There is little evidence to enable us to reconstruct what it felt like to be a child in the Roman world. We do, however, have ample evidence about the feelings and expectations that adults had for children over the centuries between the end of the Roman republic and late antiquity. Thomas Wiedemann draws on this evidence to describe a range of attitudes towards children in the classical period, identifying three areas where greater individuality was assigned to children: through political office-holding; through education; and, for Christians, through membership of the Church in baptism. These developments in both pagan and Christian practices reflect wider social changes in the Roman world during the first four centuries of the Christian era. Of obvious value to classicists, Adults and Children in the Roman Empire, first published in 1989, is also indispensable for anthropologists, and well as those interested in ecclesiastical and social history.

J.K. Evans’ pioneering work explores the profound changes in the social, economic and legal condition of Roman women, which, it is argued, were necessary consequences of two centuries of near-continuous warfare as Rome expanded from city-state to empire. Bridging the gap that has isolated the specialised studies of Roman women and children from the more traditional political and social concerns of historians, J.K. Evans’ investigation ranges from Cicero’s wife Terentia to the anonymous spouse of the peasant-soldier Ligustinus, charting the severe erosion of the very institutions that kept women and children in thrall. War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome will be of interest not only to classicists and historians of antiquity but also to sociologists and anthropologists, while it will similarly prove an indispensable reference work for historians of women and the family.

The Roman Mother, first published in 1988, traces the traditional Roman attitude towards mothers to its republican origins, examining the diverse roles and the relative power and influence associated with motherhood. The importance of the paterfamilias with his wide-ranging legal rights and obligations is familiar, but much less attention has been devoted to the equally interesting position and duties of mothers and the particular limitations on their actions. The author considers the legal position of the mother, the status of the widow and her testamentary position; the official promotion of parenthood by Augustan legislation; and the duties of mother to sons and daughters and vice versa, as they altered throughout the children’s lives. Literary stereotypes of ideal senatorial mothers and of wicked step-mothers also have their part to play in interpreting the Roman view of motherhood, and the influence of such values on the course of Roman history.

First published in 1995, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia is the first single-volume reference work on the history and culture of medieval France. It covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth to the late fifteenth century. The shorter entries offer succinct summaries of the lives of individuals, events, works, cities, monuments, and other important subjects, followed by essential bibliographies. Longer essay-length articles provide interpretive comments about significant institutions and important periods or events. The Encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced and includes a generous selection of illustrations, maps, charts, and genealogies. It is especially strong in its coverage of economic issues, women, music, religion and literature. This comprehensive work of over 2,400 entries will be of key interest to students and scholars, as well as general readers.

This study, first published in German in 1975, addresses the need for a comprehensive account of Roman social history in a single volume. Specifically, Alföldy attempts to answer three questions: What is the meaning of Roman social history? What is entailed in Roman social history? How is it to be conceived as history? Alföldy’s approach brings social structure much closer to political development, following the changes in social institutions in parallel with the broader political milieu. He deals with specific problems in seven periods: Archaic Rome, the Republic down to the Second Punic War, the structural change of the second century BC, the end of the Republic, the Early Empire, the crisis of the third century AD and the Late Empire. Excellent bibliographical notes specify the most important works on each subject, making it useful to the graduate student and scholar as well as to the advanced and well-informed undergraduate.