The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians

by John Bagnell Bury

Book Overview

J. B. Bury was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his Later Roman... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393003884
• ISBN13: 9780393003888
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

very good book

Started thinking this was going to be another boring too wordy or difficult to understand book but boy was I wrong,as soon as I started with the first few pages found out you dont need a college degree to understand it.Love this book

The barbarization of the Roman Empire; a refreshing resume

A clear introduction to the period of the barbarian invasions that led to important transformations of the Roman Empire, paved the way to its dismemberment, and started the transition from roman to medieval Europe, from A. D. 247 until the fifth century. From the historical perspective, of importance is the insistence of the author on the gradual encroachment of Barbarism upon Romanism during this period. The author, Professor Bury, was appointed (in 1902) successor to Lord Acton as holder of the Chair of Modern History at the University of Cambridge. A reputed scholar, he is well known for his illustrated edition of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1909) as well as his own seminal works Constitution of the Later Roman Empire (1910) and History of the Roman Empire (1923). Not envisioned by Bury originally as a book, this is an ensemble of lectures given by him at the University (and edited by Professor Hearnshaw, from King's College at the University of London). This vivid excursion through the "barbarization" of the Empire, starts with a reference to the early German history and Gothic migrations. Then an account of the first invasions of the Goths in the third century follows, with a description of the Visigothic invasion of Dacia and the Ostrogothic settlements. According to Bury it is during the third century that the extension and heterogeneity of the Roman Empire led to a natural tendency of the parts of this huge empire to fall asunder. Two great subdivisions appeared- a western or Latin section and an eastern or Greek section. The emperor Diocletian was convinced that the empire was too extended to be ruled by one emperor and so he concocted a scheme to put it under two coequal emperors. This system was unsuccessful and it was abandoned after 150 years by Constantine. But it led to the decisive act of the foundation of a second Rome at Constantinople in A.D. 330. Bury presents an interesting overview of the much discussed issue of the size of the forces of the empire and of the barbarians during this period, as well as the general factors of the penetration of the Germanic element in the population of the empire. The advent of the Huns is a momentous event, because it forced the Visigoths into roman space, leading thereafter to the disastrous battle of Hadrianopole (well described by Ammianus Marcellinus) and the death of emperor Valens. From there, we follow the efforts of emperor Theodosius to deal with the Gothic problem pursuing a policy of conciliation and friendship with Alaric the Bold. But at the death of Theodosius, Alaric, then elected king of the Visigoths turned against the empire. And he turned to the West, in events that led to the sack of Rome and the invasion of Gaul. And so professor Bury's refreshing narration takes us to the following episodes of this dramatic saga: The death of Alaricus; the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse; the invasion of the Vandals in Spain and in Africa; the Anglo-Saxon conquest

Clear and Intriguing

This transcription of lectures dates from 1927 yet it still shows up on Norman Cantor's "Core Bibliography in Medieval Studies" (Inventing the Middle Ages, p. 443). There is good reason to continue to include it among a list of works generally of much more recent vintage.Lucid and engaging, Bury presents a convincing case for the idea that the Roman Empire in the West did not "fall" but rather transformed through assimilation of the various Germanic tribes. Bury's description of the extent to which the "barbarians" strove to work within the empire and co-existed with remnants of Roman society are of particular interest. Good companions to this work are "Before France & Germany" (Geary) and "The World of Late Antiquity" (Peter Brown).

A Concise, Compelling Chronicle of an Eventful Era

Bury tells of the dismantling of the Roman Empire in the West by the Germanic tribes. This book is based on a series of lectures delivered by Bury at Cambridge University. He begins with a description of German life in the forests outside the Empire and then tells how population pressures and migrations eventually ruptured the border of the Roman Empire, letting in tribe after tribe of German warriors.They came as federates, seldom thinking of themselves as conquerors, seeking to partake of the goodness of Roman civilization, not destroy it. Seen in this light, the Western Empire didn't so much fall as fade away under the successive waves of migrating tribes.Most history books date the fall of the Western Empire from the date on which Odovacer deposed the last Western Emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Bury makes the point that Odovacer and his successors, the Ostrogoths, recognized the authority of the Eastern Emperor. It wasn't until the Lombard invasion that a completely independent German state was set up in Italy.My misconception always was that the Germans were pagan invaders. The major tribes of the invasion were all Christians. They weren't Catholic, they subscribed to the heretical doctrine of Arianism. Bury makes a compelling case that the Ostrogothic kingdom's short existence was caused by the fact that Italy was largely Catholic and hostile to their heretical overlords.It is interesting that the first lasting Germanic kingdom was established by the Frankish king, Clovis, who converted to Catholicism. Bury makes the case that Clovis converted to Catholicism, not because of a battlefield prayer for victory and a sign from heaven, but because of a calculated decision of statecraft by a shrewd politician. Clovis correctly discerned that his rule would be more lasting if he adopted the religion of most of his subjects.A compelling chronicle of a turbulent time peopled with remarkable protagonists. And it is told in masterful fashion. The only shortcoming of the book is the absence of maps. The reader can easily get lost in the arcane geographical references.

A Host of Hordes

Renowned classicist Professor J.B. Bury wrote this book - or more particularly that set of lectures upon which this book was based - after he was appointed Professor of Modern History at Cambridge. Apparently he took the view that anything after the death of Christ could be taken as "modern" for these purposes, and thus springs this excellent account of that most cataclysmic event of the first Millenium, the Barbarian Invasions. This book can be read as a counterpoint to Gibbon's Decline and Fall, because it does focus on the invasion from the barbarian point of view. Here we have Goths, Vandals, Huns and Lombards rampaging across Europe and (occasionally) down into Italy as emperors in Byzantine and Ravenna cope as best they can. Bury is very good at marking out the differences between the various tribes and also helps us understand the extent to which the Romans assimilated them. Much of what is now seen as "invasion" was actually osmosis. The influence of these lectures on the teaching ancient and early medieval histories has been so profound that many with a formal education in classics will experience deja-vu. An evergreen account.

Hard-hitting history, the way it was meant to be [Non-P.C.]

From a day when authors did not have to worry about offending people, and history could be truly nigh objective, J. B. Bury gives us a compilation of 15 of his most delicious lectures on the decline of Rome in the West between 375 and 575 A.D. He goes into great detail about the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Lombards, Vandals, and the Huns. I found this book to be an easy read; the lectures have been conveniently divided into sub-categories, making it even easier to understand the main points of each chapter. The book, while very entertaining, did become VERY boring in one of the Ostrogothic lectures, and I shall warn you, the beginning is moderately slow and boring. Fret not! It goes somewhere, and somewhere very interesting, I shall like to add. Great read, buy it today!