Erica Buchberger

University College

Supervisors: Chris Wickham (All Souls)
and Bryan Ward-Perkins (Trinity)

Thesis title:
Perceptions of Ethnicity in Early Medieval France and Spain

Research Interests

My doctoral research centres on ethnic identities in narrative sources from sixth- and seventh-century Gaul and Spain. I am seeking to understand how ‘Roman’ faded as a primary identity of individuals in these regions by examining when and why authors used ethnic terms and what these meant to them in a changing post-Roman world. Modern social and anthropological studies have shown that what we call ‘ethnic identity’ can in fact have many facets, including political, religious, and familial associations. It can also be changed, though it is now (and was in the early medieval world) thought of as permanent and stemming from one’s birth. I argue that the shift in this period from being a ‘Roman’ to being a ‘Frank’ or a ‘Goth’ occurred first at a political level, with a political association with a new ruler facilitating the ability of Romans and their descendants to conceive of themselves as ethnic Franks or Goths, usually over generations.

Projects

I presented a paper at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds in July 2011 entitled ‘Ethnic Identity in the Poetry of Venantius Fortunatus’, which examines sixth-century Gaul through a lens other than the usual Gregory of Tours and discovers a language of Romans and barbarians far more alive and well than Gregory’s Histories would have us believe. I am currently developing it for publication. A paper on ‘Gothic Identity in Spain Before and After the Arab Conquest’ is forthcoming for the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo in May 2012. This year, I am also teaching ‘General History I: The Transformation of the Roman World, 370-900’ and have contributed entries to the forthcoming Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.