I've always been fascinated by the idea that invading barbarians brought about the 'dark ages'. I was interested if there are any books that deal with western europe in the early medival period and challenge the assumption that technology, civilization and culture regressed.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions of research.
Edit. Early medieval rather than early dark ages.
the idea that invading barbarians brought about the 'dark ages'
Unfortunately, this is a rather outdated idea these days. Academia largely rejects the use of the term or the description of the post-Roman period as the 'Dark Ages'. Using it as a synonym for the Medieval Period is most assuredly Not Cricket, though I'll leave it to the Early Medievalists to weigh in on whether or not they like it as a name for the period 400-1000. As for the barbarian invasions...well.
Something Definitely Happened to Rome in the 400s, though exactly how catastrophic or bad that Something is is...debated. As it's a popular topic, I've got a compilation of previous posts for your perusal. I've made sure to choose answers that have sources linked beneath, so you can skip to the bibliography if you're short on time, but I highly advise reading through them.
More links in next post.
I would like to share a previous response of mine (in addition to the one already shared by u/DanKensington, many thanks) that discusses the “collapse” of the Roman Empire, or rather that it didn’t collapse so much as it became something new.