During Late Antiquity, the Roman aristocrats living in Gaul were faced with the intriguing dilemma of btheir own true identity. When the Germans assailing the Roman Empire's borders conquered one piece of Gaul after another, the notion of Eternal Rome was shaken. The simultaneous spreading og Christianity among the elite introduced new ways of understanding the significance of Rome. This book focuses on how the Gauls of Late Antiquity perceived their Roman identity. Special attention is paid to ways of creating and maintaining the Roman identity by seeking and holding offices of the Roman Empire.
The identity symbols, emotions as well as ethical and moral perceptions associated with the offices, are discussed in more detail. The status related tensions between a Roman office-holder and the emperor, as well as the impact of Christianity and the German pressure on the notions and traditions related to office-holding, are highlighted separately. Thanks to the close-reading technique employed in the book, the Gauls of Late Antiquity acquire a strong voice of their own. The interpretations of the text seek to insert the Gauls' ways of thinking as widely as possible in the contexts of cultural, social and political traditions of Late Antiquity.

During Late Antiquity, the Roman aristocrats living in Gaul were faced with the intriguing dilemma of btheir own true identity. When the Germans assailing the Roman Empire's borders conquered one piece of Gaul after another, the notion of Eternal Rome was shaken. The simultaneous spreading og Christianity among the elite introduced new ways of understanding the significance of Rome. This book focuses on how the Gauls of Late Antiquity perceived their Roman identity. Special attention is paid to ways of creating and maintaining the Roman identity by seeking and holding offices of the Roman Empire.
The identity symbols, emotions as well as ethical and moral perceptions associated with the offices, are discussed in more detail. The status related tensions between a Roman office-holder and the emperor, as well as the impact of Christianity and the German pressure on the notions and traditions related to office-holding, are highlighted separately. Thanks to the close-reading technique employed in the book, the Gauls of Late Antiquity acquire a strong voice of their own. The interpretations of the text seek to insert the Gauls' ways of thinking as widely as possible in the contexts of cultural, social and political traditions of Late Antiquity.