
Urban Developments in Late Antique and Medieval Rome
Revising the Narrative of Renewal
Amsterdam University Press
Published on 21. June 2021
Book
Hardback
342 pages
978-94-6298-908-5 (ISBN)
Description
A narrative of decline punctuated by periods of renewal has long structured perceptions of Rome's late antique and medieval history. In their probing contributions to this volume, a multi-disciplinary group of scholars provides alternative approaches to understanding the period. Addressing developments in governance, ceremony, literature, art, music, clerical education and the construction of the city's identity, the essays examine how a variety of actors, from poets to popes, productively addressed the intermittent crises and shifting dynamics of these centuries in ways that bolstered the city's resilience. Without denying that the past (both pre-Christian and Christian) consistently remained a powerful touchstone, the studies in this volume offer rich new insights into the myriad ways that Romans, between the fifth and the eleventh centuries, creatively assimilated the past as they shaped their future.
Reviews / Votes
"This volume is a valuable addition to the history of the City of Rome. [...] the book opens new perspectives on late antiquity and the early Middle Ages."- Uta-Renate Blumenthal, The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 73, Iss. 4
"Urban Developments in Late Antique and Medieval Rome certainly offers a profound exploration of Rome's historical fabric, providing an insightful reconsideration of its architectural and cultural evolution."
-Hendrik Dey, Speculum, issue 99/4, October 2024
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Academic
Illustrations
43 s/w Abbildungen
43 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
678 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-6298-908-5 (9789462989085)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Gregor Kalas | Ann van Dijk
Urban Developments in Late Antique and Medieval Rome
Revising the Narrative of Renewal
Book
approx. 12/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€68.40
Not yet published

Gregor Kalas | Ann van Dijk
Urban Developments in Late Antique and Medieval Rome
Revising the Narrative of Renewal
E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

Gregor Kalas | Ann van Dijk
Urban Developments in Late Antique and Medieval Rome
Revising the Narrative of Renewal
E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Persons
Gregor Kalas is Associate Professor of Architectural History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he is the Riggsby Director of the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He is the author of The Restoration of the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity: Transforming Public Space (2015). Ann van Dijk is Associate Professor of Art History in the School of Art and Design at Northern Illinois University. Her publications examine the patronage of Pope John VII as well as its reception in the early modern period. Her articles have appeared in The Art Bulletin, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Word & Image, and Renaissance Studies.
Editor
Contributions
The Ohio State University
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Carleton University (Canada)
University of Missouri
Rutgers University
Bryn Mawr College
University of Texas, Austin
Carleton College (USA)
Content
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: Revising the Narrative of Renewal for Late Antique and Medieval Rome (GREGOR KALAS and ANN VAN DIJK)
2. Rome at War: The Effects of Crisis on Church and Community in Late Antiquity (KRISTINA SESSA)
3. Portraits of Poets and the Lecture Halls in the Forum of Trajan: The Masked Cultural Tensions of Late Antique Rome (GREGOR KALAS)
4. Rolling Out the Red Carpet, Roman Style: The Arrival at Rome from Constantine to Charlemagne (JACOB LATHAM)
5. (Re)founding Christian Rome: The Honorian Project in the Early Seventh Century (DENNIS TROUT)
6. After Antiquity: Renewing the Past or Celebrating the Present? Early Medieval Apse Mosaics in Rome (ERIK THUNO)
7. The Re-Invention of Rome in the Early Middle Ages (JOHN OSBORNE)
8. Rewriting the Renouveau (DALE KINNEY)
9. Renewal, Heritage, and Exchange in Eleventh-Century Roman Chant Traditions (LUISA NARDINI)
10. Reforming Readers, Reforming Texts: The Making of a Discursive Community in Gregorian Rome (WILLIAM NORTH)
Index
1. Introduction: Revising the Narrative of Renewal for Late Antique and Medieval Rome (GREGOR KALAS and ANN VAN DIJK)
2. Rome at War: The Effects of Crisis on Church and Community in Late Antiquity (KRISTINA SESSA)
3. Portraits of Poets and the Lecture Halls in the Forum of Trajan: The Masked Cultural Tensions of Late Antique Rome (GREGOR KALAS)
4. Rolling Out the Red Carpet, Roman Style: The Arrival at Rome from Constantine to Charlemagne (JACOB LATHAM)
5. (Re)founding Christian Rome: The Honorian Project in the Early Seventh Century (DENNIS TROUT)
6. After Antiquity: Renewing the Past or Celebrating the Present? Early Medieval Apse Mosaics in Rome (ERIK THUNO)
7. The Re-Invention of Rome in the Early Middle Ages (JOHN OSBORNE)
8. Rewriting the Renouveau (DALE KINNEY)
9. Renewal, Heritage, and Exchange in Eleventh-Century Roman Chant Traditions (LUISA NARDINI)
10. Reforming Readers, Reforming Texts: The Making of a Discursive Community in Gregorian Rome (WILLIAM NORTH)
Index