Beschreibung
Closely examining ancient and medieval narratives and the codifications of laws, this study sheds light on the illiterate societies of the early Germanic and Slavic peoples.
Autorenportrait
Karol Modzelewski is a medieval historian and member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Italian L’Accademia dei Lincei. Now retired, he was a professor at the University of Warsaw. One of Poland’s most prominent dissidents of the communist era, he is credited with giving the trade union «Solidarity» its name. He served in the Senate after Poland’s first free elections in 1989 before returning to academia.
Rezension
«Anyone wrongfully believing that the history of the Early Middle Ages is not pertinent for understanding who we are, where we come from and where we are going should hastily be sentenced to three weeks of immense joy while reading this outrageously important book.» (Karen Schousboe, Medieval Histories)
Inhalt
Contents: Barbarian Europe – Comparative analysis – Medieval law –
– Barbarian laws – Barbarian collectivism – Barbarian kinship community – Revenge and wergild – Social differences in barbarian society – Barbarian community of neighbors – Barbarian political practice – Barbarian institutions – End of the world of the barbarians – The great relative – The great neighbor – The great warrior.
