Between c. 850 and c. 1050, being a count became a matter of inheritance rather than appointment. This was one of the most crucial changes of the period - but was it the result of grasping nobles, or was it more principled? I examine this question in: salutemmundo.wordpress.com/2024/02/01/p...
The transformation of office into property is one of *the* big socio-political changes of the Late Carolingian and Post-Carolingian periods. The model in question is roughly this: under Charlemagne, i...
A roving army of mercenaries is in a troubled land and a political vacuum. Do they start a new kingdom? Some vikings did but we have little insight into why - except that provided by an ancient Greek under remarkably similar circumstances: salutemmundo.wordpress.com/2024/01/04/x...
About eighteen months ago, I discovered that capital-C Classical Penguin Classics cost basically nothing on Kindle (other e-readers are available), and so, thinking that I should gain a background in ...