Barbarians · Secrets of the Dark Ages

'It is rare that a historical documentary can genuinely shake your view of the world, but by pointing out Western stifling reverence for Roman culture, Rudgley succeeds'

Sunday Times

Rome is falling... It is the time of the barbarians.

Conventional history portrays the Dark Ages as an ominous period precipitated by the fall of Rome. We are led to believe that the torch of civilisation flickered only in isolated monasteries that dotted the landscape of a Europe otherwise engulfed in darkness.

Barbarians challenges the accepted view of events passed down to us by the Roman accounts of the barbarian world. The Romans, like every imperial power, had a vested interest in propagating their own view of history but if we read between the lines and delve deep into the archaeological record multiple cultural vistas emerge from the shadows of Rome.

Our own ancestors were much more than barbarians — their languages, arts and other cultural treasures have shaped and moulded the destiny of Europe more than the Roman Empire that once held them in its vice-like grip. It is the ethnic mosaic of the Huns, Goths, Vandals, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and others that the author reveals in this retelling of an often misunderstood time in our collective history.

Richard Rudgley

Richard Rudgley is a critically acclaimed author and TV presenter whose books have been translated into twelve languages. He was born in Hampshire, England in 1901. The author of several books, he has also written and presented several documentaries that have aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and on various channels internationally.