P. S. Barnwell examines the development of imperial and royal government in the western part of the Roman Empire and in the early "barbarian" kingdoms that were established within its frontiers - the Visigothic, Burgundian, Frankish, and Vandal nations. Covering the fifth century - the period from the death of the Emperor Theodosius to the death of the Emperor Justinian - Barnwell's book demonstrates the extent to which barbarian government was influenced by its Roman predecessor. Earlier studies have argued implicitly that the fifth century witnessed the disintegration of an ordered Roman governmental system and its replacement by a series of disorganized "Germanic" administrations. Barnwell, by contrast, examines Roman government of the fifth-century western Empire on its own terms, and then analyzes the administrations of individual Barbarian kingdoms in relation to this fifth-century Roman background. He shows that the law and government of the Barbarian kingdoms were more deeply indebted to Roman institutions than most previous historians have realized.

Warfare and dislocation are obvious features of the break-up of the late Roman West, but this crucial period of change was characterized also by communication and diplomacy. The great events of the late antique West were determined by the quieter labours of countless envoys, who travelled between emperors, kings, generals, high officials, bishops, provincial councils, and cities. This book examines the role of envoys in the period from the establishment of the first 'barbarian kingdoms' in the West, to the eve of Justinian's wars of re-conquest. It shows how ongoing practices of Roman imperial administration shaped new patterns of political interaction in the novel context of the earliest medieval states. Close analysis of sources with special interest in embassies offers insight into a variety of genres: chronicles, panegyrics, hagiographies, letters and epitaph. This study makes a significant contribution to the developing field of ancient and medieval communications.

Since Edward Gibbon, the degree of disruption or gradual change at the end of antiquity has been vehemently debated. Did Rome fall, or was it only transformed. Was the Empire destroyed by barbarians or was its decay inevitable for internal reasons? By carefully formulating answers to these and other seminal questions, Kingdoms of the Empire will prove an indispensable tool to both classical and medieval scholars. This is the first volume in a new and important monograph series, The Transformation of the Roman World.

In Subversive Meals, Alan Streett follows on from James C Scott's idea of a hidden transcript to argue that the Lord's Supper was a subversive, non-violent act against the Roman Empire. Primarily through exegesis of the writings of Luke and Paul, Streett examines the political nature of the meal in the context of first-century Roman domination. In his widely researched argument, Streett illuminates for the reader why understanding the Lord's Supper as a purely symbolic act overlooks the political significance it would have had in the first century CE. Subversive Meals analyses how the structure of the Lord's Supper followed that of a Roman banquet by having a deipon and a symposium, the latter being the time when anti-resistance discussions would take place. Streett examines several aspects of the history, context and theological significance of the Lord's Supper. He discusses such topics as the identification of Passover as an anti-imperial meal against the Pharaoh's rule, the Roman domination system, the meal practices of Jesus, the eschatological meaning of the Last Supper, the practice of this anti-imperial work ethic in the early church, and the gift of prophecy as a symposium activity. By seeing the Lord's Supper as a political act, readers will be able to study Scriptural passages more closely and precisely.