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The Creation of Two Ethnographic Identities: The Cases of the Ostrogoths and the Langobards

  • Robert Kasperski

The aim of this paper is to analyse two ethnographic identities constructed for two barbarian peoples – the Ostrogoths and the Langobards. As I try to argue, the first identity was constructed to show that the Ostrogoths were a civilized people and a better version of the Romans, and moreover, this identity communicated that the Ostrogoths could not be called a barbaric and savage people. Theoderic the Great’s propagandists tried to present the Ostrogothic warriors as defenders of the Roman World. The second identity – constructed for the Langobards – presented them as a people who embodied the very antithesis of their main enemies c. 660: the Franks and the Romans. The origin of the Langobards and the genesis of their ethnic hallmark, i.e. the long beards, were presented as signs of distinction or limitic structures which communicated non-romanitas of this people.

  • Keywords:
  • Early Middle Ages,
  • Late Antiquity,
  • Ostrogoths,
  • Langobards,
  • Theoderic the Great,
  • Origo gentis Langobardorum,
  • Ethnographic Identity,
  • Barbarians,
  • Civilization,
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Robert Kasperski

Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland - ORCID: 0000-0002-5693-0966

PDF
  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Pages: 41-57
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2022 Author(s)

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  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2022 Author(s)

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

The Creation of Two Ethnographic Identities: The Cases of the Ostrogoths and the Langobards

Authors

Robert Kasperski

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3.06

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

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

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

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

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