Ostrogoths vs. Franks: Imagining the Past in the Middle Ages

This introductory essay aims at highlighting some aspects concerning the connections between Ostrogoths and Franks in Middle Ages. To this end, cases from different contexts chronologies have been examined: firstly, Giovanni Villani’s chronicle, which conveys a polarized image of Gothic Carolingian worlds; then testimonies ninth century, that use Ostrogothic model connection with present more complex ambivalent manner. The various interpretations world are linked by tendency to emphasize historical analogies, leads an overall protracted disinterest specific forms society work most documents it, Cassiodorus’ Variae.