The political fragmentation of Italy—created by Charlemagne’s conquest of a part of the Lombard Kingdom in 774 and the weakening of the Byzantine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries—, the conquest of Sicily by the Muslims in the ninth century, and the Norman ‘conquest’ of southern Italy in the second half of the eleventh century favored the creation of areas inhabited by persons with different ethnic, religious, and cultural background. Moreover, this period witnessed the increase in production of historical writing in different parts of Italy. Taking advantage of these features, this volume presents some case studies about the manner in which ‘others’ were perceived, what was known about them, the role of identity, and the use of the past in early medieval Italy (ninth–eleventh centuries) focusing in particular on how early medieval Italian authors portrayed that period and were, sometimes, influenced by their own ‘present’ in their reconstruction of the past. The book will appeal to scholars and students of otherness, identity, and memory in early medieval Italy, as well as all those interested in medieval Europe.

This volume examines the Italian peninsula in the early Middle Ages by focusing on research fields such as ethnic identity, memory, and use of the past. Particular attention is devoted to the way some authors were influenced by their own ‘present’ in their reconstruction of the past. The political and cultural fragmentation of Italy during the early Middles Ages, created by the Lombards’ invasion of a part of the Peninsula in the late-sixth century and early-seventh century, Charlemagne’s conquest of a part of the Lombard Kingdom in 774, and by the weakening of the Byzantine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries, make this part of Europe a special area for exploring continuities and discontinuities between the Roman and the post-Roman periods in Western Europe. Across the volume, Berto examines the problems that the features of primary sources and their scarcity pose to their interpretations. Ethnic Identity, Memory, and Use of the Past in Italy’s ‘Dark Ages’ is the ideal resource for upper level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in the relationship between Italy and Europe during the Middle Ages.

This volume examines the Italian peninsula in the early Middle Ages by focusing on research fields such as ethnic identity, memory, and use of the past. Particular attention is devoted to the way some authors were influenced by their own 'present' in their reconstruction of the past. The political and cultural fragmentation of Italy during the early Middles Ages, created by the Lombards' invasion of a part of the Peninsula in the late sixth century and early seventh century, Charlemagne's conquest of a part of the Lombard Kingdom in 774, and by the weakening of the Byzantine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries, make this part of Europe a special area for exploring continuities and discontinuities between the Roman and the post-Roman periods in Western Europe. Across the volume, Berto challenges the features of primary sources and their scarcity pose to their interpretations. Ethnic Identity, Memory, and Use of the Past in Italy's 'Dark Ages' is the ideal resource for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in the relationship between Italy and Europe during the Middle Ages.

This book examines the significant changes that Venice underwent between the late-sixth and the early-eleventh centuries. It is addressed to scholars and students interested in medieval Italy and the Mediterranean, as well as general readers.

What did medieval authors know about their world? Were they parochial and focused on just their monastery, town, or kingdom? Or were they aware of the broader medieval Europe that modern historians write about? This collection brings the focus back to medieval authors to see how they described their world. While we see that each author certainly had their own biases, the vast majority of them did not view the world as constrained to their small piece of it. Instead, they talked about the wider world, and often they had informants or textual sources that informed them about the world, even if they did not visit it themselves. This volume shows that they also used similar ideas to create space and identity – whether talking about the desert, the holy land, or food practices in their texts. By examining medieval authors and their own perceptions of their world, this collection offers a framework for discussions of medieval Europe in the twenty-first century.

This book explores social transformations which led to the establishment of medieval Hum (future Herzegovina) and Bosnia in the period from ca. 450 to 1200 AD using the available written and material sources. It follows social and political developments in these historical regions from the last centuries of Late Antiquity, through the social collapse of the seventh and eighth centuries, and into their new medieval beginnings in the ninth century. Fragmentary and problematic sources from this period were, in the past, often used to justify modern political claims to these contested territories and incorporate them into the ‘national biographies’ of the Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), or to support the ‘Yugoslavizing’ and other ideological discourses. The book goes beyond ideological and national mythologemes of the past in order to provide a new historical narrative that brings more light to this region placed on the frontiers of both the medieval West and the Byzantine empire. It provides new views of the period between ca. 450 and 1200 for the parts of Western Balkans and Eastern Adriatic, brings the most recent local historical and archaeological research to the Anglophone readership and contributes to the scholarship of the late antique and early medieval Mediterranean study of this very poorly known area. The book is intended for academic audiences interested in history and archaeology of the Late Antiquity and early Middle Ages, but also to all those interested in the general history of Herzegovina, Bosnia, Dalmatia and the Balkans.

In the early Middle Ages, Italy became the target of Muslim expansionist campaigns. The Muslims conquered Sicily, ruling there for more than two centuries, and conducted many raids against the Italian Peninsula. During this period, however, Christians and Muslims were not always at war – trade flourished, and travel to the territories of the ‘other’ was not uncommon. By examining how Muslims and Christians perceived each other and how they communicated, this book brings the relationship between Muslims and Christians in early medieval Italy into clearer focus, showing that the followers of the Cross and those of the Crescent were in reality not as ignorant of one another as is commonly believed.