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The Barbarians Speak: How the Conquered Peoples Shaped Roman Europe
The Barbarians Speak re-creates the story of Europe's indigenous people who were nearly stricken from historical memory even as they adopted and transformed aspects of Roman culture. The Celts and Germans inhabiting temperate Europe before the arrival of the Romans left no written record of their lives and were often dismissed as "barbarians" by the Romans who conquered them. Accounts by Julius Caesar and a handful of other Roman and Greek writers would lead us to think that prior to contact with the Romans, European natives had much simpler political systems, smaller settlements, no evolving social identities, and that they practiced human sacrifice. A more accurate, sophisticated picture of the indigenous people emerges, however, from the archaeological remains of the Iron Age. Here Peter Wells brings together information that has belonged to the realm of specialists and enables the general reader to share in the excitement of rediscovering a "lost people." In so doing, he is the first to marshal material evidence in a broad-scale examination of the response by the Celts and Germans to the Roman presence in their lands.
The recent discovery of large pre-Roman settlements throughout central and western Europe has only begun to show just how complex native European societies were before the conquest. Remnants of walls, bone fragments, pottery, jewelry, and coins tell much about such activities as farming, trade, and religious ritual in their communities; objects found at gravesites shed light on the richly varied lives of individuals. Wells explains that the presenceor absenceof Roman influence among these artifacts reveals a range of attitudes toward Rome at particular times, from enthusiastic acceptance among urban elites to creative resistance among rural inhabitants. In fascinating detail, Wells shows that these societies did grow more cosmopolitan under Roman occupation, but that the people were much more than passive beneficiaries; in many cases they helped determine the outcomes of Roman military and political initiatives. This book is at once a provocative, alternative reading of Roman history and a catalyst for overturning long-standing assumptions about nonliterate and indigenous societies.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 13, 2015
The fundamental problem with most of ancient history is that the vast bulk of everyone involved left no records behind. There are bright spots, and sometimes stories that were later written down, but sometimes even those iffy sources are missing.
We have some idea of the cultural landscape of central Europe from the first century BC on thanks to Roman records about the 'barbarians', but there are no native records to combat Roman bias and prejudice. The Barbarians Speak by Peter Wells is a reassessment of what central Europe was like from about 100 BC to AD 300 based on over a half-century of archaeology, and modern cultural anthropology. It is also kept to a tightly constrained scope, looking mostly at the border regions of the Empire (along the Rhine and Danube), with some study of what has been found in the interior of modern-day Germany, and into the Jutland peninsula. While the conquest of Gaul is very important in the structure of events, the bulk of provincial Gaul is not considered in the book. This isn't polished history, but rather a first step of synthesizing general trends from a large mass of data.
A number of traditional conceits come up for reexamination. Rome did not conquer an area and then turn the inhabitants into 'proper' Roman citizens over the course of the next few generations. Most areas were not incorporated into any sort of Roman administration for at least a generation, and then the higher stratas of society started adopting Roman practices while more rural areas show no real change at all until much later, by which time urban native society is re-emphasizing local traditional practices and art.
The book has a nice section on a few different new styles of pottery forms and decoration that emerged during the third century. I find it interesting that most of them can be described in terms of Roman provinces for their geographic spread, and wonder if any of the more 'nationalistic' forces that seem to be cropping up in this period are more in the line of provincial regionalism.
A running theme of the book is settlement patterns: Settlements in Germany start out as simple single farms, and then move towards larger, more centralized patterns during the first century BC. There are signs of disruption around the time of the conquest of Gaul, but it is worth repeating that Wells points out that it can be hard to date many sites, as most rural populations had no contact with Roman goods, making early Roman period finds look just like pre-Roman ones. This difficulty is made worse by the fact that Roman and Pre-Roman archaeology are separate disciplines, who don't talk to each other as much as is needed.
By the late first century AD there is a pattern of even larger settlements that traded luxury goods from the Romans (presumably in return for cattle, meat, hides, and other everyday goods not well recorded in Roman sources). During the fourth century, as the Roman border erodes (and it is noted that there is no sign of wide-spread destruction of Roman forts and bases that would be expected from how Roman writers talk about the invasions of the later Western Empire), settlements end up going back to the pre-empire pattern of settlement. ...Which argues that there were indeed large-scale cultural dislocations, instead of the 'society continued much as before' model that this same author was arguing for in Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered .
In all, it is a good starting point for understanding where scholarship in this subject is going, and worth reading from that perspective. It may even be a good starting point for further broad discussion for those specialists. But if you're wanting lots of substance, it isn't here; there's just too many unknowns.
We have some idea of the cultural landscape of central Europe from the first century BC on thanks to Roman records about the 'barbarians', but there are no native records to combat Roman bias and prejudice. The Barbarians Speak by Peter Wells is a reassessment of what central Europe was like from about 100 BC to AD 300 based on over a half-century of archaeology, and modern cultural anthropology. It is also kept to a tightly constrained scope, looking mostly at the border regions of the Empire (along the Rhine and Danube), with some study of what has been found in the interior of modern-day Germany, and into the Jutland peninsula. While the conquest of Gaul is very important in the structure of events, the bulk of provincial Gaul is not considered in the book. This isn't polished history, but rather a first step of synthesizing general trends from a large mass of data.
A number of traditional conceits come up for reexamination. Rome did not conquer an area and then turn the inhabitants into 'proper' Roman citizens over the course of the next few generations. Most areas were not incorporated into any sort of Roman administration for at least a generation, and then the higher stratas of society started adopting Roman practices while more rural areas show no real change at all until much later, by which time urban native society is re-emphasizing local traditional practices and art.
The book has a nice section on a few different new styles of pottery forms and decoration that emerged during the third century. I find it interesting that most of them can be described in terms of Roman provinces for their geographic spread, and wonder if any of the more 'nationalistic' forces that seem to be cropping up in this period are more in the line of provincial regionalism.
A running theme of the book is settlement patterns: Settlements in Germany start out as simple single farms, and then move towards larger, more centralized patterns during the first century BC. There are signs of disruption around the time of the conquest of Gaul, but it is worth repeating that Wells points out that it can be hard to date many sites, as most rural populations had no contact with Roman goods, making early Roman period finds look just like pre-Roman ones. This difficulty is made worse by the fact that Roman and Pre-Roman archaeology are separate disciplines, who don't talk to each other as much as is needed.
By the late first century AD there is a pattern of even larger settlements that traded luxury goods from the Romans (presumably in return for cattle, meat, hides, and other everyday goods not well recorded in Roman sources). During the fourth century, as the Roman border erodes (and it is noted that there is no sign of wide-spread destruction of Roman forts and bases that would be expected from how Roman writers talk about the invasions of the later Western Empire), settlements end up going back to the pre-empire pattern of settlement. ...Which argues that there were indeed large-scale cultural dislocations, instead of the 'society continued much as before' model that this same author was arguing for in Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered .
In all, it is a good starting point for understanding where scholarship in this subject is going, and worth reading from that perspective. It may even be a good starting point for further broad discussion for those specialists. But if you're wanting lots of substance, it isn't here; there's just too many unknowns.
October 6, 2015
The general idea most people have of the "barbarians" outside the Roman frontier is not quite of knuckle-dragging, brain-bashing, low-IQ over-muscled clods. But perhaps not too far from that. And Romans had a similar view. These savages were big (certainly larger than Romans, on average!), strong, stupid but trainable dummies who made perfect slaves. Actually, they were perfectly intelligent individuals, perfectly capable of not only carrying, but also creating civilisation and living calmly in civilised society. Julius Caesar criticised them for being superstitious, for human sacrifices and other barbarities - all of which Romans practiced, of course. They built cities, created large-scale architecture, cultivated arts, and supported complex societies ruled by dynastic houses/families, just as in Rome (or as Rome often tried to do). When Rome fell, being destroyed because of the need to support an army defending central Rome but lacking the funds to do so, the barbarians maintained civilisation. In short, Rome was the measure for what constituted "civilisation" but the barbarians were not far behind. In general, well -written and occasionally illustrated but could have had more illustrations and maps. A good if detailed read - not for the occasional reader.
July 29, 2009
If you're not already familiar with the history of Roman Iron Age Europe and the Mediterranean, this book is great!! - because it will give you a solid introduction to the subject of relations between Rome and the Celtic and Germanic peoples of Europe. If you are already familiar with either, however, the book is boring. Wells is making a point that was probably noteworthy when the book was published, but which seems common sense now: that barbarian Europe was not "Romanized", and that the reality was a complex, and often shifting, mix of native tradition and Roman influence on culture, politics, trade, material goods, etc. Wells treatment of the matter is excellent - but it's unlikely to add to your knowledge if you're already widely read in the subject.
June 26, 2009
Author makes a valiant attempt to combine archeology, scant written records, linguistics, postcolonial theory to peer through the fog of history and deduce the impact of contact and conquest between the Romans and native continental Europeans. While falling short in my opinion, the author raises important questions and makes several enlightened points. Sometimes hard to follow and dry with little personality.
July 18, 2011
This is much more of an academic work than the title would suggest. Something like "Grave Goods of the Germanic Peoples During the Roman Imperial Period" would have been more appropriate. What I really wanted was a book that properly bore this book's title, and using this book as one of its sources.
April 4, 2014
Definitely more technical than a typical pop anthro book, but the author lays out his information with minimal jargon and still leaves some things up to the reader to contemplate. Peter Wells does great work with the archaeology of the Celts, and I'd recommend him to anyone who wants to learn the real history of the culture and not just shamrocks and Celtic crosses.
May 5, 2025
This book was my favorite of three read for a Roman history class this semester. I like how the sections were very finely partitioned, sometimes with only a paragraph or two under one heading. It made it very easy to follow the author's arguments and helps organize the evidence he uses. He really excellently explains how interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to understand nonliterate societies and peoples, and how the scholarship around the societies of temperate Europe has changed as we take (largely polemical) Roman texts as just one source of evidence among many.
I didn't know much of anything about colonial studies going into reading this book, so I found it very eye-opening in how I think about colonization and frontiers. Someone more well-versed in the field thus might not find the book as interesting as I did, but I think it could still be engaging for those who don't know much about the colonization of temperate Europe specifically.
Although Wells does have arguments of his own underlying the book, it is in large part a summary of the evidence we have about the 'barbarians' and the Romans, including some of the history of scholarship in this area. I'm sure this would be more entertaining to someone more interested in archaeology than I am, and I still enjoyed it on the whole, but I would have preferred a bit more focus on the author's claims.
Sometimes the evidence and overall trends that the author lays out could be hard to follow, which is mainly a function of the sheer volume of information that he considers. Also part of the problem here is that the evidence could be kind of repetitive- a lot of information about pottery and graves that I'm sure scholars in the field can keep straight, but is a bit dry and convoluted for a layman. That said, I doubt the book could be as in-depth and comprehensive as it is without sacrificing some of this information, so I respect its necessity.
I agree with another commentor that said the title and cover do not properly convey the style/genre of the book- it makes it look like a pop anthropology book, but it is in fact pretty scholarly. That issue is probably dragging down the ratings from people who were expecting something more meant to entertain than this book.
For people who are interested in the sort of style the book is in, I think it's a fantastic read; my critiques subtract very little from its value.
I didn't know much of anything about colonial studies going into reading this book, so I found it very eye-opening in how I think about colonization and frontiers. Someone more well-versed in the field thus might not find the book as interesting as I did, but I think it could still be engaging for those who don't know much about the colonization of temperate Europe specifically.
Although Wells does have arguments of his own underlying the book, it is in large part a summary of the evidence we have about the 'barbarians' and the Romans, including some of the history of scholarship in this area. I'm sure this would be more entertaining to someone more interested in archaeology than I am, and I still enjoyed it on the whole, but I would have preferred a bit more focus on the author's claims.
Sometimes the evidence and overall trends that the author lays out could be hard to follow, which is mainly a function of the sheer volume of information that he considers. Also part of the problem here is that the evidence could be kind of repetitive- a lot of information about pottery and graves that I'm sure scholars in the field can keep straight, but is a bit dry and convoluted for a layman. That said, I doubt the book could be as in-depth and comprehensive as it is without sacrificing some of this information, so I respect its necessity.
I agree with another commentor that said the title and cover do not properly convey the style/genre of the book- it makes it look like a pop anthropology book, but it is in fact pretty scholarly. That issue is probably dragging down the ratings from people who were expecting something more meant to entertain than this book.
For people who are interested in the sort of style the book is in, I think it's a fantastic read; my critiques subtract very little from its value.
April 22, 2020
Carrellata sulle evidenze archeologiche che mostrano il reciproco l'impatto dell'interazione fra i popoli dell'Europa temperata e le province settentrionali dell'Impero. La teoria fondamentale è che si trattò di un'influenza mutua, non di un processo di "colonizzazione culturale" da parte della civiltà più complessa su quella meno complessa. Nel libro i Barbari parlano poco o nulla, ma molto parlano gli studiosi moderni e contemporanei che interpretano i reperti.
December 30, 2025
A wee bit too academic for my tastes. I did find some areas of interest but overall I did not enjoy the book. I did have a question regarding the lack of focus on the impact of the Christian faith upon the culture of initially Rome and subsequently the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine and north of the Danube?
July 7, 2018
I enjoyed this book. Heavy on the archeological aspects which makes sense. Interesting views on the elites of the conquered regions.
December 12, 2018
Well written but primarily for academics or those with an expertise in archeology.
November 19, 2007
Book Description from Amazon.com
The Barbarians Speak re-creates the story of Europe's indigenous people who were nearly stricken from historical memory even as they adopted and transformed aspects of Roman culture. The Celts and Germans inhabiting temperate Europe before the arrival of the Romans left no written record of their lives and were often dismissed as "barbarians" by the Romans who conquered them. Accounts by Julius Caesar and a handful of other Roman and Greek writers would lead us to think that prior to contact with the Romans, European natives had much simpler political systems, smaller settlements, no evolving social identities, and that they practiced human sacrifice. A more accurate, sophisticated picture of the indigenous people emerges, however, from the archaeological remains of the Iron Age. Here Peter Wells brings together information that has belonged to the realm of specialists and enables the general reader to share in the excitement of rediscovering a "lost people." In so doing, he is the first to marshal material evidence in a broad-scale examination of the response by the Celts and Germans to the Roman presence in their lands.
The recent discovery of large pre-Roman settlements throughout central and western Europe has only begun to show just how complex native European societies were before the conquest. Remnants of walls, bone fragments, pottery, jewelry, and coins tell much about such activities as farming, trade, and religious ritual in their communities; objects found at gravesites shed light on the richly varied lives of individuals. Wells explains that the presence--or absence--of Roman influence among these artifacts reveals a range of attitudes toward Rome at particular times, from enthusiastic acceptance among urban elites to creative resistance among rural inhabitants. In fascinating detail, Wells shows that these societies did grow more cosmopolitan under Roman occupation, but that the people were much more than passive beneficiaries; in many cases they helped determine the outcomes of Roman military and political initiatives. This book is at once a provocative, alternative reading of Roman history and a catalyst for overturning long-standing assumptions about nonliterate and indigenous societies.
The Barbarians Speak re-creates the story of Europe's indigenous people who were nearly stricken from historical memory even as they adopted and transformed aspects of Roman culture. The Celts and Germans inhabiting temperate Europe before the arrival of the Romans left no written record of their lives and were often dismissed as "barbarians" by the Romans who conquered them. Accounts by Julius Caesar and a handful of other Roman and Greek writers would lead us to think that prior to contact with the Romans, European natives had much simpler political systems, smaller settlements, no evolving social identities, and that they practiced human sacrifice. A more accurate, sophisticated picture of the indigenous people emerges, however, from the archaeological remains of the Iron Age. Here Peter Wells brings together information that has belonged to the realm of specialists and enables the general reader to share in the excitement of rediscovering a "lost people." In so doing, he is the first to marshal material evidence in a broad-scale examination of the response by the Celts and Germans to the Roman presence in their lands.
The recent discovery of large pre-Roman settlements throughout central and western Europe has only begun to show just how complex native European societies were before the conquest. Remnants of walls, bone fragments, pottery, jewelry, and coins tell much about such activities as farming, trade, and religious ritual in their communities; objects found at gravesites shed light on the richly varied lives of individuals. Wells explains that the presence--or absence--of Roman influence among these artifacts reveals a range of attitudes toward Rome at particular times, from enthusiastic acceptance among urban elites to creative resistance among rural inhabitants. In fascinating detail, Wells shows that these societies did grow more cosmopolitan under Roman occupation, but that the people were much more than passive beneficiaries; in many cases they helped determine the outcomes of Roman military and political initiatives. This book is at once a provocative, alternative reading of Roman history and a catalyst for overturning long-standing assumptions about nonliterate and indigenous societies.
January 3, 2013
"Amid all the variability in responses to the choices presented by the Roman presence, we can recognize significant patterns, and they may represent common features in all situations of interaction between expanding complex societies and indigenous groups. Especially striking is initial eager adoption of Roman luxury goods and lifestyle by the urban elites in the conquered territories, while rural areas and others in the society maintained the traditional Iron Age material culture. Over the course of a few generations, rural communities also began to adopt new patterns, but after another few generations, signs of re-creation, or renewal, of old traditions appeared, perhaps as forms of resistance to provincial Roman material culture and society. Over time, new traditions developed, adapting elements of both indigenous and introduced practices and styles to create patterns different from any of the antecedents.
In the unconquered regions, the patterns are different but related. The elites embraced many aspects of the imperial lifestyle that they consumed and displayed privately, such as ornate feasting paraphernalia, statuary, personal ornaments, and coins, but they did not adopt the public expressions of their affiliation with the cosmopolitan society - the dwellings, baths, or temples of the Roman provinces. Except near the frontiers, as at the site of Westick, the nonelite members of the societies beyond the frontier did not adopt the new cosmopolitan styles, probably because they had no direct access to the required goods. Beyond the frontier we see no clear resurgence of long-dormant styles, as in the case of the La Tene style in the provinces. When elements of the cosmopolitan lifestyle were integrated with those of local tradition, such as in the emergence of the confederations of the Alamanni and the Franks, that development was driven more exclusively by the elites than was the case in the Roman provinces."
In the unconquered regions, the patterns are different but related. The elites embraced many aspects of the imperial lifestyle that they consumed and displayed privately, such as ornate feasting paraphernalia, statuary, personal ornaments, and coins, but they did not adopt the public expressions of their affiliation with the cosmopolitan society - the dwellings, baths, or temples of the Roman provinces. Except near the frontiers, as at the site of Westick, the nonelite members of the societies beyond the frontier did not adopt the new cosmopolitan styles, probably because they had no direct access to the required goods. Beyond the frontier we see no clear resurgence of long-dormant styles, as in the case of the La Tene style in the provinces. When elements of the cosmopolitan lifestyle were integrated with those of local tradition, such as in the emergence of the confederations of the Alamanni and the Franks, that development was driven more exclusively by the elites than was the case in the Roman provinces."
February 23, 2014
A nicely nuanced view of the archaeological record around the Rhine and upper Danube, from before the Roman occupation of some of those lands through to the Migration era.
The first handful of chapters are slow going and fairly repetitive, but once he starts digging into the archeological record in more detail, there's a lot of interesting material on hybrid architecture and material culture as the cultures interacted in the frontier areas.
The first handful of chapters are slow going and fairly repetitive, but once he starts digging into the archeological record in more detail, there's a lot of interesting material on hybrid architecture and material culture as the cultures interacted in the frontier areas.
Read
October 24, 2014Although Wells can be a dry read, he doesn't try to make the archaeology anything more than it is. The facts presented aren't exciting, but they avoid telelogical views fueled by nationalism.
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