Storming out of the northern regions of Europe and Asia to the east, the Barbarians (those peoples who lived as nomadic tribes outside of the Roman Empire) burst on the historical scene in the early centuries of the Christian era. Lombards, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Alemanni, Angles, and Saxons, to name a few, overwhelmed and conquered vast portions of the Roman Empire from Gaul to North Africa. Even Rome itself was sacked in 410. Altering their way of life and adhering to Christianity, the Barbarian groups eventually settled down and became the basis for the nation-states and kingdoms that evolved in the Middle Ages. Here is the story of that turbulent period, including the types of arts and crafts the Barbarians developed, their family life, their methods of warfare and weapons, their markets and transactions, and their modes of transportation on land and sea.
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