Julia M. H. Smith Books

Focusing on the Carolingian empire, the book explores the political and cultural dynamics between its center and the periphery, particularly in Brittany during the ninth and tenth centuries. It examines the interplay of imperial policies, local aristocratic conflicts, and Breton communities, highlighting the impact of Carolingian rule on local structures and identity. The text discusses economic and social aspects, the blending of Celtic and Carolingian cultures, and emphasizes the significance of regional autonomy in understanding the empire's rise and fall.

This is the first single-author study in over fifty years to offer an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. Written in an attractive and accessible style, it makes extensive use of original sources to introduce early medieval menand women at all levels of society from slave to emperor, and allows them to speak to the reader in their own words. It overturns traditional narratives and instead offers an entirely fresh approach to the centuries from c.500 to c.1000. Rejecting any notion of a dominant, uniform early medievalculture, it argues that the fundamental characteristic of the early middle ages is diversity of experience. To explain how the men and women who lived in this period ordered their world in cultural, social, and political terms, it employs an innovative methodology combining cultural history,regional studies, and gender history. Ranging comparatively from Ireland to Hungary and from Scotland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy, the analysis highlights three regional variation, power, and the legacy of Rome.In the context of debates about the social, religious and cultural meaning of 'Europe' in the early twenty-first century, this books seeks the origins of European cultural pluralism and diversity in the early Middle Ages.

The study delves into the complexities of imperialism during the early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on Brittany. It explores the socio-political dynamics and the repercussions of imperial expansion on local cultures and societies, providing insights into the historical context and the lasting impact of these imperial endeavors. Through detailed analysis, the book sheds light on the interplay between power and identity in this pivotal era.

This illustrated book is a coherently conceived collection of interdisciplinary essays by distinguished authors on the city of Rome and its contacts with western Christendom in the early Middle Ages (c. 500-1000 AD). The first part integrates historical, archaeological, numismatic and art historical approaches to studying the transition of the city of Rome from Antiquity to the Middle Ages and offers groundbreaking new analyses of selected sites and problems. Attention is given to the economic, social, religious and cultural history of the city. In the second part of the volume historical, archaeological, liturgical and palaeographical approaches address Rome's contacts and influence in Latin Christendom in this period, with particular regard to Rome's place within Italian politics and its cultural influence in Carolingian Francia and Anglo-Saxon England.