This introductory essay aims at highlighting some aspects concerning the connections between the Ostrogoths and Franks in the Middle Ages. To this end, cases from different contexts and chronologies have been examined: firstly, Giovanni Villani’s chronicle, which conveys a polarized image of the Gothic and Carolingian worlds; and then some testimonies from the ninth century, that use the Ostrogothic model in connection with the present in a more complex and ambivalent manner. The various interpretations of the Gothic world are linked by a tendency to emphasize historical analogies, that leads to an overall and protracted disinterest in the specific forms of Ostrogothic society and in work that most documents it, Cassiodorus’ Variae.
Scuola Normale of Pisa, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-4259-6282
Chapter Title
Ostrogoths vs. Franks: Imagining the Past in the Middle Ages
Authors
Fabrizio Oppedisano
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3.04
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Between Ostrogothic and Carolingian Italy
Book Subtitle
Survivals, revivals, ruptures
Editors
Fabrizio Oppedisano
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
262
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-663-6
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-664-3
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-666-7
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079