Ethnic Identity, Memory, and Use of the Past in Italy’s ‘Dark Ages

Examining ethnic identity, memory, and use of the past through the lens of the history of Italy during the post-Roman/early Middle Ages, this book guides postgraduate and upper level undergraduate students through these new research areas and explores the importance of their study.

The book focuses ethnic identity, memory, and use of the past. Particular attention is devoted to the way some authors were sometimes influenced by their own present in their reconstruction of the past. Enabling students to see how the past was ‘used’ by those who recorded it.

The volume also assesses the challenges that the features of the primary sources and sometimes their scarcity poses to their interpretations, providing a useful guide for students engaging with these sources for the first time.