This book is a regional study of what is now northern Lorraine during the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the accession of Charlemagne. It covers a broad range of historical themes, looking at all areas of society and the settlements in which it lived. Adopting a new multi-disciplinary methodology that integrates historical and archaeological evidence, it argues that early medieval society was not stagnant, as is often thought, but was both diverse and open to constant change.