Warriors of the Dark Ages - Hardcover

The so-called barbarian nations and tribes who contributed to the eventual fall of the Roman Empire provide the subject material for the first title in the Warriors of Europe trilogy. Beginning in the fourth century A.D., diverse groups of raiders attacked and plundered the Roman Empire with varying degrees of success. Although the Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks, and Saxons all earned historical reputations as savage marauders, scant attention has been paid to the "events which led to their reputations for mindless violence and destruction." The authors argue that the type of social, environmental, economic, and political exclusion practiced by the Romans left these warrior groups with little choice but to attempt to pillage and destroy the empire, sowing the seeds of modern Europe in their wake. A lively, illuminating discussion of the brutal transition period between antiquity and the Middle Ages. Margaret Flanagan