Sidonius Apollinaris and the Fall of Rome, AD 407-485

Reviews / Votes

Jill Harries' treatment wears its biographical clothes very unobtrusively ... Harris has crafted a lively and vivid tableau of a social class grappling with 'change and continuity', and succeeds in achieving specifically for fifth-century Gaul what John Matthews did for the previous aristocratic generation in his Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court ... this is a book which proceeds through a close and intricate reading of Sidonius's writings. Harris offers an acute portrayal of the dilemmas of Sidonius's lifetime ... Harries' skilful 'decoding' exposes a master of the art of political accommodation. * David Hunt, University of Durham, Early Medieval Europe 1996 5 (1) * Sidonius Apollinaris has long been valued as a witness to the death-struggle of Roman Gaul; in this splendid book Jill Harries implicates him in the proceedings. Sympathetic insight into Sidonius' predicament balances dispassionate analysis: the result is a fresh and challenging interpretation of the man, his career and his milieu. This is a convincing portrayal of a man who survived much, and an authoritative guide to the complexities of the post-imperial experience. * Neil McLynn, Keio University, Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. LXXXVIII 1996 * an important reassessment of the remarkable career and surviving output of Sid. (to adopt her neat abbreviation) in the wider context of the concessions and compromises the Gallo-Roman aristocracy were forced to make in the face of competing barbarian powers ... In her account, the increasing complexity of Sid.'s career is matched by a warily judicious evaluation of his literary output. H.'s careful delineation of the range of aristocratic tactics results in an important re-evaluation of Sid. and his career. * Christopher Kelly, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, The Classical Review, Vol. XLVII, No. 1 '97 * Fits neatly within a long tradition of outstanding studies of Sidonius ... She provides a valuable introduction on the editorial and publishing processes of Sidonius' work ... a magisterial study of the last years of Roman Gaul in particular, and of the transition from the ancient to the medieval and hence to the modern world in general ... a book that will surely be of interest to students of the classical tradition. * International Journal of the Classical Tradition * It is full of valuable insights into the thoughts and position of a genuine Roman aristocrat in a major transition period, which makes it much easier to grasp for the historian. * The Journal of Indo-European Studies *