Late Antiquity goes to the movies (and the bookstore).

December 4, 2009 5:46 AM

I'm interested in contemporary books (and films) that are set in the Mediterranean/European region between AD300 and AD800 (approximately, of course). Any suggestions?

I already know of (for books) Gore Vidal's Julian, Gary Jennings' Raptor, sections of Iain Pears' Dream of Scipio, and (slightly out of the range) Carvalho's God Strolling...For films, I already know of Cornel Wilde's biopic of Constantine, and the more recent Last Legion, Tristan + Isolde, the forthcoming Agora, and also the ever-so slightly later various iterations of the Beowulf story (13th Warrior; Beowulf & Grendel; Beowulf; Outlander). For a bonus point, if anyone knows where I can find a copy of the Italian film of Rutilius Namatianus' 'De Reditu Suo', I'm, like, in your debt forever.

posted by hydatius to Media & Arts (15 answers total)

Best answer: Robert Graves' Count Belisarius.

As to De Reditu Suo, you'd have to go to torrents.
posted by IndigoJones at 6:08 AM on December 4, 2009

A.D. 500: A Journey through the Dark Isles of Britain and Ireland is a kind of pseudo tour guide written from the point-of-view of Roman visitors.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:35 AM on December 4, 2009

Response by poster: Just to clarify, because I failed to do so in my original post, on the book side of things I'm specifically looking for fiction. I also half-realise that there's probably some kind of vast biblioheap of fiction about 'Arthur', and I'd probably prefer to side-step that, where possible.
posted by hydatius at 6:40 AM on December 4, 2009

Bernard Cornwell of Sharpe fame has a series set just after this period: The Saxon Stories. Anya Seton's Avalon is also rather too late for you.

Hmm, sensing a pattern here. Are Vikings just too tempting for authors to resist?

Oh, and while it's non-fiction (or at least arguably so!) I'm told that Procopius' Secret History is pretty darn racy.
posted by Coobeastie at 6:49 AM on December 4, 2009

Rome (TV series).
posted by Brian B. at 6:52 AM on December 4, 2009

Sorry, misread your dates.
posted by Brian B. at 6:53 AM on December 4, 2009

Alfred Duggan, Conscience of the King, one of my perennial recommendations. Darkly humorous fictional account of the rise of Cerdic Elessing, first king of Wessex. Many of Duggan's other works cover your period too.
posted by Abiezer at 6:55 AM on December 4, 2009

louis l'amour's the walking drum fits this bill, though it's a bit later then ad800.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 6:58 AM on December 4, 2009

I checked out the book Pope Joan based on some recommendation somewhere :) from my local library. It is about a woman who lived in the 800's. However, I didn't get around to reading it and now it has to go back, so I really can't recommend it :). But 313 people reviewed it on Amazon and it has 4.5 stars, so it can't be all bad :).
posted by elmay at 9:28 AM on December 4, 2009

I just re-read Poul Anderson's The Boat of a Million Years. It's sort of a sci-fi historical novel... but for most of the book, there's no sci-fi other than the concept of a few individuals who, because of genetic abnormalities, never age or die.

The book starts in, IIRC, about 500 B.C., with the main protagonist (a Phoenician sea captain) going on an expedition with some Greeks to Britain and Scandinavia.

There are other sections set in Roman Gaul, Lebanon, Byzantium, and medieval Ukraine. The historical research is incredibly thorough, and the different milieus are portrayed vividly.

Other vignettes feature ancient China, Japan, and Tibet, Renaissance France, mid-19th-century Texas, 1930s NYC, WW2 Stalingrad, and 1970s Seattle. It's a good read.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:38 AM on December 4, 2009

These are a little earlier than you're looking for but I've really been enjoying Lindsey Davis' detective series with Marcus Didius Falco. Rosemary Sutcliff had a lot of books set in your time period; they are YA books (I adored them as a child) but they hold up well for an adult reader. And, finally, these have vampires, so they are not for everyone, but several of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germain books are set right in your time period.
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:02 AM on December 4, 2009

If you don't mind a bit later, like 1100 AD, there is Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series.
posted by BoscosMom at 3:03 AM on December 5, 2009

Best answer: Gillian Bradshaw is the author for you. Many of her historical novels are set in your period; I can recommend The Beacon at Alexandria, which (in Wikipedia's words) "features Charis of Ephesus, a female doctor cross-dressing as a eunuch in 4th century Alexandria, in Roman Egypt."
posted by languagehat at 9:10 AM on December 6, 2009

Best answer: Sister Fidelma mysteries are set in the time you request. "Suffer Little Children" is set partly in Rome. It could be worth searching through reviews from The Historical Novel Society or from the sister publication Solander.
posted by adamvasco at 5:53 AM on December 7, 2009

Best answer: There are also some in your time period in these lists and I also found The Rock: A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem Then there is the John the Eunuch Series set in C6th Byzantium and Egypt.
posted by adamvasco at 5:27 AM on December 8, 2009