Conclusion to Part III

2020 ◽  
pp. 215-216
Author(s):  
Fanny Bessard

The monetary reforms of the early Middle Ages, as well as the conscious Islamification of daily life and practices, in the context of the assertion of the Umayyad and early ‘Abbāsid caliphates, functioned as powerful generators of economic change. Not only did they create a favourable environment for trade and production, they also provided an ideological legitimacy to earning and spending....

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Igor Valentinovich Kazakov

This paper is a logical continuation of our paper The daily life of Franks according to written sources at the time of Gregory of Tours, I: diseases, medicine, hygiene and food. This paper is an attempt to collect and systematize information about the material conditions of life in the Frankish state of the Merovingians in the 6th century in the descriptions of contemporary authors. The choice of the topic is due to the need to compose a complete picture of a persons life from the beginning of the early Middle Ages, which until now has remained poorly researched, unlike the Carolingian period. The sources used are the writings of Gregory of Tours, Venantius Fortunatus, Apollinaris Sidonius, The Chronicle of Fredegar, The History Book of the Franks and others. The paper collects data on the clothes of various population groups, on the weapons and armor of the Franks and the level of military affairs development, on cities and urban life, and some features of the mentality of so far half barbaric society. The collected material allows us to state that: a) the sources of the early Merovingian period, in contrast to the Carolingian era, are distinguished by the extreme scarcity of data in the field of genesis; b) despite a rather primitive look of clothing, it possessed considerable material value, as well as it had a significant essence, c) Roman cities continued to exist on the territory of Gallia, but largely lost their urban character, turning into fortified centers, and c) Christianization had very little influence on the moral character of the Franks; society remained largely barbaric, although some features indicate the beginning of the formation of a new civilization.


Author(s):  
Patricia Skinner

In 2011 Chris Wickham highlighted the comparative potential in the post-Roman histories of Wales and southern Italy, commenting that ‘the changing societies in each were the result of indigenous developments alone.’ This chapter takes up the implicit challenge in that statement and discusses South Wales and Calabria utilizing three frames: topographical, economic, and literary. Topographically, the mountainous interiors demand attention not only as barriers to access, but also as places of refuge and retreat. Both areas were open to the sea, and potentially to hostile waterborne raiders. Economically, the two regions were unpromising for agriculture, but ideal for pastoralism, and also offered specific resources that were in demand by local elites. From a literary viewpoint, both regions generated stories that emphasized and used the landscape and followed their protagonists on journeys through and beyond the region. Whilst their development in the early Middle Ages may well have been identifiably indigenous, it did not occur in isolation from wider social and economic change.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-151
Author(s):  
Igor Valentinovich Kazakov

This paper is an attempt to collect and systematize information about the material conditions of life in the Frankish state of the Merovingians in the 6th century. The choice of the topic is due to the need to compose a complete picture of a persons life from the beginning of the early Middle Ages, which until now has remained poorly researched, unlike the Carolingian period. The sources used are the writings of Gregory of Tours, Venantius Fortunatus, Apollinaris Sidonius, The Chronicle of Fredegar, The History Book of the Franks and others. The paper contains data on the diseases and epidemics that were widespread during the mentioned period, methods of their treatment and the state of medicine in general, hygiene in the Frankish society, as well as the diet and composition of products. The collected material says that: a) the sources of the early Merovingian period are extremely scarce data in the field of life descriptions; b) the Frankish society was very vulnerable to a wide variety of diseases, and the priority of faith over medicine did not allow them to resist; c) ideas about the absence of elementary hygiene in the early Middle Ages are greatly exaggerated, and d) the set of consumed products was distinguished by simplicity and at the same time diversity with rudimentary skills in cooking.


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