The Dark Ages 476-918 A.D.

by Charles Oman

In 476 A.D. the Western Roman Empire fell.

Romans would never again rule vast swathes of the western Mediterranean, instead these lands would fall to Vandals, Visigoths, Franks and various other tribes that Romans had formerly called ‘barbarians’.

The Roman Empire as the ancient world had known it had gone, this was now the Dark Ages.

Yet Charles Oman shines light upon this frequently forgotten period and explores how even though Rome had fallen and many changes had occurred there were also great continuities.

Although Rome may have fallen the Eastern Empire, centered at Constantinople, continued to thrive, in many ways continuing what the Roman Empire had always done since the days of Augustus, but also developing new judicial systems to govern its vast lands as well as encouraging new forms of art and architecture.

Even in the power vacuum that was left after 476 A.D. Western Europe did not descend completely into darkness, instead in the wake of Rome’s collapse many new powerful empires emerged that looked to Rome for support, most notably the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne.

Oman through the course of this incredibly detailed work uncovers fascinatingly vibrant figures from Theodoric the Great, who dominated Italy in the early sixth century, to Charles Martel, who halted the Islamic advance at the battle of Tours, thus demonstrating through the conflict of this period the foundations of modern Europe were laid.

Charles Oman was a British historian. Through the course of his life he wrote on a wide number of subjects from ancient history to Napoleonic military history. His work The Dark Ages was first published in 1893. Unlike some previous editions we have decided to join all three books into one single volume. He passed away in 1946.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, European History, Audiobook, Medieval History, World History

402 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. His style is an invigorating mixture of historical accuracy and emotional highlights, and it makes his narratives, though founded on deep research, often read as smoothly as fiction, especially in his History of the Peninsular War. Occasionally, his interpretations have been challenged, especially his widely copied thesis that British troops defeated their Napoleonic opponents by firepower alone. Paddy Griffith, among modern historians, claims the British infantry's discipline and willingness to attack were equally important.

He was born in India, the son of a British planter, and was educated at Oxford University, where he studied under William Stubbs. In 1881 he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College, where he would remain for the rest of his career.

He was elected the Chichele Professor of modern history at Oxford in 1905, in succession to Montagu Burrows. He was also elected to the FBA that year, serving as President of the Royal Historical and Numismatic societies, and of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

His academic career was interrupted by the First World War, during which he was employed by the government Press Bureau and Foreign Office.

Oman was a Conservative member of Parliament for the University of Oxford constituency from 1919 to 1935, and was knighted in 1920.

He became an honorary fellow of New College in 1936 and received the honorary degrees of DCL (Oxford, 1926) and LL.D (Edinburgh, 1911 and Cambridge, 1927). He died at Oxford.

Two of his children became authors. Son Charles wrote several volumes on British silverware and similar housewares. Daughter Carola was notable for her biographies, especially that of Nelson.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really an amazing book! I initially bought it because I had heard of Oman's History of the Peninsular War. He is a well known historian but this book apparently has not been widely read.

Mr Oman had a very difficult task in the telling of the middle ages. It is a very complicated story that involves literally hundreds of people and endless fighting. It seems all people did back then was fight, invade and conquer only to lose it all by either treachery or incompetent offspring.

Somehow Oman is able to make this an exciting and entertaining read. I enjoyed his writing style. He clearly has a deep understanding of History and the human condition.

Its a shame that it hasn't been read by more people.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much more political and military history than social or economic. Which is fine, but not what I was really looking for.

[Elan Garfias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is soooo much fun if you're even remotely interested in the world of Late Antiquity and the early middle ages. The title is very much what-you-see-is-what-you-get, and from the very outset (Romulus Augustulus, Julius Nepos, Syagrius) the reader will find the clearest descriptions of what exactly happened in the collapsing worlds of Western Europe. This book is over a hundred years old and the style clearly reflects that, but I honestly think it adds to its charm. The spacing and format could use a quick cleanup, and this book would definitely benefit from some maps, as I think I'm not alone in being somewhat ignorant of European hydronomy. The countless river valleys are used to describe the various realms apportioned to various rulers, which can get very confusing very quickly. Still, every chapter is dynamic and vibrant, with the dynastic squabbles of the House of the Karlings and the Byzantine reconquest of Italy standing out as particularly engrossing. Oman has the difficult task of making digestible for us a period of history that is by definition hard to recount, and does a fantastic job of it. I really took my time with this one because I feel like that's really the only way to do it; the names and dates come at high velocity and threaten to get a bit overwhelming at times, something Oman acknowledges in one of the Frankish chapters. And yet that is precisely what makes the book so compelling! The endless procession of dynasties and feuds marches on, organized by region and epoch as best as the author can. Each chapter is as self-contained as possible, but flows beautifully with the preceding and succeeding ones. For example, the Frankish-Visigoth war gets treated from several different angles from both the perspectives and many in between. Oman can't help but be a bit judgy toward his medieval predecessors, and though he is a bit too excited about Christianity for my taste, he does seem to have a pretty good rubric for judging the moral fiber of each king. The Danes and Arabs feature more as supporting characters in the story, appearing on the fringes and only as they relate to the major players of Christendom. He is harsh (though not unreasonably so) toward Islam as a doctrine, but reserves the same scorn for the piratical vikings, so it's definitely not a race thing. I imagine this whole book might read as a bit dry for anyone who's not invested in the material, but if you are, then it quickly becomes one of the most exciting reads, and goes a very long way toward closing one of the biggest regrettable gaps in historical memory for those of us interested enough. Reread, take notes, savor.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, even if the material is dated. You get a good amount of editorializing from the author (who definitely has attitudes dating over 100 years ago). For example, how he treats Christendom and Islam and how he describes the various leaders over the vast time he covers.

The history is interesting, and Oman does a good job covering a vast amount of material quickly and without making it dull. I was quite pleased he considers both Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire's history is fascinating and very important to the Middle Ages, and it is nice to see it covered pretty well.

Overall, an interesting read partially because it reveals how a popular historian in the early 1900s thought, and a lot of Middle Age history that I had not been exposed much to before (esp. the Franks).

[Jim Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

If you know when it was written and that the author was English you start with a sense of the perspective from which it was written. Given that, I thought the book was excellent. It is a very comprehensive review of how the political and military landscape of the Roman Empire evolved after 476. An extraordinary number of names and dates but very well organized

[Bradd Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there’s one message The Dark Ages reinforces repeatedly, in the patient and exhaustive way it chronicles nearly every significant battle, warlord, emperor, and tribe in Western Europe and Byzantium in the period between 476 A.D. to 918, it’s that nature abhors a vacuum.

When the seat of power in Rome moved eastward to Constantinople the, peace. control and stability of Imperial Roman Europe went with it. What ensued were endless migrations of Goths, Teutons, Franks, Slavs, Vandals, Magyars, Bulgars, Danes, Norwegians and the like. All of them attacking each other, conquering, being conquered, then conquering and being conquered again. It was unstable and chaotic, bloody, sadistic, and savage. But it also came to be, eventually, the foundation of Europe as we would come to know it. In so many ways the simple, sheer, often brutal, atavistic aspects of primal human nature are on full display here. It shows you what life can look like without a stable, civilizing hand. The restlessness, rapacity, fear, greed, stupidity, cowardice and ambition of the peoples of the time are tragic. And yet it’s clear that everyone is subject to forces beyond their control, swept up by circumstances and the tide of history. The hard work of binding a large number of people to abstract ideas that are in the best interest, finally, of everyone is a bloody business full or death.

The lack of detailed, recorded history, the absence of any kind of philosophical, scientific or artistic advances is what makes this age dark. Very little literature survives. The fragile things in life were often ground under the heel of hunger and the need to carve out a secure and ever-expanding place in the world, no matter how long it might be meant to last. Sometimes the book will casually mention how a king or prince slaughtered a city of 30,000 people for reasons of ambition or revenge while completely neglecting the human cost, as though these people were simple numbers, part of an historical record that sees no need to feature them as real. And yet the suffering, on the most basic human level, must have been immense.

This book was written in the nineteenth century and is unencumbered by the modern-day historians need to appear overly objective and even-handed. Oman is liberal in his use of adjectives. He’s not afraid to call a particular king a libertine, or dissolute, or simply stupid, or dull. This brings a refreshing humanity to the proceedings that makes the almost mundane recording of events easier to bear. Still, it’s not an easy read. There is just so much that is covered, very little of it truly comes to life. But it is a useful overview to an interesting time.

[Esha Nas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tract of European Christendom that nary gives a damn for anything not Christian in Europe save to scorn it; an outdated primer with some few details that catch the eye but otherwise has long been superseded by other works of the same scope and subject; and even of its own bias it barely pays attention, and no chapter to, Christian Britain or Ireland or the Christianization of the Scandinavians or Slavs....

[sminismoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the Victorian era, this book suffers a little due to its slightly archaic, highbrow tone (which proved difficult to listen to in audiobook format). The information was detailed, but not broad. The Frankish kingdoms got a lot of attention, Byzantium some, and other areas none (Spain, England). The names of the various barbarian kings and their offspring did get confusing, and a detailed knowledge of Dark Age European geography is essential (without which things also got confusing).

[Clifford W. Snedeker Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Historian History Poorly Formated

Great story that was poorly formated for the Kindle. Numerous mistakes on formatting that make it impossible to read in some places. If I could have got my money back I would have.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Worthwhile

I really enjoyed this book. I am really glad I do not live in those times of constant warfare. It really brings home the disasters that overtake people when there is disunity within.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was tedious reading. About as much fun as a sociology textbook.

[Michael McCluskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old history

A good read, albeit restricted by its Occidental bias just like all such older works. I'd like to read something more current on the period for comparison.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is mainly a military and political history.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. In fact, I only read it at all because I was on vacation and out of e-books that I wanted to read and found this on my Kindle because I had downloaded it at some time because it was free.

This is history as it was often written at the turn of the 20th century: a succession of conflicts between the leaders of factions or of principalities. No examination of social structure, no analysis of class conflict, no interest in cultural context. The simplest possible narrative of this or that coup or battle or treaty or alliance. A twisty little maze of passages all alike, continuing for four centuries.

I say "as it was written at the turn of the 20th century", but should note that this style of history is still popular today, as witness the YouTube channel "Kings and Generals." And in a period and place of cultural stasis, as the period from the 5th to the 10th century in Europe certainly was, it may be that a chronicle of the internal and pointless conflicts is about all that can be achieved.

Still, though, Europe was a different place by the 10th century than it had been four centuries earlier. For one, the Church had become largely unified around an imposed dogma and any questioning of that dogma was heresy punishable by painful torture and death. A large fraction of the classical cultural heritage had been destroyed or hidden away, and that which remained was interpreted along the lines of (confusing, contradictory, and opaque) Church doctrine. All vestiges of rational debate and analysis had been eliminated. By the 10th century the old Roman social structures of slavery and an established and centralized hierarchy had been replaced by a loose structure of localized feudal relationships. The dispersed nature of the social and political world, together with the by-then centralized structure of the Church, created the dynamic that led to the the inquisition beginning in the 12th century, as well as to the renaissance 200 years later, and the reformation a century after that.

So despite the evident stasis and stagnation, society evolved during this period. But this book says nothing about that (or at least, not in the first 40% that I read). This suggests that a proper history of the period would be akin to geology: to look at the really big picture and see what systemic changes occurred and to try to understand and explain what specific elements of society led to those tectonic shifts.

[Don Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book along the lines of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire but a bit better written and smaller in scope. Once again, like that book, it doesn't provide enough insight into population declines and blooms and their causes and how language diverged or converged and its impact. It does cover a bit more what makes a people or nation: that is, how invaders and immigrants change the identity of areas.

The story is one of repeated invasions and territory grabs, big men rising up as leaders to be followed by weaker ones and fragmentation thus negating their accomplishments, and kings and queens killing their own children, brothers, and nephews and vice versa. It's the story of viziers (mayors, prime ministers, ...) sometimes creating peace, safety, and stability and sometimes chaos. Of the figure heads being overthrown by their viziers. Of monarchs legitimizing Popes and vice versa. Of Popes gaining and losing power: sometimes just being the bishop of Rome with no real churchwide authority and sometimes having vast authority. Of monarchs and church princes establishing and disestablishing each other.

The history bounces between France, Germany when it's distinct from France, and Byzantium. They are often mutual enemies and sometimes grudging allies. It's about the saracens and Danes repeatedly invading with the Magyars invading in the last chapters. It starts and ends with Spain first as the uneasy rule by "Romans" over Gauls with very little mixing, then by the Moors and Saracens displacing the Romans but also not mixing, and finally with the establishment of the northwestern Spanish tribes as a separate and expanding nation.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by Sir Charles. The first being his Art of War in the Middle Ages. That was a slender volume and hard to gauge his work from. This is a larger work, and it was quite enjoyable to read. Sir Charles is quite opinionated, and doesn't mince words. The book is very readable and incredibly well written. This was a Kindle version so it was cheap, and of course no maps or pictures. There may not have been maps in the original, they would have been helpful in determining the locations of places, particularly in western Europe. I picked this book because I had read little on the west during the Dark Ages. I have read great books on Spain and the eastern Empire so this was really good for me to kind of get a handle on how things developed in the west. The book does go into some amount of detail, but being a survey/overview of the period it doesn't go into great detail. It was a good primer that I can move forward if I choose to read about portions in greater detail. At the price it is certainly recommended.

[Nathan Ebersole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall, Rise, Fall, and Rise Again

Charles Oman is best known today for his rescue of European Medieval Military History from legend, chronicle hyperbole, and the sneers of Gibbon. He did some other historical survey work though. This series is one of them, a sweeping survey of the "Dark Ages" that spanned the end of Empire in Western Europe and the creation of what will become modern Europe following the reign of Charlemagne. Oman sets aside the British Isles for his native audience, presuming they learned it at school. He instead focuses on the transition of the disjointed Western Roman Empire into Visigothic Spain, Aquitaine, Francia, Germania, and Lombard Italy. At the same time he rescues the Eastern Empire from its previous bad press and shows the uneven but solid recovery and prosperity that made it the primary Christian power of its considerable time. Nowadays this is old hat, but he got the scholarship ball rolling, and tells it as only a Victorian trained scholar can.

[Andrew Scholes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was well written but a hard read because I had never read much about this time of history. Much of it was new to me. I love some of the names of the kings, their description being part of their name, Charles the Bald, Lewis the Stammerer, Charles the Simple, Charles the Fat, Reginald-with-the-long-neck, John the grammarian. One of the kings was "Charles the Fat, the most unpromising candidate upon whom he could possibly have pitched." That's quite an endorsement. "Ased himself charged to the front rank in spite of his seventy years, and slew so many Christians that the clotted blood glued his lance to his hand." There are parts that remind me of the Iliad. "Euphemius had carried off a nun from a convent, and the emperor had ordered the strategos of Sicily to punish him by cutting off his nose." That's got to hurt. The book also reminds me some of the Wingfeather series.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken as a purely factual reference, this book is very good. However, it is very clearly a product of its times. It’s use of what are now considered outdated and borderline offensive terms for Muslims is just the most obvious issue. There is considerable anti-Muslim sentiment throughout. It’s casually derisive towards the Andalusians for activities that the Franks engage in for page after exhaustive page. If the opinions of the author had been left in an early draft, this would have been a much better book.

Also, the people who developed Crusader Kong’s II clearly studied this book.

[A. Hominid · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very dull, outdated history. No economic, social, or intellectual commentary. Just: "Upon X's death the kingdom was divided among his three sons. Their father's corpse not yet cold, they began a bloody civil war." Yawn. The only part of any interest is Oman's unreflective and simplistic recounting of early Islam's expansionist wars. The Muslims go on a "drunken rampage" through the Mediterranean only to settle into "oriental lethargy." I actually laughed at the thought that Oman believed that to be good historiography. "Oh yes, indeed. Quite so."

[RICHARD CLARK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good survey

One of the lessons to be learned is that any history is only as good as the source documents. Therefore, the reader is to take this into account when absorbing the information herein. The range of history told herein covers an enormous expanse on both land and time, thus great personages do not get the details they deserve. Still, this book is a springboard for further study. Enjoy!

[Robert Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history read

I chose this because it was all three volumes in one. Mr. Oman has a writing style that is easy flowing and a pleasure to read. This work is about as complete as one can get. It covers the rise and decline of the Frankish and Eastern empires, the ups and downs of the various Muslim kingdoms, as well as the intrigues within the Vatican. I heartily recommend this set to anyone with an urge to learn more about this time frame.

[Frigg's Daughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

History has come a long way. I hate to give such an eloquently-written classic a harsh review, but this book shows its age in terms of narrative. I'm no longer the intended audience as a contemporary, transformed Westerner and it shows; the real era of Christendom and its primacy is over. It's an okay introduction to an extremely basic layout of Germano-Catholic (is that how I'd put it?) or Byzantine history in the years it covers, and like I said, the prose is well done.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Histories, especially those written years ago, usually put me to sleep and I have to go back time and again to a place I can remember in order to finish the book. This was not the case with Oman. He deserves all the accolades he earned in his lifetime. His writing is smooth and has a flow like fiction without being an historical novel.

This book helped me to understand the modern world by seeing it through the ancient world. High recommend.

[Ambrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good book with lots of detail on a period of history which is often overlooked. It is quite easy to absorb and a good overall length. It is obvious that this was written a very long time ago with many value judgements which are unusual to hear today, but that doesn't really detract from a good book.

[Richard Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was written over 100 years ago, it still remains a work well worth reading. The time period covered by the book was exceedingly chaotic but the author manages to bring us a well written and readable book. You do not need to be a scholar of the middle ages to appreciate the content of the book.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambitions and history examined in detail.

An ambitious comprehensive survey of the foundations of development leading to the formation of contemporary greater Europe. An underlying theme is the contribution of Christianity in this historical survey. A good broad read.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Densely packed with people and places to co-research, but not a bad place to start. Certainly other factors that are not fully discussed (religion, disease, climate, natural disasters...) also played their part in the history.

[Hari Rajagopalan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read

Interesting read on the dark ages by a nineteenth century historian. Their style of writing is extremely biased. He makes no pretenses about being objective. Kind of funny to read. almost like a political hack writing history.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles does a great job of weaving together the strands of history, pulling together and citing his sources. A touch parochial, but then that can be excused, given the time when the book was written. Well worth putting some time aside to discover some facts behinds the legends of childhood.