The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World

Bonnie Effros is Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of British Columbia.Isabel Moreira is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Utah.

• Acknowledgments Abbreviations List of Contributors Map of Merovingian Gaul Merovingian Family TreeIntroduction1. Pushing the Boundaries of the Merovingian World Bonnie Effros and Isabel MoreiraPART I MEROVINGIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2. From Gaul to Francia: The Impact of the Merovingians Paul Fouracre 3. Writing the History of Merovingian Gaul: An Historiographical Survey Agnès Graceffa 4. Two Centuries of Excavating Merovingian-Era Cemeteries in France Bonnie EffrosPART II EXPRESSING IDENTITY 5. Transformations of Identities: Barbarians and Romans in the Merovingian Realm Magali Coumert 6. Migrants and Minorities in Merovingian Gaul Wolfram Drews 7. Human Remains and What They Can Tell Us about Status and Identity in the Merovingian Period Andrea Czermak 8. Gender in Merovingian Gaul Guy Halsall 9. Children's Lives and Deaths in Merovingian Gaul Émilie PerezPART III STRUCTURES OF POWER 10. The Merovingian Polity: A Network of Courts and Courtiers Yitzhak Hen 11. Elite Women in the Merovingian Period Edward James 12. The Military and Its Role in Merovingian Society Laury Sarti 13. Corporate Solidarity and Its Limits within the Gallo-Frankish Episcopate Gregory Halfond 14. Public Health, Hospitals, and Charity Peregrine Horden 15. Merovingian Monasticism: Voices of Dissent Albrecht DiemPART IV MEROVINGIAN GAUL IN A WIDER CONTEXT 16. The Merovingians and Byzantium: Diplomatic, Military, and Religious Issues, 500-700 Stefan Esders 17. The Movement of People and Things between Britain and France in the Late- and Post-Roman Periods Robin Fleming 18. De gente Scottorum monachi: The Irish in Merovingian Settlement Strategy Jean-Michel Picard 19. "Alors commença la France": Merovingian Expansion South of the Loire, 495-510 Ralph W. Mathisen 20. The Merovingians, the Avars, and the Slavs Matthias Hardt 21. The Merovingians and Italy: Ostrogoths and Early Lombards Jonathan J. ArnoldPART V MEROVINGIAN WRITTEN CULTURE 22. The History of Historiography in the Merovingian Period Helmut Reimitz 23. Merovingian Legal Cultures Alice Rio 24. Merovingian Hagiography Jamie Kreiner 25. Letters and Communication Networks in Merovingian Gaul Andrew Gillett 26. Merovingian Epigraphy, Frankish Epigraphy, and the Epigraphy of the Merovingian World. Mark HandleyPART VI MEROVINGIAN LANDSCAPES 27. The Role of the City in Merovingian Francia S. T. Loseby 28. The Fate of Small Towns, Hilltop Settlements, and Elite Residences in Merovingian-Period Gaul Luc Bourgeois 29. The Fate of Late-Roman Villas in Southern Gaul between the Sixth and Seventh Centuries. Alexandra Chavarría Arnau 30. Merovingian Religious Architecture: Some New Reflections Pascale Chevalier 31. Rural Life and Work in Northern Gaul during the Early Middle Ages Edith Peytremann 32. Good and Bad Plants in Merovingian Francia Paolo Squatriti 33. Livestock and the Early Medieval Diet in Northern Gaul Jean-Hervé Yvinec and Maude BarmePART VII ECONOMIES, EXCHANGE, AND PRODUCTION 34. Maritime and River Traders, Landing Places, and Emporia Ports in the Merovingian Period in and around the Low Countries Dries Tys 35. The Evidence of Numismatics: "Merovingian" Coinage and the Place of Frankish Gaul and Its Cities in an "Invisible" Roman Empire Jürgen Strothmann 36. Bead and Garnet Trade between the Merovingian, Mediterranean, and Indian Worlds Constantin Pion, Bernard Gratuze, Patrick Périn, and Thomas Calligaro 37. Merovingian Gaul and the Mediterranean: Ceramics and Trade Michel Bonifay and Dominique Pieri 38. Long-Distance Trade and the Rural Population of Northern Gaul Frans Theuws 39. Belt Buckles and Burials in Southwestern Gaul Ralph J. PatrelloPART VIII THE SUPERNATURAL AND THE AFTERLIFE 40. Amulets and Identity in the Merovingian World Genevra Kornbluth 41. Magic and Divination in the Merovingian World William E. Klingshirn 42. Visions and the Afterlife Isabel Moreira 43. Inscribed in the Book of Life: Liturgical Commemoration in Merovingian Gaul Els Rose 44. Liturgy and the Laity Lisa Kaaren Bailey 45. The Life of Penance Kevin Uhalde 46. Merovingian Meditations on Jesus Lynda CoonIndex

One hopes that the Handbook and the many studies it offers will inspire more scholars to delve into the fascinating history of the Merovingian world.