Thinking With Dogs In Roman Britain: Lived Experience, Inequality, And Ritual In A Roman Province

Fleming, Robin (Professor Of History, Professor Of History, Boston College)

ISBN 10: 0198938942 / ISBN 13: 9780198938941

Published by Oxford University Press, 2026

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Thinking With Dogs In Roman Britain: Lived Experience, Inequality, And Ritual In A Roman Province
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198938942
• ISBN 13: 9780198938941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New

About this title

Synopsis

Thinking with Dogs in Roman Britain: Lived Experience, Inequality, and Ritual in a Roman Province argues that in Roman Britain, where little written evidence survives, some aspects of the past are more visible when we look not at people but instead focus on the dogs nipping at their heels. By examining the evidence of more than 1,700 Roman-period dogs preserved in structured deposits that Fleming suggests are the remnants of ritual acts, she provides a history of the relationships between canines and people living in a provincial context. The book begins by investigating the lives of real dogs in Britain under Rome, some of which were pampered working or personal animals, but many of which had hard lives and had to fend for themselves. It then explores how the period's authors used both pampered dogs and strays as metaphors, shedding light on issues of hierarchy, inequality, and enslavement. Finally it then turns to the widespread use of dogs as a material of religion, investigating their role as sacrificial animals and ritual agents, first in temple and shrine rituals and then in everyday household religion. Fleming concludes by asking what dogs did for ritual and what they can tell us about the making of Roman provincial culture.

About the Author

Robin Fleming, earlier in her career, wrote on the political history of Viking, Anglo-Saxon, and Anglo-Norman England; historical writing in the early Middle Ages; English law before the Common Law; Domesday Book; and nineteenth-century medievalism. She now investigates Roman and early medieval material culture and animals and writes history from archaeology. She has received fellowships from the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University; and the Guggenheim Foundation. She is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. This book is based on her 2022 James Ford Lectures in British History.