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Osprey Elite #248
Post-Roman Kingdoms: ‘Dark Ages' Gaul & Britain, AD 450–800
Meticulously researched, this book examines the evidence for the post-Roman military forces of France and Britain during the 'Dark Ages', reconstructing their way of life and the battles they fought in compelling detail.
The collapse of the former Western Roman Empire during the so called 'Dark Ages' c. AD 410 was gradual and piecemeal. Out of this vacuum arose regional tribes and leaders determined to take back kingdoms that were theirs and oust any Roman presence for good. However, the Roman guard was tenacious and survived in small pockets that emerged in both Gaul and Britain. These areas of Romano-Celtic resistance held out against the Saxons until at least the mid 6th century in Britain and against the Visigoths and the Merovingian Franks until the late 8th century in France.
Drawing on archaeological finds, contemporary sculpture and manuscript illuminations, Dr Raffaele D'Amato presents contemporary evidence for 5th to 9th-century Gallic and British 'Dark Age' armies and reconstructs their way of life and the battles they fought. The text, accompanied by photographs and colour illustrations, paints an intricate picture of how these disparate groups of Roman soldiers survived and adapted on the fringes of the Roman Empire.
The collapse of the former Western Roman Empire during the so called 'Dark Ages' c. AD 410 was gradual and piecemeal. Out of this vacuum arose regional tribes and leaders determined to take back kingdoms that were theirs and oust any Roman presence for good. However, the Roman guard was tenacious and survived in small pockets that emerged in both Gaul and Britain. These areas of Romano-Celtic resistance held out against the Saxons until at least the mid 6th century in Britain and against the Visigoths and the Merovingian Franks until the late 8th century in France.
Drawing on archaeological finds, contemporary sculpture and manuscript illuminations, Dr Raffaele D'Amato presents contemporary evidence for 5th to 9th-century Gallic and British 'Dark Age' armies and reconstructs their way of life and the battles they fought. The text, accompanied by photographs and colour illustrations, paints an intricate picture of how these disparate groups of Roman soldiers survived and adapted on the fringes of the Roman Empire.
64 pages, Paperback
Published January 17, 2023
19 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 31, 2025
Its adequate in its descriptions. This isn't an ideal time frame to get written sources. The timeline assembled at the front of the book is nice.
There is as always in this language hemisphere an extreme anglo saxon bias.
In this book you wont find a single reference to the Attacotti, the Eblani, Dal Riata, the (temporary) druidic reconquest of Ynys Mon, the accused reintegration of druids into the court of Morvan in Armorica. You will not see a reference to Ile de sein in which a pristine unconquered Gaulish culture remained. Ext. Maybe ten Brythonic kingdoms are mentioned by name. Most have to share a single paragraph. Caer Ebrauc appears as a one sentence set aside. As you can imagine if entire kingdoms are reduced to vague footnotes, their kings cant fare any better. Cunorix, Gradlon, Brochwel Ysgithrog, Fergus Mor, Cunedda, are all absent. I don't believe a single Pictish king was mentioned by name. Coel Henn, Urien and Owain combined get a single page ext.
Artistically speaking this book is solid. The soldiers depicted are not in repose and lack the slice of life character of previous books were the depicted figures would be engaged in some fashion. (Conversation, rest, recreation, stoic alertness ext) The quality of art is present, but it feels a little otherworldly.
In terms of real world fidelity, the soldiers depicted have a disproportionate Greek influence. They look like people who aspire to be Byzantine themata material, but due to lifes tragedies have to fall short and be generic leather gambeson wearing hollywood spinoffs instead. Chain mail was far and above the leading heavy armor of this place and time, but you would never guess that by the overwhelming presence of leather musculus, scalemail, and linothoraxs in this book. In a down to earth Osprey book, I do not expect Urien Rheged's "Ravens" to swim in a sea of glimmering spears with resplendent mail catching the light, with all looking like silver and gold, but I do expect 5th-9th century honor guards of developed 500+ year old iron age civilizations to look like they do more to occupy their spare time than cat poaching.
All and all, what is written is fine but theres not a lot of it. The effort to cast a wider net than was practical allowed the Salmon of Knowledge to break loose and swim free. Anything that is even slightly off the beaten path of what an enthusiastic Anglo Saxon boy might enjoy is going to be at best a footnote. This doesn't meet the standards of academic rigor set by previous Osprey books. The artwork will make you rue and lament the death of Angus McBride, who would have done more to present the authentic Brythonic, Gallic and Gaelic aesthetic that this book required.
That all said, in general, in the grand scheme of things, not graded against the impressive and unfair curve set by previous Osprey books, this is a fine entry level text for children and young adults who have completed their primary school education and have a pre baccalaureate interest in the subject.
There is as always in this language hemisphere an extreme anglo saxon bias.
In this book you wont find a single reference to the Attacotti, the Eblani, Dal Riata, the (temporary) druidic reconquest of Ynys Mon, the accused reintegration of druids into the court of Morvan in Armorica. You will not see a reference to Ile de sein in which a pristine unconquered Gaulish culture remained. Ext. Maybe ten Brythonic kingdoms are mentioned by name. Most have to share a single paragraph. Caer Ebrauc appears as a one sentence set aside. As you can imagine if entire kingdoms are reduced to vague footnotes, their kings cant fare any better. Cunorix, Gradlon, Brochwel Ysgithrog, Fergus Mor, Cunedda, are all absent. I don't believe a single Pictish king was mentioned by name. Coel Henn, Urien and Owain combined get a single page ext.
Artistically speaking this book is solid. The soldiers depicted are not in repose and lack the slice of life character of previous books were the depicted figures would be engaged in some fashion. (Conversation, rest, recreation, stoic alertness ext) The quality of art is present, but it feels a little otherworldly.
In terms of real world fidelity, the soldiers depicted have a disproportionate Greek influence. They look like people who aspire to be Byzantine themata material, but due to lifes tragedies have to fall short and be generic leather gambeson wearing hollywood spinoffs instead. Chain mail was far and above the leading heavy armor of this place and time, but you would never guess that by the overwhelming presence of leather musculus, scalemail, and linothoraxs in this book. In a down to earth Osprey book, I do not expect Urien Rheged's "Ravens" to swim in a sea of glimmering spears with resplendent mail catching the light, with all looking like silver and gold, but I do expect 5th-9th century honor guards of developed 500+ year old iron age civilizations to look like they do more to occupy their spare time than cat poaching.
All and all, what is written is fine but theres not a lot of it. The effort to cast a wider net than was practical allowed the Salmon of Knowledge to break loose and swim free. Anything that is even slightly off the beaten path of what an enthusiastic Anglo Saxon boy might enjoy is going to be at best a footnote. This doesn't meet the standards of academic rigor set by previous Osprey books. The artwork will make you rue and lament the death of Angus McBride, who would have done more to present the authentic Brythonic, Gallic and Gaelic aesthetic that this book required.
That all said, in general, in the grand scheme of things, not graded against the impressive and unfair curve set by previous Osprey books, this is a fine entry level text for children and young adults who have completed their primary school education and have a pre baccalaureate interest in the subject.
January 24, 2023
The Dark Ages is a term long out of favour for the period between the end of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of the organised mediaeval world. But in some ways, it is still apt because of the lack of sources and artefacts. In this useful survey, Raffaele D’Amato and Andrea Salimbeti extract what they can from the evidence to reveal Britain and Gaul undergoing often violent reconstruction and the military means by which they did so.
In their introduction, the authors stress the importance of a transitioning sub-Roman period rather than a neat break with the Roman empire, though they subsequently talk mostly in terms of Post-Roman. We can see that transition in the helpful chronology the authors provide before getting into their more detailed survey. That begins with Post-Roman Gaul. The authors outline the history of the region with Roman authority collapsing amid armed migrations. We should, however, expect the retention of some Roman military methods in the new era, and so it proved, particularly with regard to titles and unit designations even as the main armies collapsed.
The action switches to Post-Roman Britain and the rise of the warlords in the wake of the Roman military evacuation. The authors visit the stories of Ambrosius and Arthur before touring the new kingdoms and moving on to their military organisations. That includes an interesting review of army sizes, illustrating how difficult the sources are to work with for this period. Archaeology is placed front and centre for the authors’ descriptions of equipment, arms, and clothing, though here too difficulties emerge with the paucity of finds and their interpretation. And there the book ends abruptly except for an excellent bibliography for a book of this type.
Post-Roman Kingdoms achieves its purpose in surveying the military aspects of the ‘dark ages’ in Gaul and Britain. The evidence is well laid-out, and though the authors sometimes edge into very technical territory with their sources, they just about keep the reader on track, informing without overwhelming. This being an Osprey book, you would expect quality illustrative support by way of artefact photographs and imaginative colour plates, but these are better than most Ospreys I have read, particularly the artwork. Overall, anyone interested in the post-Roman period of military history will find this book an excellent starting point for further exploration.
In their introduction, the authors stress the importance of a transitioning sub-Roman period rather than a neat break with the Roman empire, though they subsequently talk mostly in terms of Post-Roman. We can see that transition in the helpful chronology the authors provide before getting into their more detailed survey. That begins with Post-Roman Gaul. The authors outline the history of the region with Roman authority collapsing amid armed migrations. We should, however, expect the retention of some Roman military methods in the new era, and so it proved, particularly with regard to titles and unit designations even as the main armies collapsed.
The action switches to Post-Roman Britain and the rise of the warlords in the wake of the Roman military evacuation. The authors visit the stories of Ambrosius and Arthur before touring the new kingdoms and moving on to their military organisations. That includes an interesting review of army sizes, illustrating how difficult the sources are to work with for this period. Archaeology is placed front and centre for the authors’ descriptions of equipment, arms, and clothing, though here too difficulties emerge with the paucity of finds and their interpretation. And there the book ends abruptly except for an excellent bibliography for a book of this type.
Post-Roman Kingdoms achieves its purpose in surveying the military aspects of the ‘dark ages’ in Gaul and Britain. The evidence is well laid-out, and though the authors sometimes edge into very technical territory with their sources, they just about keep the reader on track, informing without overwhelming. This being an Osprey book, you would expect quality illustrative support by way of artefact photographs and imaginative colour plates, but these are better than most Ospreys I have read, particularly the artwork. Overall, anyone interested in the post-Roman period of military history will find this book an excellent starting point for further exploration.
February 25, 2024
This is a bit surprising as an 'Elite' book in Osprey's line, but it is certainly worth the extra pages over a regular Men-At-Arms book. I am also happy to see post-Roman Gaul and Britain considered together, especially as this is the period were Brittany developed its separate identity from absorbing refugees from Britain (which is touched on here).
Even at 64 pages, this is still too thin of a book to go into any real detail, and as ever, the strengths are in the visual reference. Sadly, Andrei Negin's color plates are workmanlike, but hardly a source of inspiration. All of them at least have some form of background to place the type of environment these people are dealing with in, but they are solidly in the camp of standing around posing for the viewer instead of interacting, showing movement and use of equipment, and overall just being a rough miniatures painting guide.
The text itself also feels more surface level than usual. The initial sections do discuss the different paths of the various parts of Gaul, and then the notional high-level military organization of each, and then tackles Britain. Then we get the usual discussion of period equipment, with good notes of who was likely using what, and the likelihood of items being handed down (some more meditation on just how much equipment was made in Roman Gaul compared to sub- or post-Roman Gaul could be interesting here, but probably too scholarly for a enthusiast-facing book).
Beyond some of the general history, and brief mention of some of Arthur's campaigns in the earliest sources, there's not a lot of history here. No recounting of some of the battles of the period (admittedly, sources are the toughest part here, but it is still non-zero), to pick out bits about how armies in this period campaigned. Overall, the book feels very light and unfocused because of it. That said, there is reference to many of the early sources, some thoughts about the worth of some 'later' ones that seem to go back in oral tradition to this period, and as ever there is lots of good photography of artifacts and art, leaving visual reference as one of the stronger points of the book.
Even at 64 pages, this is still too thin of a book to go into any real detail, and as ever, the strengths are in the visual reference. Sadly, Andrei Negin's color plates are workmanlike, but hardly a source of inspiration. All of them at least have some form of background to place the type of environment these people are dealing with in, but they are solidly in the camp of standing around posing for the viewer instead of interacting, showing movement and use of equipment, and overall just being a rough miniatures painting guide.
The text itself also feels more surface level than usual. The initial sections do discuss the different paths of the various parts of Gaul, and then the notional high-level military organization of each, and then tackles Britain. Then we get the usual discussion of period equipment, with good notes of who was likely using what, and the likelihood of items being handed down (some more meditation on just how much equipment was made in Roman Gaul compared to sub- or post-Roman Gaul could be interesting here, but probably too scholarly for a enthusiast-facing book).
Beyond some of the general history, and brief mention of some of Arthur's campaigns in the earliest sources, there's not a lot of history here. No recounting of some of the battles of the period (admittedly, sources are the toughest part here, but it is still non-zero), to pick out bits about how armies in this period campaigned. Overall, the book feels very light and unfocused because of it. That said, there is reference to many of the early sources, some thoughts about the worth of some 'later' ones that seem to go back in oral tradition to this period, and as ever there is lots of good photography of artifacts and art, leaving visual reference as one of the stronger points of the book.
January 25, 2024
Great overview of equipment and historical events in a little known period. It's fascinating to see how Roman influence in the region continued to shape the types and styles of equipment that later soldiers used. Furthermore, the material culture that is being unearthed lends credence to the idea that the Post-Roman kingdoms in Britain and Gaul were a blend of Roman, Germanic, and Celtic traditions, rather than wholesale replacement of one culture with another.
April 5, 2023
It was not a bad book. Very detailed into the military life style. You have to be into that to enjoy it. It was a bit pricey for a small book but it probably took a lot of research.
March 28, 2025
This book will be very interesting for any seekers after the Historical Arthur, and it presents its information in a more credible fashion than most books about that subject. The best thing about this book was the illustrations, carefully reconstructed from surviving archaeological remains and even rarer images from Late Roman manuscripts. The author sees a greater degree of continuity between the Late Western Roman military and the Romano-British and Romano-Gallic warlords of the early Dark Ages. I certainly believe that Late Roman military tech was copied and imitated by everyone, and Romano-British military officers were the natural leaders of the Britons after Rome’s decline, but I don’t think there is enough evidence that Roman units survived intact.
April 11, 2024
Good overview
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews