Masculinities in Early Medieval Europe

This volume brings together a collection of essays that delve into the shifts in ideas, roles, and practices of masculinities and male attitudes during the transition from late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. This period was marked by significant changes, including the collapse of Roman political authority in the West, the fragmentation of imperial universalism in polities, and the rise of Christianity, which all challenged the gender roles inherited from Antiquity.

Within this historical context, the book explores the evolution of men’s privileges, responsibilities, and burdens through eleven case studies focusing on different categories of men and manly behaviour. The volume brings to life husbands and fathers, kings and workers, clerics and warriors from both the East and the West, as revealed through contemporary textual and material sources and preserved in the physical remains of male bodies and actions. In doing so, this volume will bring to the fore new perspectives on masculinities and gender history.