Richard
Rudgley.
Barbarians: Secrets of the Dark Ages.
London: Channel
4
Books, 2002.
vi,282pp.
Hardback ISBN
0752261983.
Publisher's
recommended price £18.99
The Dark
Ages are
little-known and little-understood. Conventional history portrays it as
an ominous and dangerous period precipitated by the fall of Rome. We
are
led to believe that the torch of civilisation flickered only in the
monasteries
that dotted the landscape of a Europe engulfed in the darkness of
barbarism.
Barbarians:
Secrets of the Dark Ages challenges the accepted view of events
passed
down to us by Roman accounts of the barbarian world. The Romans, like
every
imperial power, had a vested interest in propogating their own version
of history. There are few indigenous accounts to contradict the Roman
view,
but reading between the lines, archaeological investigation and
critical
analysis allow many cultural voices to emerge out of the darkness...
Our
own ancestors,
long portrayed as barbarians, were much more than that. Their art,
their
society and their cultural legacy have shaped and moulded the destiny
of
Europe more than the Roman Empire that once held them in its vice-like
grip. Attacking armies thundered across the continent, dealing massive
blows to the ancient superpower. The barbarian forces were formidable
on
both land and sea, and their repeated assaults led to the inevitable
breakdown
of the Roman machine.
In Barbarians,
Richard Rudgley examines the fall of Rome, the Anglo-Saxon invasion of
Britain and the rise of the Vikings, as the ethnic mosaic of Europe
changed
beyond recognition. Tracing the progress of the Goths, Huns, Vandals
and
other barbarian peoples, the vibrant, colourful and often violent lives
of the leaders and kings are explored. Rudgley also considers the
lasting
effect of barbarian culture on our own lives - why do we claim
Anglo-Saxons
as our ancestors? Why and how has the English language left us such a
powerful
legacy?
The
book accompanies
the series produced by Granada Media for Channel 4.
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