Salvete omnes - welcome to my blog!
Like many I've been drawn into the stories, battles and romance of the Dark Ages. This started off with a passion for learning more about the "historical" Arthur, especially the rich, fictional narrative in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord trilogy. The next step for me was to dive into the ranges from Gripping Beast, Footsore, and others... if you're reading this then it's likely you've done the same!
Things took a different turn for me, as I took the next step and ventured into academic study in Ancient History. This really broadened my understanding of the period and it's nuances but also some of the scholarly debate around the very idea of the Dark Ages.
The "fall of Rome" is an alluring and dramatic narrative, the perfect backdrop for riveting tabletop scenarios... but the very concept is questionable. While the “fall of Rome” as an intellectual paradigm has run its course – itself, perhaps, an allegory of Gibbons’ monumental 18th Century work - the narrative of “decline and fall” still permeates the public imagination.
In 1971, Peter Brown offered an alternative to this well-worn narrative in his work The World of Late Antiquity. This was the first step in shedding light on a period obscured more by modern prejudices than anything else. The result has been a refreshing, vibrant look at a previously bleak period. So much so, that it is now possible to entertain the idea that the Roman Empire in the West, although disrupted, didn't end with the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, or even the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476. Instead, we see a society capable of accommodating 'barbarian' people who eventually became a part of the fabric of Roman society - its stewards, not its destroyers.
And this, to me, is a much more interesting world to bring to life on the tabletop!
My own scholarly journey has given me the opportunity of in-depth research and publications, but you won't find too much of that here (unless you ask nicely).
At its heart, this is a hobby blog with a scholarly, but accessible, twist that I believe you'll enjoy. There'll be as much miniature painting and terrain building as I can muster, and ripping scenarios taken straight from the pages of history. I’ll also review and suggest relevant source material for interesting ideas, which I’d love to hear your thoughts on.
So, see you at the next post!
Christian
I think you'll find that your use of the phrase the "Dark Ages", in reference to the Roman era, is wildly misplaced. It is infact a phrase, more commonly used, to describe an era 20,000 years ago. Moreover, the full wording is actually the "Dark Age of Technology".
ReplyDeletePlease, no thank-you or praise is required for pointing out this error. Many people have made the same mistake in the past....no doubt they will again.
Yours sincerely,
THE God Emperor.