Category: Historical Research

The fall of the Western part of the Roman Empire

Medieval history begins with the dissolution of the Western Empire, with the abandonment of the Latin world to German conquerors. Of the provinces affected by the catastrophe the youngest was Britain; and even Britain had then been Roman soil for more than three hundred years. For Italy, Spain, and Gaul, the change of masters meant the atrophy of institutions which, at first reluctantly accepted, had come by lapse of time to be accepted as part of the natural order. Continue reading “The fall of the Western part of the Roman Empire” →

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Transition to the Middle Ages – Ostrogoths, Lombards, Franks

We are not to suppose that the settlement of Germans within the Roman Empire ended with the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, near the close of the fifth century. The following centuries witnessed fresh invasions and the establishment of new Germanic states. The study of these troubled times leads us from the classical world to the world of medieval Europe, from the history of antiquity to the history of the Middle Ages. Continue reading “Transition to the Middle Ages – Ostrogoths, Lombards, Franks” →

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Breaking of the Rhine barrier – End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 A.D.

After the departure of the Visigoths Rome and Italy remained undisturbed for nearly forty years. The western provinces were not so fortunate. At the time of Alaric’s first attack on Italy the legions along the Rhine had been withdrawn to meet him, leaving the frontier unguarded. In 406 A.D., four years before Alaric’s sack of Rome, a vast company of Germans crossed the Rhine and swept almost unopposed through Gaul. Some of these peoples succeeded in establishing kingdoms for themselves on the ruins of the empire. Continue reading “Breaking of the Rhine barrier – End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 A.D.” →

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694 CE: Visigoth King Enslaves the Jews

On November 9, 694, C.E., the Seventeenth Council of Toledo convened, in the eponymous capital of Visigoth Spain, and passed a wide-ranging series of restrictions on the Jews of the kingdom. The rules and prohibitions were a continuation of an ongoing effort to lessen the influence of Jews and their religion on society, but ratcheted the pressure on the Jews up a notch by adding a new, political rationale for the measures. Continue reading “694 CE: Visigoth King Enslaves the Jews” →

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Beginnings of the dismemberment of the Empire – The rise of usurpers and the invasion of barbarians

Alaric’s brother-in-law Athaulf (Adolphus) succeeded him (410), and the Visigoths remained in Italy for two years longer, spoiling the land. In 412 they came to an understanding with Honorius, and Athaulf engaged to suppress the tyrants who had risen up in Gaul. This leads us to record the events which had agitated the Gallic provinces during the preceding six years. Continue reading “Beginnings of the dismemberment of the Empire – The rise of usurpers and the invasion of barbarians” →

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