Dark Ages
The rise of the Carolingians or the decline of the Merovingians?
Click and read the PDF by Emily Wilson The transference of power from the Merovingians to the Carolingians in France is one of the most confusing periods of early medieval history. In coming to a conclusion about whether this transference was due more the decline of the Merovingians, or more to the rise of the Carolingians, there are many considerations,…
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BARBARIAN AND BYZANTINE ITALY
Belisarius under the walls of Rome by AMELIANVS on DeviantArt. Part of Justinian’s wars of Reconquest. Italy about 575, Byzantine possessions in orange. The great Italian historiographer Arnaldo Momigliano recounted that, when he wanted to understand Italian history, he caught a train and went to Ravenna. ‘There, between the tomb…
Carolingian Warfare I
In the course of the ninth century, Carolingian rulers developed a military infrastructure aimed at supporting expeditions to ensure Frankish control of the central Danubian watergate, the confluences of the Drava, Sava, Drina, Tisza, and southern Morava rivers with the Danube. Itineraries suggest that many Carolingian campaigns against Moravia were…
Carolingian Warfare II
Lower Austria did have a large Romanized population, but it was concentrated along the Danube and in the lower reaches of the fertile Traisen Valley. The only Roman road in Danubian Lower Austria ran through these densely populated riverside areas from Linz to Melk, whence it skirted the steep hills…
The Carolingian and Ottonian Forification
Vikings – To Paris! In general, there is little evidence of change or advances in fortification in northern and central Europe during the period between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the ninth century. The infrastructure of the Roman world did not exist and many of the Roman city…
The Northman’s Duchy
The entry for the year 885 in the French Annals of St Vaast begins with the chilling phrase: “The rage of the Northmen was let loose upon the land”. It was an all too accurate assessment. As soon as the winter snows had melted, a frenetic series of Viking raids…
Dark Age Weaponry
Dark Age weaponry is the subject of several books currently in print. The subject has benefited from the popularity of re-enactments, which suggest how the age might have drilled and deployed its armies even when the contemporary record is silent. Facsimile weapons have shed light not only on how Dark…