Roman History Books and More

gibbon's "general observations" as a discussion point

In the last chapter of Volume 1 of  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, General Observations On The Fall Of The Roman Empire In The West, which we will discuss next Wednesday (together with the preceding Chapter 38: Barbarian Rule), Gibbon looks at the Europe of his day and gives us an optimistic picture typical of the period of Enlightenment.

Volume 1 was published first in 1776.  Gibbon died a very sick man in 1794 at the age of 56 .  He lived in Lausanne until 1793 and "shared the common abhorrence" of the French Revolution. Had he lived longer, he would have experienced the final excesses of the revolution and the rise of Napoleon from close by.  Would he have reconsidered his words

The reign of independent barbarism is now contracted to a narrow span; and the remnant of Calmucks or Uzbecks, whose forces may be almost numbered, cannot seriously excite the apprehensions of the great republic of Europe ⁽⁶⁾.  Yet this apparent security should not tempt us to forget that new enemies and unknown dangers may possibly arise from some obscure people, scarcely visible in the map of the world.

and looked closer to home?

reprise: late antiquity

I posted this in June 2007, and it might be timely again:

late antiquity, spätantike: when did it happen?

backgrounds readings on gibbon (mostly late antiquity)

Here are some books I find helpful as we read the final chapters of Edward Gibbon's  The Decline And Fall  In The West, Volume 1.

• Barbarians and Romans: The Birth Struggle of Europe, A.D. 400-700
  by Justine Davis Randers-Pehrson
• From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms (Rewriting Histories)
  by Thomas Noble
• and this old standby, though a bit of a time stretch:
  Mohammed and Charlemagne
  by Henri Pirenne

      

saint gregory of tours

Gibbon's main source in Chapter XXXVIII is Gregory of Tours (c. 538 - 594).  He was the son of a senator from Clermont (Sidonius Apollinaris' see) who seems to have died while Gregory was still quite young.  Gregory was educated by his uncle Avitus, the bishop of Clermont.  In 573 Gregory became bishop of Tours.  Many of his predecessors were his relatives.  He is best known for his "Ten Books of Histories" or as it is more commonly known these days "The History of the Franks."

Background:
Some pictures of artefacts from Gregory's time.

Map:
Gaul after the death of Clovis (from wikipedia)

final gibbon book chats: last installment, march 5

In the March 5 and final installment of  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire we are covering:

Chapter 38: Barbarian Rule
Reign and Conversion  of  Clovis.  - His  Victories  over  the Alemanni, Burgundians, and  Visigoths. - Establishment of the French Monarchy in  Gaul.  - Laws  of the Barbarians.  - State of the Romans (in Gaul).  - The  Visigoths  of Spain.  - Conquest of Britain by the Saxons.

This covers the period from 476 to 582 CE, with the larger portion concerning itself with the transformation of Gaul from province to kingdom.

General Observations On The Fall Of The Roman Empire In The West, an essay of about 3200 words.

more on monasticism

The figures Gibbon particularly draws our attention to in the early history of monasticism are St. Anthony in Egypt and St. Martin in Gaul.

Monasticism seems to have started in Egypt, and we have accounts of some of the monks by  Rufinus and Palladius. Perhaps the most famous of the monks was St. Anthony, a life of whom was written by his contemporary admirer, Athanasius. The Catholic Encylopaedia has a more modern account.

Anthony has been a popular subject for painters: Hieronymus Bosch painted a lurid picture of Anthony's temptation by demons. Another picture on the same subject was painted by Matthias Grünewald as part of the Isenheim Altarpiece, which also contains a more restful picture of Anthony's visit to St. Paul the Hermit.

final gibbon book chats: first of two installment, february 20

In the February 20 installment of  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire we are covering:

Chapter 36: Fall in the West

Sack of Rome by Genseric, king of the Vandals. - His Naval Depredations. - Succession of the Last Emperors of the West, - Maximus - Avitus - Majorian - Severus - Anthemius - Olybrius - Glycerius & Nepos - Augustulus. - Total Extinction of the Western Empire. - Reign of Odoacer, the First Barbarian King of Italy.    

Chapter 37: Monastic Life

Origin, Progress, and Effects of the Monastic Life. - Conversion of the Barbarians to Christianity and Arianism. - Persecution of the Vandals in Africa. - Extinction of Arianism among the Barbarians.

Bingley has commented on Gibbon and monasticism earlier.

the edifices of rome, c. 457 ce, as per gibbon (and ammianus)

Gibbon in his typical moralizing mood: The Edifices of Rome

The edifices of Rome.
The spectator who casts a mournful view over the ruins of ancient Rome is tempted to accuse the memory of the Goths and Vandals for the mischief which they had neither leisure, nor power, nor perhaps inclination, to perpetrate. The tempest of war might strike some lofty turrets to the ground; but the destruction which undermined the foundations of those massy fabrics was prosecuted, slowly and silently, during a period of ten centuries; and the motives of interest, that afterwards operated without shame or control, were severely checked by the taste and spirit of the emperor Majorian. The decay of the city had gradually impaired the value of the public works. The circus and theatres might still excite, but they seldom gratified, the desires of the people: and the temples which had escaped the zeal of the Christians were no longer inhabited either by gods or men; the diminished crowds of the Romans were lost in the immense space of their baths and porticoes; and the stately libraries and halls of justice became useless to an indolent generation whose repose was seldom disturbed either by study or business.

the complete jane austen on PBS (and in print)

I'm a bit behind the curve here, but there is still plenty to watch on PBS at  The Complete Jane Austen.  I was reminded of this when I caught up with my New Yorker issues:  Everybody Loves Jane - PBS renews its vows with the author of “Pride and Prejudice.”

I watched a deliciously funny Northanger Abbey, pretty true to the original although greatly abridged, but gave up on Miss Austen Regrets.  I'm looking forward to the first installment this Sunday of  Pride and Prejudice.  (check your local station for day and time)

(Earlier blog entry: Classical Education c.1800, via Jane Austen)

gibbon & bury: a timely reminder

A reminder that Bingley created a page named  Gibbon & Bury, also to be found at the top right-hand column of this blog under "NOTES."

"Volume The Third of Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire covers much the same time span as Volume 1 of Bury's  History of the Later Roman Empire.  The following tables show what sections in Bury's work correspond to Gibbon's chapters."

Table

how to get the most out of gibbon online

As we come to the last of our discussions on The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon on February 20 and March 5, the Online version is of great help.  Each chapter has an ancillary page listing events and dates which then link back to the actual text sections.

In our current case:

Chapter 36	Fall in the West
Chapter 37	Monastic Life
Chapter 38	Barbarian Rule
Observations	General Observations On The Fall Of The Roman Empire In The West  (This is a separate unit and obviously does not require an events page.)

cicero: in verrem

Cicero, Rome's famous advocate, acted as prosecutor in only one case, in 70 BCE, against Gaius Verres (Wikipedia, handle with care). Verres, who basically raped Sicily while governor, went into exile before the case came to a verdict.  Thus Cicero, who opened the prosecution by simply presenting the witnesses and their damning stories, never got to make his speeches, but he had them published, as was his practice.

As so often, Perseus Digital Library, who has the translation, is not accessible, but there is another site, The Society for Ancient Languages:

In C. Verrem Actio I
In C. Verrem Actio II Liber I-V

The Latin Library has the Latin test, In Verrem, as has Pagina Prima.

quintus sertorius

In Colleen McCullough's Fortunes Favorites, we read about Quintus Sertorius' final stand in Spain. I was asked for more information on Sertorius, and here is our friend Bingley with Quintus Sertorius at  Ancient/Classical History at about.com.

Plutarch: The Life of Sertorius and Comparison of Sertorius with Eumenes
Appian: The Civil Wars

More links

book chats: final installment of gibbon, february 20 & march 5

We come to the end of  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon on February 20 and March 5.

Online: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Chapters XXXVI to the end of Volume III
From the sack of Rome by the Vandals to King Arthur, followed by Gibbon's General Observations on the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West.

The second half of Chapter XXXVII and most of Chapter XXXVIII are strictly speaking outside our period.  However, after Chapter XXXVIII Gibbon has a section discussing the causes of the fall of the Western Empire.

If there is time left, we might discuss other literature on the Fall of Rome.

final round of 'fortune's favorites'

The final discussion of Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough on February 6  will concentrate on Chapter VI through the end.  Some of the event move back to an earlier time.

• Pompey gets a much-needed lesson in humility and warcraft from Quintus Sertorius and realizes that there is more to Metellus Pius than he thought.  Sertorius meets his end.
  
• Caesar becomes a father and makes his mark in the courts.
• Introduction of the Claudii/Clodii and of the young Antonii after the deaths of their respective fathers.
• Caesar goes back to the East, the death of King Nicomedes, and the entertaining story of Caesar and the Pirates. Caesar makes his own little war.
• The Spartacus uprising, in a different viewpoint than the usual fictional narratives.
• The first consulate of Pompey & Crassus.
• Cicero and the prosecution of Gaius Verres.
• Marcus Cato and the basilica story.
• Bold funeral games for Aunt Julia and Cinilla.