, Mathisen provides an excellent summary of recent research in his field . . . enlivened by his own interpretation of a number of important issues.-- "International Journal of the Classical Tradition"

From the Publisher

They had it easy back in Rome: barbarians simply stormed the walls and were either beaten back or given lots of money and a week free in the brothels. Out in Gaul, which was never very civilized to begin with, the barbarians moved in next door, took over the PTA, and engaged in drunken brawls on the street. What were decent folk to do? Well they managed, as Mathison (ancient and Byzantine history, U. of South Carolina) explains, not only to survive, but gradually to reassert their superiority. Includes a brief glossary of Roman terms, with pronunciation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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