Roman Barbarians investigates the nature of early medieval culture, and what place the royal court had in it. It explores the place of the royal court and the operation of patronage through it in several European kingdoms of the early Middle Ages, such as the Ostrogothic court of Theoderic the Great, the Vandal court of Thrasamund, the Frankish courts of Dagobert I and the Visigothic court of Sisebut. It seeks to identify the roots of later medieval...