Peasant Revolts in Late Roman Gaul and Spain *

Many theories have been put forward to account for the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but not all of them have allowed sufficient importance to the prolonged series of revolts which broke out in late Roman times in the countryside of Gaul and Spain, as well as in other regions of the Empire. Our sources seem to suggest that these revolts were due primarily to the agricultural slaves, or at any rate that slaves played a prominent part in them. ¹ But the slaves certainly did not fight alone. They won allies from other sections of society including the middle classes—we even hear of a physician joining in their movement—so that if we refer to these risings as ‘peasant’ revolts we must recognize that we are using the word ‘peasant’ only for want of a better term. ² The rebels themselves in Gaul and Spain took on the name of Bacaudaethere is little MS. evidence for the form Bagaudae—which first makes its appearance in connection with one of their risings late in the third century and which soon came to be used by those against whom the peasants revolted. ³