Guy Halsall facts for kids

Guy Halsall, born in 1964, is a British historian and university professor. He is an expert in Early Medieval Europe, which is the period after the fall of the Roman Empire. He teaches at the University of York.

Professor Halsall has written many books and articles. His work focuses on western Europe around the year 600 AD. He also looks at how ideas from philosophy can help us understand history. Before joining the University of York, he taught at the University of Newcastle and Birkbeck, University of London.

About Guy Halsall

Guy Halsall was born in North Ferriby, England, in 1964. He grew up in Worcestershire. He went to the University of York to study archaeology and history. In 1986, he earned the first First-Class degree from York's archaeology department.

He continued his studies at York and earned his D.Phil. (a type of doctorate) in 1991. His main research was about the history and archaeology of the Metz region during the Merovingian period. The Merovingian period was an early time in French history.

His Career and Teaching

In 1990, Guy Halsall received a special research fellowship at the University of Newcastle. From 1991 to 2002, he worked at Birkbeck, University of London. He started as a lecturer and later became a reader in early medieval history and archaeology.

In 2003, he moved to the University of York. He became a full professor there in 2006.

In 2013, Professor Halsall signed an open letter. This letter criticized some suggested changes to the British history curriculum. The letter said the changes focused too much on a "national triumphalism" (meaning, only showing the good parts of British history). It argued that this was not balanced.

Historical Ideas and Debates

Professor Halsall has different ideas from some other historians. These historians, often from the University of Oxford, believe that Germanic tribes had strong, unchanging identities. They think these tribes, helped by the Huns, caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

However, Guy Halsall and others, like Walter Goffart from the Toronto School of History, have a different view. They argue that the Western Roman Empire fell because of problems within the empire itself. They believe that the barbarian groups were mostly absorbed peacefully into Roman society. Halsall thinks the Oxford historians are making history less thoughtful. He believes their ideas could be used to support harmful views.

What is "Germanic" Culture?

Halsall does not believe there was one single "Germanic" culture. He thinks it is wrong to say that all Germanic peoples had much in common, except for speaking Germanic languages. He often puts the word Germanic in quotation marks when it refers to a shared culture, not just a language.

He feels that the idea of a common "Germanic" culture has roots in older, sometimes problematic, ways of thinking. He also thinks the idea of a single "Celtic" culture is similar. He admits that both groups had a "general overriding" identity. But he says this does not mean they had a higher level of shared ethnic identity.

New Ways to Study History

Recently, scientists have started using archaeogenetics. This is a way to study history using DNA from ancient remains. Halsall worries that this new science might make people think of ethnicity in an old-fashioned way, almost like the idea of "race" from the 1800s.

Some people who use archaeogenetics say that Halsall's worries are based on his own ideas about politics. Halsall agrees that "the writing of history is inescapably political." He says his goal is to help create a history that is more responsible and ethical.

Books by Guy Halsall

Books He Wrote

• Worlds of Arthur: Facts and Fictions of the Dark Ages (2013)
• Cemeteries and Society in Merovingian Gaul: Selected Studies in History and Archaeology, 1992-2009 (2010)
• Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376-568 (2007)
• Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900 (2003)
• Early Medieval Cemeteries. An Introduction to Burial Archaeology in the Post-Roman West (1995)
• Settlement and Social Organization. The Merovingian Region of Metz (1995)

Books He Edited

• (with Wendy Davies and Andrew Reynolds) People and Space in the Middle Ages, 300–1300 (2006)
• Humour, History and Politics in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (2002)
• Violence and Society in the Early Medieval West (1998)

Selected Articles

• 'Nero and Herod? The death of Chilperic and Gregory of Tours' writing of history.' (2002)
• 'Funny foreigners: Laughing with the barbarians in late antiquity.' (2002)
• 'Childeric's grave, Clovis' succession and the origins of the Merovingian kingdom.' (2001)
• 'The Viking presence in England? The burial evidence reconsidered.' (2000)
• 'Archaeology and the late Roman frontier in northern Gaul: The so-called Föderatengräber reconsidered.' (2000)
• 'La Christianisation de la région de Metz à travers les sources archéologiques (5ème-7ème siècle): problèmes et possibilités.' (2000)
• 'Burial customs around the North Sea, c. AD 350–700.' (2000)
• 'Review Article: Movers and Shakers: The Barbarians and the Fall of Rome.' (1999)
• 'Reflections on Early Medieval Violence: The example of the "Blood Feud".' (1999)
• 'Social identities and social relationships in Merovingian Gaul.' (1998)
• 'Burial, ritual and Merovingian society.' (1998)
• 'Violence and society in the early medieval west: An introductory survey.' (1998)
• 'Archaeology and Historiography.' (1997)
• 'Female status and power in early Merovingian central Austrasia: the burial evidence.' (1996)
• 'Towns, societies and ideas: The not-so-strange case of late Roman and early Merovingian Metz.' (1996)
• 'Playing by whose rules? A further look at Viking atrocity in the ninth century.' (1992)
• 'The origins of the Reihengräberzivilisation: Forty years on.' (1992)