In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

SHORT NOTICES Brentano, Robert, Rome before Avignon: a social history of thirteenth-century Rome, rpt, London, British M u s e u m Press, 1991; paper; pp. xiv, 340; 1 map, 50 plates; R.R.P. AUS$36.00 [distributed in Australia by Thames and Hudson]. This paperback reprint of Robert Brentano's classic work of 1974 is extremely welcome. It will make its controversial theses available to a new generation of historians and students. Brentano's book remains today as stimulating and radical a portrait of thirteenth-century R o m e as it was two decades ago. In spite of the plethora of new studies of medieval R o m e which have appeared in the interval, especially Richard Krautheimer's Rome: profile of a city (Princeton, 1980), Brentano's work remains ageless. It is a lively, stimulating, highly and deliberately idiosyncratic attempttocapture the feel and charisma of the city of the Popes in its heyday. Its scurrilous (according to some) portrait of Boniface VIII, with the credence it pays to reports of the Pope's bisexuality, still fascinates. The characterization of the greatest of all medieval Popes, Innocent III, is no less intriguing. Whether one agrees with Brentano's various arguable themes or not, the book never fails to stimulate further consideration. That is the mark of a great book. John H. Pryor Department of History University of Sydney Campbell, James, ed., The Anglo-Saxons, rpt, Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1991; paper; pp. 272; 209 plates and maps; R.R.P. AUS$24.99. Those w h o thought that Campbell, ed., The Anglo-Saxons was just a pretty book to delight over, but not to take seriously, should look again. Doubtless it is a volume which would embellish the finest coffee-table, for it is lavishly illustrated in both colour and black-and-white; but there is considerably more to it than glossy photographs of illuminated manuscripts andfineobjets d'art. Originally published in 1982, and now re-issued without alteration in paper covers, the work contains chapters ranging from 'The end of Roman Britain' to 'The end of Anglo-Saxon England', written by James Campbell, Patrick Wormald and Eric John, all specialist Anglo-Saxon historians of established reputation. These illustrated nanatives are supplemented by what the editor describes as 'picture essays', which provide brief and pithy discourses on subjects of particular relevance in the context of each chapter; for example, Sutton Hoo, Offa's dike, Alfredian manuscripts, Anglo-Saxon ivories, the coinage, and the battle of Hastings. This structure allows a measured and erudite synopsis of 180 Short Notices fundamental matters, while still leaving room for the authors' individual interpretation of events. As a concise, well-written, and accessible alternative to Sir Frank Stenton's authoritative history in the Oxford History of England Series, this book is to be especially recommended. As a means of introducing undergraduates to the rich and important contribution made by the Anglo-Saxons to virtually every aspect of later English development, it is invaluable. Richard J.E. Dammery Monash University James, Edward, The Franks, rpt Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1991; paper; pp. xii, 265; 25figures,47 plates; R.R.P. AUS$34.95 [distributed in Australia by Allen and Unwin]. This is a paperback reprint of the 1988 cloth edition reviewed enthusiastically in Parergon, n. s., vol. 8, no. 1 (1990) by John Moorhead. The paperback edition is a simple reprint with no conections, alterations, or emendations. For teachers of early medieval, west-European history die book is an attractive addition to the texts available for students. John H. Pryor Department of History University of Sydney Kazhdan, A.P. and Ann W. Epstein, Change in Byzantine culture in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; rpt Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1990; paper; pp. xxii, 287; 53 plates; R.R.P. US$12.95. This book was greeted with interest and enthusiasm on itsfirstappearance. That it is now available in paperback, at a price thatfitsit for student reading lists, should be the cause for even greater rejoicing. It offers a judicious appraisal of the structures of the Byzantine empire at the point when that society's evolution from the culture of the ancient...

pdf

Share