In this volume, ten leading international historians and archaeologists provide a fresh and dynamic picture of Italy's history from the end of the Roman Western Empire in 476 to the end of the tenth century. Recent archaeological findings, which have so greatly changed our perceptions and understanding of the period, have been fully integrated into the eleven thematic chapters, which provide a fully rounded overview of the entire Italian peninsula in the early middle ages. The chapters consider such themes as regional diversities, rural and urban landscapes, the organisation of public and private power, the role and structure of ecclesiastical institutions, the production of manuscripts, inscriptions, and private charters.
Introduction ; 1. Invasions and ethnic identity ; 2. Public power and authority ; 3. The aristocracy ; 4. Ecclesiastical institutions ; 5. The Papacy ; 6. Economy and society in rural context ; 7. Changing structures of settlements ; 8. The cities ; 9. Lay and ecclesiastical culture ; 10. Private charters ; 11. Epigraphs ; Glossary ; Further Reading ; Chronology ; Maps
