History of religion Books

Book SynopsisThis book examines the part played by monks of Mount Athos in the diffusion of Orthodox monasticism throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. It focuses on the lives of outstanding holy men in the history of Orthodoxy who have been drawn to the Mountain, have absorbed the spirit of its wisdom and its prayer, and have returned to the outside world, inspired to spread the results of their labours and learning. In a remarkable demonstration of what may be termed ''soft power'' in action, these men have carried the image of Athos to all corners of the Balkan peninsula, to Ukraine, to the very far north of Russia, across Siberia and the Bering Strait into North America, and most recently (when traditional routes were closed to them by the curtain of communism) to the West. Their dynamic witness is the greatest gift of Athos to a world thirsting for spiritual guidance.Trade Review'Dr Speake's earlier volume Mount Athos: Renewal in Paradise has quickly come to be recognised as the best book on the subject. Its sequel, A History of the Athonite Commonwealth, has the same good qualities: clear, based closely on the sources, scholarly yet readable. It breaks new ground, and is an important addition to our knowledge of the Holy Mountain.' Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, Pembroke College, Oxford'In this intriguing and important book Graham Speake shows how from their beginning with St Athanasios in the tenth century the influence of the monks and monasteries of Mount Athos has spread far afield and continues today. It is a fascinating account that shows just why Athos matters so much.' Dame Averil Cameron, Professor Emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History and Warden of Keble College, University of Oxford'The monastic communities on Mount Athos play a central role in Orthodox Christianity. Graham Speake, who has already written a superb account of their millennium-long history on the peninsula, now demonstrates in a way that has never been done before how Athonite monasticism in its various forms has been intimately involved in the history of Orthodoxy worldwide. This is a unique and compelling book.' Reverend Andrew Louth, Emeritus Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, University of Durham'Its very unfamiliarity makes Graham Speake's survey of the spiritual diaspora of Mount Athos a surprising window on the faith that East and West are meant to share.' Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph'It is a book that takes the reader across to many different places and earthly nations. We see how in each of these the seeds of a common vision of the spiritual life as expressed through Athonite monasticism were planted and have borne fruit through the lives of manifold saints.' Nicholas Chapman, Orthodox Life'This new book provides an astonishing and rich panorama of the many ways in which monastic life on Mount Athos has influenced Christian life across the Orthodox world for more than 1000 years. The book is highly readable, and it is also very well illustrated … This is an outstanding book in every way, and a most valuable contribution not only to church history, but also to a fuller understanding of Orthodox Christianity around the world today.' Douglas Dales, Church Times'Before us is a well-conceived, methodologically consistent, and highly readable work which irrevocably ranks its author among the leading authorities on Mount Athos in the West today.' Vladeta Janković, Friends of Mount Athos Annual Report 2018Table of ContentsPart I: 1. Introduction; 2. The monastic life; Part II: 3. St Athanasios the Athonite (c.925–1000/1): founder of cenobitic monasticism on Athos; 4. The enlighteners of Georgia; 5. St Antony (983–1073) and St Theodosius (1035–1074) of Kiev: fathers of Russian monasticism; 6. St Sava (1175–1236): illuminator of Serbia; 7. St Gregory of Sinai (c.1265–1346): initiator of the 'Hesychast International'; 8. St Gregory Palamas (1296–1359): champion of hesychasm on Athos; 9. St Theodosius of Trnovo (c.1300–1363) and the Bulgarian school of hesychasm; 10. St Nikodimos of Tismana (1320–1406): transmitter of hesychasm to Wallachia; 11. St Sergius of Radonezh (1314–1392) and St Nil Sorsky (c.1433–1508): revivers of Russian monasticism; 12. St Maximos the Greek (c.1470–1556): enlightener of Russia; 13. St Kosmas the Aetolian (1714–1779): teacher of the Greek nation, apostle to the Albanians; 14. St Paisy Velichkovsky (1722–1794): reviver of hesychasm; 15. St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain (1749–1809): editor of the Philokalia; 16. Athos and the West; Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisIn 1598, the first English convent to be founded since the dissolution of the monasteries was established in Brussels, followed by a further twenty-one foundations, which all self-identified as English institutions in Catholic Europe. Around four thousand women entered these religious houses over the following two centuries. This book highlights the significance of the English convents as part of, and contributors to, national and European Catholic culture. Covering the whole exile period and making extensive use of rarely consulted archive material, James E. Kelly situates the English Catholic experience within the wider context of the Catholic Reformation and Catholic Europe. He thus transforms our understanding of the convents, stressing that they were not isolated but were, in fact, an integral part of the transnational Church which transcended national boundaries. The original and immersive structure takes the reader through the experience of being a nun, from entry into the conveTrade Review'Many contemporaries regarded enclosed convents as major spiritual, intellectual and even ideological statements about the nature of true religion. In the context of the changes of religion in England from the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the setting up of English convents in exile was a serious public intervention in the post-Reformation Church. This book draws on an impressive array of archival sources about these convents, and comprehensively and authoritatively reinstates them in the modern-day historiography of the British and European Reformation and Counter-Reformation.' Michael Questier, Research Chair, University of Vanderbilt, Nashville'This important contribution to the study of the Early Modern English Catholic diaspora, shows how the English convents established on the continent were not inward-looking institutions, but were fully engaged with the latest Counter-Reformation ideas and practices. The book gives a wide-ranging account of the convents in their first two centuries by focusing on how the nuns created a collective identity in exile.' Christopher Highley, Ohio State University'Here is a work that reads the English convents as they understood themselves. That is as all-female communities at the heart of European Catholic reformation, as nuns on mission for England and for the world. Their rich world of cloisters, kin, song, prayer, money, and networking is beautifully reconstructed and interrogated in this essential and original volume.' John McCafferty, University College Dublin'This broad-ranging study testifies to its author's in-depth knowledge of conventual archives … Its treatment of complex issues allies nuance and clarity, and those qualities contribute to making this monograph a great read.' Laurence Lux-Sterritt, British Catholic History'Kelly is to be congratulated for restoring the religious dimension to the discussion.' Thomas M. McCoog, Journal of Jesuit Studies'… Kelly's book is an outstanding and well-researched analysis which has finally shed light on a world which has not been properly understood and examined. One of the many merits of this book is to have described the rich array of details on the entrant nuns, their family background, the organization of the journey to mainland Europe, and their life inside the convent.' Matteo Binasco, Studi irlandesi'Kelly has convincingly demonstrated the need to situate English Catholic convents firmly within their wider European context and recognise them as particularly vigorous expressions of Tridentine Catholicism. His book will therefore be of great interest not only to scholars of early modern English Catholicism, but also to historians of the European Counter-Reformation more broadly …' Frederick E. Smith, English Historical Review'English Convents in Catholic Europe is a landmark monograph in several ways. Impeccably written and deeply researched, this magisterial work will set the standard for a dynamic field that is still largely in its infancy.' Jaime Goodrich, Early Modern Women'… Kelly offers a meaningful contribution to the study of the early modern English convents and their relationship to the Catholic Reformation-one that will guide and sustain future research into these communities and the nuns who entered them.' Jenna Lay, Church History'… it is essential that academia be reminded periodically that social activism or national sentiment does not explain why they abandoned so much for the cloister. Convents were more than a haven for more confessionally mobile English Catholics. Kelly is to be congratulated for restoring the religious dimension to the discussion.' Thomas M. McCoog, Journal of Jesuit Studies'[Kelly] is an engaging writer and uses a wide array of sources, including letters, obituary books, accounts, and spiritual treatises, to powerfully evoke the quotidian experiences of these women.' Colleen M. Seguin, American Historical Review'… This is an excellent survey based on close reading of the recent literature, which opens up new questions about the lives of these resilient and redoubtable women who contributed significantly to post-Reformation English and European Catholicism.' William Sheils, Journal of Ecclesiastical History'… an impressive study … The book provides a fascinating window into the collective experience of nearly four thousand English nuns in the period of the Catholic Reformation … [it] provides an important answer to anyone wondering what happened to the long tradition of English monasticism, and especially of convents, after the Dissolution.' Genelle Gertz, Renaissance QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Recruitment: familial and clerical patronage; 2. Embracing enclosure; 3. Material religious culture; 4. Financing the conventual movement; 5. Liturgical life: relics and martyrdom; 6. Networked: the convents and the world of Catholic exile; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisKriston R. Rennie examines the origins and development of medieval papal representation by exploring the legate's wider historical, legal, diplomatic, and administrative impact on medieval European law and society. This critical study is key to understanding the growth and power of the medieval Church and papacy in the early Middle Ages.Trade Review“Historians of the church and political historians interested in the rise of abstract coronal powers will be grateful for the detailed examination of the sources provided in this dense work. Medievalists with a special interest in the papacy, those who are captivated by the genius of Max Weber, or those who have a special shelf in their library for dog-eared treatises of a political-theoretical, juridical, canonistic, or legal-historical nature, will certainly wish to obtain a copy of this work.” (Michael Edward Moore, Early Medieval Europe, Vol. 26 (1), 2018)Table of Contents1. The Concept of Legation 2. Theories of Legation 3. Early Categories and Uses 4. Towards Standardization 5. On Becoming Legate 6. The Right of Legation 7. Legates and Councils 8. The Growth of Legation 9. A New Era

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Book SynopsisIn the Beginning: Chaos, Nyx and Ge/Gaia Athena/Neith/Metis: Primordial Creatrix of Self-Replication Artemis: Mother of the Wild, Patron of Amazons Hera: Queen of Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld Demeter and Kore/Persephone: Double Goddesses of Parthenogenesis Isis: Meri/Beloved and Mother of Horus Sophia: Divine Generative Force ConclusionTrade Review"Rigoglioso explores the power of virgin birth, or parthenogenesis, as the primal creative process. The clarity of her analysis reveals how pervasive and influential this motif and its rites were in the ancient world. Most interesting is her remarkable explication of the Eleusinian Mysteries, where - by her application of the 'missing piece' of virgin birth - she makes sense of much that has been passed over or ignored in the ancient texts. This is an original piece of scholarship that dares to imagine traditions at the foundation of Western culture in an entirely new light. As with any paradigm-shifting theory, some may challenge Rigoglioso's interpretations, but all readers will recognize that parthenogenesis, as a symbol of profound spiritual perception, could not have received a more articulate spokesperson. One feels in reading her work that she is writing from inside a tradition that we didn't even know existed, and the authenticity of her writing makes it all the more accessible and inviting." - Gregory Shaw, Professor of Religious Studies, Stonehill College and author of Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus "With this study, Rigoglioso has substantively corrected the common perception that 'a few' of the Greek goddesses have an inconsequential association with parthenogenesis. Her insightful explication of the parthenogenetic motif in the attributes of all the pre-Greek goddesses, as well as in the Thesmophoria and the Eleusinian Mysteries, establishes the generative powers of the Virgin Mother goddesses as a central dynamic in the pre-Greek substratum of Western religion." - Charlene Spretnak, author of Lost Goddesses of Early GreeceTable of ContentsIn the Beginning: Chaos, Nyx and Ge/Gaia Athena/Neith/Metis: Primordial Creatrix of Self-Replication Artemis: Mother of the Wild, Patron of Amazons Hera: Queen of Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld Demeter and Kore/Persephone: Double Goddesses of Parthenogenesis Isis: Meri/Beloved and Mother of Horus Sophia: Divine Generative Force Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis sweeping, exhaustively researched history is the first comprehensive account of the Peace of Westphalia in English. Bringing together the latest scholarship with an engaging narrative, it retraces the historical origins of the Peace, exploring its political-intellectual underpinnings and placing it in a broad global and chronological context.Trade Review“It provides a detailed but comprehensible account of the Westphalia negotiations that interweaves a narrative of events and an analysis of the structures and mechanisms of diplomatic interaction. … an informative and important book.” (David Parrott, The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 87 (4), December, 2015)'Here is everything one might want to know about the Peace of Westphalia and more. . . . Recommended.' - CHOICE 'A timely and extremely important study of the central peace settlement in modern European history, by the leading Anglophone historian of seventeenth-century European diplomacy. Derek Croxton's book is the most up-to-date study of the Peace of Westphalia in any language and will be essential reading for students of history and of international relations.' - Hamish Scott, Professor, University of Glasgow, UK 'Derek Croxton's scholarly, detailed account of the negotiations in Westphalia makes the actors' tangled motives, aims, tactics and assumptions comprehensible to the modern reader, thereby showing why a dreadful war continued for five years without even ending in a comprehensive peace. The peace settlement that emerged is seen not as the foundation of a new, modern international system, but as a distinctly Baroque product, the last effort at a Christian peace and the first of similar inconclusive settlements after major 17th-18th century wars - an important revisionist contribution.' - Paul Schroeder, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USATable of ContentsPART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction 2. The Thirty Years' War 3. Origins of the Congress of Westphalia 4. Governments and Goals 5. Structures PART II: NEGOTIATIONS 6. The Long Beginning 7. Foreign Satisfaction 8. German Issues PART III: CONCLUSION 9. Consequences 10. Foundations 11. Innovations

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Book SynopsisPaul Tillich is best known today as a theologian of mediation. Retrieving the Radical Tillich depicts the thinker as a radical theologian, strongly marked but never fully determined by the urgent critical demands of his time.Trade Review“This book of thirteen chapters and an introduction by Russell Re Manning, is an attempt to explore the nature and identity of the radical Tillich. … The papers are written for specialists and readers are expected to be familiar with a range of contemporary philosophical movements. … Russell Re Manning has done much to promote the study of Tillich. … His chapter and introduction in this book demonstrate the depth of his knowledge of, and engagement with, Tillich.” (Graeme Smith, Modern Believing, April, 2016)Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Real Tillich is the Radical Tillich, Russell Re Manning Part I: Tillich's Radical Legacy Chapter 1: A Homage to Paulus, Thomas J. J. Altizer Chapter 2: Paul Tillich and the Death of God: Breaking the Confines of Heaven and Rethinking the Courage to Be, Daniel J. Peterson Chapter 3: God is a Symbol for God: Paul Tillich and the Contours of Any Possible Radical Theology, Richard Grigg Chapter 4: The Nemesis Hex: Mary Daly and the Pirated Proto-Patriarchal Paulus, Christopher D. Rodkey Chapter 5: Parataxis and Theonomy: Tillich and Adorno in Dialogue, Christopher Craig Brittain Chapter 6: Peacemaking on the Boundary, Matthew Lon Weaver Part II: Tillich and Contemporary Radical Theologies Chapter 7: The Irrelevance and Relevance of the Radical, Impure Tillich, Michael Grimshaw Chapter 8: Socialism's Multitude. Tillich's The Socialist Decision & Resisting the U.S. Imperial, Mark Lewis Taylor Chapter 9: Changing Ontotheology. Paul Tillich, Catherine Malabou and the Plastic God, Jeffrey W. Robbins Chapter 10: Can there be a theology of disenchantment? Speculative Realism, Correlationism, and Unbinding the nihil in Tillich, Thomas A. James Chapter 11: Depth and the Void: Tillich and i ek via Schelling, Clayton Crockett Chapter 12: The Critical Project in Schelling, Tillich and Goodchild, Daniel Whistler Chapter 13: Correlating the Death of God. Paul Tillich and Radical Philosophical Atheism, Russell Re Manning

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Book SynopsisInvestigating the impact of Arabic medieval astrological and magical theories on early modern occult philosophy, this book argues that they provided a naturalistic explanation of astral influences and magical efficacy based on Aristotelian notions of causality.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Arabic Theories of Astral Influences: Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi 2. Arabic Theories of Astral Magic: The De radiis and the Picatrix 3. Textual and Intellectual Reception of Arabic Astral Theories in the Twelfth Century 4. Magic in the Thirteenth Century: Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon 5. Early Modern Astral Magic: Marsilio Ficino 6. True Magic and Astrology of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 7. The Magic and Astrology of John Dee 8. Celestial Souls and Cosmic Daemons Conclusion

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Book SynopsisMedieval Welsh Pilgrimage, c.1100–1500 examines one of the most popular expressions of religious belief in medieval Europe—from the promotion of particular sites for political, religious, and financial reasons to the experience of pilgrims and their impact on the Welsh landscape.Trade Review“Pilgrimage in and beyond Wales is the concern of this New Middle Ages study. Well-written and with an attractive subject, it is a first-class addition to the series. … Kathryn Hurlock has produced a book which really should be bought by libraries, put on reading lists, and used by everyone with an interest in pilgrimage and the medieval world.” (Andrew Breeze, Mediaevistik, Vol. 32 (1), 2019)“The volume is an extremely well researched study of pilgrimage in medieval Wales that demonstrates how popular many of these sites remained in the early sixteenth century. It is packed with interesting insights relating to the pilgrim’s experience and deftly weaves together historical and literary sources to shed fresh light on a wide range of Welsh pilgrimage sites.” (Jane Cartwright, Speculum, Vol. 96 (2), April, 2021)Table of Contents1. Introduction.2. Promotion and Reward.3. Distance, Duration, and Difficulty.4. Authentic Pilgrimage.5. Family and Locality.6. Virtual Pilgrimage.7. Politics and Pilgrimage.8. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis volume investigates the physical evidence for magic in medieval and modern Britain, including ritual mark, concealed objects, amulets, and magical equipment.Trade Review“This is a fascinating, educational, elegantly written, and well-argued collection which pushes the boundaries of mainstream historical and archaeological research, shining a light on a very important subject so far over-neglected. I strongly believe that it should be considered as required reading for undergraduate and graduate students of different disciplines, and for field archaeologists especially involved in commercial archaeology.” (Debora Moretti, Magic Ritual and Witchcraft, Vol. 13 (1), 2018)“Ronald Hutton, Timothy Eastham and their fellow contributors are to be congratulated on a book full of interest. … the book is largely concerned with the English evidence but with a final glance at Australia and United States. Its great merit is that it takes seriously as a subject of study the puzzling graffiti scratched, drawn and painted in buildings. … the book is really the beginning of a conversation rather than the last word on the subject.” (Richard Suggett, Archaeologia Cambrensis, Vol. 166, 2017)Table of Contents1. Introduction; Ronald Hutton 2. Magic On The Walls: Ritual Protection Marks in the Medieval Church; Matthew Champion 3. Apotropaic Symbols and Other Measures for Protecting Buildings Against Misfortune; Timothy Easton 4. Instances and Contexts of the Head Motif in Britain; John Billingsley 5. Witch Bottles: Their Contents, Contexts and Uses; Brian Hoggard 6. Concealed Animals; Brian Hoggard 7. Shoes Concealed In Buildings; June Swann 8. Garments Concealed Within Buildings: Following the Evidence; Dinah Eastop 9. Spiritual Middens; Timothy Easton 10. Textual Evidence For The Material History Of Amulets In Seventeenth-Century England; Alexander Cummins 11. Amulets: The Material Evidence; Tabitha Cadbury 12. Cunning-Folk and the Production of Magical Artefacts; Owen Davies and Timothy Easton 13. The Wider Picture: Parallel Evidence in America and Australia; Ian Evans, M. Chris Manning and Owen Davies

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Book SynopsisThis book helps explain some of Max Weber's key concepts such as charisma, asceticism, mysticism, pariah-people, prophets, salvation, and theodicy and places them within the context of Weber's sociology of religion.Table of ContentsPreface PART I: CONCEPTUAL CONTEXTS 1. Introduction 2. From Roman Agrarianism to Sociology of Religion 3. Conceptual Influences and Developments PART TWO: FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS 4. Asceticism and Mysticism 5. Prophets and Pariah-people 6. Salvation and Theodicy 7. Charisma Bibliography

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Book SynopsisWerewolf Histories is the first academic book in English to address European werewolf history and folklore from antiquity to the twentieth century. It covers the most important werewolf territories, ranging from Scandinavia to Germany, France and Italy, and from Croatia to Estonia.Trade Review“Werewolf Histories is a fascinating look at the diversity of beliefs about werewolves, and a valuable reminder of the different contexts in which these beliefs occur. … Werewolf Histories is packed with fascinating analysis of an under-examined piece of folklore. It’s particularly compelling because of the way in which it looks at the phenomenon of werewolf belief from several different scholarly perspectives.” (James Holloway, Fortean Times, Vol. 335, December, 2015)'The volume's aims, as outlined in de Blécourt's introductory essay, are met by the essays collected, particularly the stated intention to mark a 'transition from popular werewolf publications to academic historical perspectives'. The clear and nuanced historical perspectives presented certainly set the volume apart from the putative 'werewolf history' presented in the popular publications that are commonly cited in studies of contemporary literary and cinematic werewolves.' Hannah Priest, Swansea University, UKTable of Contents1. The Differentiated Werewolf: An Introduction to Cluster Methodology; Willem de Blecourt 2. Good to Think: Wolves and Wolf-men in the Graeco-Roman World; Richard Gordon 3. Into the Wild: Old Norse Stories of Animal Men; Christa Agnes Tuczay 4. Before the Werewolf Trials: Contextualising Shape Changers and Animal Identities in Medieval North-Western Europe; Aleksander Pluskowski Interlude: Wolf-Riding 5. "What About Some Good Wether?" Witches and Werewolves in 16th Century Italy; Matteo Duni 6. "Species", "Phantasia", "Raison": Werewolves and Shape-shifters in Demonological Literature; Johannes Dillinger 7. The Judge's Lore? The Politico-Religious Concept of Metamorphose in the Peripheries of Western Europe; Rita Voltmer 8. The Werewolf in the Popular Culture of Early Modern Germany; Rolf Schulte Interlude: The Shepherd of Wolves 9. Estonian Werewolf History; Merili Metsvahi 10. The Werewolf in Nineteenth-Century Denmark; Michele Simonsen 11. Dead Bodies and Transformations: Werewolves in Some South Slavic Folk Traditions; Maja Pasaric

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Book SynopsisAsia, Modernity, and the Pursuit of the Sacred examines a large number of Europeans who, disillusioned with western culture and religion after World War I, and anticipating the spiritual seekers of the counterculture, turned to the religious traditions of Asia for inspiration.Trade Review“This book provides a unique and Creative thesis about which scholars of Asia would do well to think critically in their studies of religion and culture and in reconsidering their methodologies. … I imagine a broad audience would find it inaccessible. Therefore this book is recommended for Asian studies and religious studies scholars interested in the theoretical questions relevant to their disciplines.” (Brooke Schedneck, SOJOURN - Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 32 (1), February, 2017)Table of Contents1. Anthropology and the Limits of Secular Reason 2. Gnosticism and the Pursuit of the Sacred 3. Traditionalism: a Dialectic of Authenticity 4. Gnostics, Religion and the (Mis)Recognition of Modernity 5. Modern Mystics: Towards a Gnostic Science 6. The Inner Journey of the Gnostic Self: Ethics and Politics 7. Other Worlds or Ours? Sacred/Secular/Gnostic/Modern 8. What if Culture Didn't Matter? Asian Studies and the New Universalism(s)

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