Trade, Gift-giving and Romanitas: A Comparison of the Use of Roman Imports in Western Britain and Southern Scandinavia

'Trade, Gift-giving and Romanitas' is a short but detailed study of the way in which elites outside of the Roman Empire used and imported Roman luxury items, focussing on Southern Scandinavia and Western Britain as case studies. It can be argued that these items were being used in the same manner in both regions, with local elites consciously trying to appear Roman in order to secure and legitimise their rule. Furthermore the distribution of these artefacts can tell us a significant amount about the internal structures of these 'barbarian' polities, their economic sophistication, and the role played by gift-giving in both societies.