Oxford historians In recent years, scholars associated with University of Oxford have been leading what Guy Halsall describes as a "counter-revisionist offensive" against the more "subtle ways of thinking" of the Vienna School and Toronto School. Historian Peter Heather is considered the senior figure among them. Heather disagrees with both the core-tradition theory pioneered by the Vienna School, and the theories of the Toronto School. Heather contends that it was the freemen who constituted the backbone of Germanic tribes, and that the ethnic identity of tribes such as the Goths was stable for centuries, being held together by the freemen. He traces the Fall of the Western Roman Empire to external migration triggered by the Huns in the late 4th century. The theory of the barbarians peacefully being absorbed by the Western Roman Empire rather than invading it, as proposed by the Vienna School and the Toronto School, has been described by Heather as one which "smells more of wishful thinking than likely reality". Like Liebeschuetz, Heather describes such theories as being boosted through "huge" support from the European Science Foundation, which, in order to advance a pan-European ideal, has sought to minimize the importance of migration and ethnic identity in the Migration Period. Heather notes that despite such tremendous efforts, these revisionist theories are yet to be generally accepted.
Oxford historians In recent years, scholars associated with University of Oxford have been leading what Guy Halsall describes as a "counter-revisionist offensive" against the more "subtle ways of thinking" of the Vienna School and Toronto School. Historian Peter Heather is considered the senior figure among them. Heather disagrees with both the core-tradition theory pioneered by the Vienna School, and the theories of the Toronto School. Heather contends that it was a freemen class between slaves and nobles who constituted the backbone of Germanic tribes, and that the ethnic identity of tribes such as the Goths was stable for centuries, being held together by these freemen. He traces the Fall of the Western Roman Empire to external migration triggered by the Huns in the late 4th century. The theory of the barbarians peacefully being absorbed by the Western Roman Empire rather than invading it, as proposed by the Vienna School and the Toronto School, has been described by Heather as one which "smells more of wishful thinking than likely reality". Like Liebeschuetz, Heather describes such theories as being boosted through "huge" support from the European Science Foundation, which, in order to advance a pan-European ideal, has sought to minimize the importance of migration and ethnic identity in the Migration Period. Heather notes that despite such tremendous efforts, these revisionist theories are yet to be generally accepted.
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