I'm looking for books or articles in English on the Etrurian city of Luna.

June 10, 2007 8:55 PM

I'm looking for books or articles in English on the city of Luna, founded in Italy in 177 BC and destroyed in AD 1016. Specifically I'm trying to find information on the AD 859 sack of Pisa and Luna by viking raiders under the command of Hastein (or Hásteinn), but additional information on the city would be good too.
posted by Kattullus to Society & Culture (6 answers total)

I had a real quick look on the Library of Congress catalog, and all the hits I got were in Italian (using a subject search of 'Luna - extinct city' which is the relevant Library of Congress Subject Heading).

I also tried Hastein but without success, and browsed through the 'Pisa (Italy) History' subject - but again it looks as though most of the books are in Italian, or deal with later periods.
posted by Infinite Jest at 9:39 PM on June 10, 2007

Best answer: I've found an 1898 article about him (and the episode) on JSTOR. If you're somewhere that has JSTOR access, here's the link. Otherwise, email me (in profile) and I'll drop you a pdf
posted by nasreddin at 10:08 PM on June 10, 2007

For the record:

The name is apparently rendered "Hasting" or "Hastings" in English.

The author of the 1898 article, Wilbur C. Abbott, evidently thinks the story's hokum, and Marjorie Chibnall (2000) agrees.

The story of Hasting attacking Luna is apparently a retelling of the story of a legendary expedition of the mythic Bjorn Ironside.
posted by nasreddin at 10:30 PM on June 10, 2007

From an archaeological perspective:
Delano-Smith et al. 1986 "Luni and the Ager Lunensis: the rise and fall of a Roman town and its territory" Papers of the British School at Rome 54, 81-146.
Should be in the Sterling, if that'll help any.
posted by hydatius at 12:18 AM on June 11, 2007

Dammit, the Rock, not the Sterling. Getting my libraries mixed.
posted by hydatius at 2:29 AM on June 11, 2007

Once you find something, look at the bibliography/references for a list of dozens of related articles and books. This is so much easier than trying to identify related books yourself.
posted by bluenausea at 4:14 AM on June 11, 2007