Cemeteries and Society in Merovingian Gaul: Selected Studies in History and Archaeology, 1992-2009

Guy Halsall

Language: English

Publisher: Brill

Published: Nov 2, 2009

Description:

Seven of Guy Halsall's most important essays on the social interpretation of Merovingian cemetery archaeology are collected in this volume. The opening chapter discusses the relationships between documentary history and archaeology while the subsequent articles cover the interpretation of fourth-century Gallic furnished inhumations, the celebrated burial of King Childeric I, and the ways in which one might 'read' a burial as evidence for ritual. The final part of the book looks at the social history of Merovingian communities as revealed in cemetery evidence, looking at gender, sexuality and age. The reprinted chapters are accompanied by two wholly rewritten pieces and two entirely new articles. Finally, the book contains five extended 'commentaries' on the debates to which these chapters contributed.

From the Back Cover

Seven of Guy Halsall's most important essays on the social interpretation Merovingian cemetery archaeology are collected in this volume. The opening chapter discusses the relationships between documentary history and archaeology while the subsequent articles cover the interpretation of fourth-century Gallic furnished inhumations, the celebrated burial of King Childeric I, and the ways in which one might 'read' a burial as evidence for ritual. The final part of the book looks at the social history of Merovingian communities as revealed in cemetery evidence, looking at gender, sexuality and age. The reprinted chapters are accompanied by two wholly rewritten pieces and two entirely new articles. Finally, the book contains five extended 'commentaries' on the debates to which these chapters contributed.

About the Author

Guy Halsall , D.Phil (1990) in History (York), is Professor of History at the University of York. He has published widely on early medieval social history and archaeology, most recently Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West (Cambridge, 2009).