A History of Western Society: Printed Page 217
BOOKS
Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo, rev. ed. 2000. The definitive biography of Saint Augustine, who is viewed here as a symbol of change.
Brown, Peter. The World of Late Antiquity,A.D.150–750, rev. ed. 1989. A lavishly illustrated survey that stresses social and cultural changes and continuities, and provides clearly written introductions to the entire period.
Burns, Thomas S. Rome and the Barbarians, 100 B.C.–A.D.400. 2003. Argues that Germanic and Roman cultures assimilated with each other more than they conflicted.
Clark, Gillian. Late Antiquity: A Very Short Introduction. 2011. A compact survey of the era, portraying it as a period of great transformation rather than simply decline.
Clark, Gillian. Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles. 1994. Explores law, marriage, and religious life.
Dunn, Marilyn. The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. 2003. A thorough study of the beginnings of monasticism.
Fletcher, Richard. The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. 1998. A superbly written analysis of conversion to Christianity.
Goldsworthy, Adrian. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower. 2009. A detailed narrative that emphasizes internal weaknesses caused by civil war and struggles for power.
Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. 2006. A masterful analysis that asserts the centrality of barbarian military actions in the end of the Roman Empire.
Herrin, Judith. Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. 2008. Written for a general audience, this book portrays a tradition-
Herrin, Judith. The Formation of Christendom. 1987. An excellent synthesis of the development of the Christian Church from the third to the ninth centuries.
Todd, Malcolm. The Early Germans, 2d ed. 2004. Uses archaeological and literary sources to analyze Germanic social structure, customs, and religion and to suggest implications for an understanding of migration and ethnicity.
Ward-
Wells, Peter S. The Barbarians Speak: How the Conquered Peoples Shaped Roman Europe. 1999. Presents extensive evidence of Celtic and Germanic social and technical development.
DOCUMENTARIES
Barbarians II (History Channel, 2007). A four-
The Germanic Tribes: The Complete Four-
I, Caesar (BBC, 1997). Each part of this six-
Terry Jones’ Barbarians (BBC, 2007). A witty and lively four-
WEB SITES
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. Ireland’s longest-
Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Hosted by Calvin College, this site has hundreds of primary sources in the public domain on all aspects of the history of Christianity, and is especially strong in the writings of the church fathers, including Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, and Benedict. www.ccel.org
Explore Byzantium. Developed in New Zealand, this site offers a variety of resources on the Byzantine Empire: historical overviews, timelines, maps, articles, bibliographic material, and an extensive collection of photographs of surviving examples of Byzantine architecture and public art. byzantium.seashell.net.nz/index.php
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Byzantium. Includes actual sources and links to sources elsewhere on many aspects of Byzantine politics and religion. www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1c.asp