Shifting Frontiers Iv

Carolingian Frontiers: Italy and Beyond

Imperial frontiers have been a topic of research and a source of fascination for decades. This volume deals with the Carolingian Empire, particularly Italy, collecting fifteen essays on the military, economic and social function of the frontier; how it was ideologically conceived and physically realized from Saxony to Catalonia across the Alps and the Danube. In a rich diversity of perspectives and themes, the concept of frontier is used in its political, ideological, normative, and cultural meanings. Aim of the volume is to offer a comprehensive picture of Carolingian frontiers against the background of the broad debate on empires and frontiers.

Shifting Frontiers IV

Travel, Communication and Geography in Late Antiquity

Travel, Communication and Geography in Late Antiquity brings together a set of papers that consider anew issues of travel, communication and landscape in Late Antiquity. This period witnessed an increase in long-distance travel and the construction of large new inter-provincial communications networks. The Christian Church's expansion is but one example of both phenomena. The contributions here present readers with new research on the explosion in travel and large-scale communication, and the effect on this of different geographical possibilities and limitations. The papers deal with a variety of travel experiences (religious pilgrimages; travel for work and educational purposes; journeys of the soul) and writings about travel; they look at various kinds of communication (ecclesiastical communication; communication for commerce; and the communication of religious identity); and they examine both physical and psychological aspects of geography, travel and communication.