The study of slavery in the early and central middle ages: Old problems and new approaches

Abstract Traditionally treated separately from the Mediterranean slavery of the later middle ages, the study of slavery in the early and central middle ages has mostly fixated on locating and explaining the disappearance of Roman slavery and its replacement with serfdom. Marc Bloch provided the seminal study for this line of inquiry. While subsequent scholars have debated Bloch's approach to defining medieval slavery, his proposed causes for its disappearance, and the timing and pace of the transition, most studies nevertheless continue in the tradition of attempting to answer his question. Some recent studies, however, have moved away from this question altogether to elucidate the continued significance of slavery in various societies of the central middle ages.