Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;gsimonel, post: 2717622, member: 82549&quot;]I haven&#039;t read the book, so I can&#039;t pass judgement on Heather&#039;s overall thesis. However, I would like to point out that archaeological evidence of massive villas and large-scale farming in themselves do not necessarily suggest economic health and stability. They could, in fact, evince the opposite: extreme economic stratification. As more and more wealth and land coagulates into the hands of a small, powerful elite and gets locked up for generations, there are fewer resources left to divvy up among the general population. The extreme wealth of Westchester County, NY, where I currently live, does not tell us much about the economic health or stability of, for example, St. Lawrence County, NY, or rural Alabama.</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW, Dr. Phillip Daileader, in a series of Great Courses lectures about the early middle ages, (which I highly recommend: <a href="http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/early-middle-ages.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/early-middle-ages.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/early-middle-ages.html</a> , but wait for it to go on sale), suggests that at least part of the reason for the late, western Roman decline was the sudden collapse of the population due to a series of devastating plagues.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in