History of religion Books

Book Synopsis37 studies of the adoption of Christianity across northern Europe over1000 years, and the diverse reasons that drove the process. In Europe, the cross went north and east as the centuries unrolled: from the Dingle Peninsula to Estonia, and from the Alps to Lapland, ranging in time from Roman Britain and Gaul in the third and fourth centuries to the conversion of peoples in the Baltic area a thousand years later. These episodes of conversion form the basic narrative here. History encourages the belief that the adoption of Christianity was somehow irresistible, but specialists show theunderside of the process by turning the spotlight from the missionaries, who recorded their triumphs, to the converted, exploring their local situations and motives. What were the reactions of the northern peoples to the Christian message? Why would they wish to adopt it for the sake of its alliances? In what way did they adapt the Christian ethos and infrastructure to suit their own community? How did conversion affect the status of farmers, of smiths, of princes and of women? Was society wholly changed, or only in marginal matters of devotion and superstition? These are the issues discussed here by thirty-eight experts from across northern Europe; some answers come from astute re-readings of the texts alone, but most are owed to a combination of history, art history and archaeology working together. MARTIN CARVER is Professor of Archaeology, University of York.Trade ReviewFor anyone interested in conversion and the multi-faceted outcomes born from cultures in contact, this interesting volume provides a useful insight, allowing scholars to both focus on their particular area of interest and to gain access to some valuable comparative material. * JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL ASSOCIATION *A galaxy of learned papers. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY An important contribution...that will still be cited for years to come. SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL A valuable compilation. * EHR *

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Book SynopsisA detailed investigation into the mysterious group of monks, the Céli Dé, who flourished in early medieval Ireland. The Céli Dé [`clients of God'], sometimes referred to as the Culdees, comprise the group of monks who first appeared in Ireland in the eighth century in association with St Máel Ruain of Tallaght. Although influential and important in the development of the monastic tradition in Ireland, they have been neglected in general histories. This book offers an investigation into the movement. Proceeding from an examination of ascetic practice and theory in earlymedieval Ireland, followed by a fresh look at the evidence most often cited in support of the prevailing theory of céli Dé identity, the author challenges the orthodox opinion that they were an order or movement intent uponmonastic reform at a time of declining religious discipline. At the heart of the book is a manuscript-centred critical evaluation of the large corpus of putative céli Dé texts, offered as a means for establishing a more comprehensive assessment of who and what céli Dé were. Dr Follett argues that they are properly understood as the self-identified members of the personal retinue of God, in whose service they distinguished themselves from other monks and monastic communities in their personal devotion, pastoral care, Sunday observance, and other matters. A catalogue of céli Dé texts with manuscript references is provided in an appendix. WESTLEY FOLLETT is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi.Trade ReviewThis contribution to the subject ought to be the standard work on this topic in the future. * CELTIC STUDIES ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER *An important book both for the study of insular monasticism and for research into the history of early Irish texts. In the meticulousness of its scholarship it provides a model for the latter. * . *Provides an important service to current and future scholarship. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *[A] masterful historiographic study. * CHURCH HISTORY *An excellent study. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Table of ContentsCéli Dé Historiography Irish Asceticism before céli dé Céli Dé as Reformers: The Evidence of the Tallaght Memoir A Survey of Texts Attributed to céli dé Towards a Reassessment of céli dé

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Book SynopsisAll aspects of the cult of St David, patron saint of Wales, are examined in this wide-ranging volume. The cult of St David has been an enduring symbol of Welsh identity across more than a millennium. This volume, published to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of the death of the saint, traces the evidence for the cult of St David through archaeological, historical, hagiographical, liturgical, and toponymic evidence, and considers the role of the cult and church of St David in the history of Welsh society, politics, and landscape. The collection includesa new edition and translation of the Life of St David by Rhygyfarch, based on the text in British Library Ms. Cotton Vespasian A.xiv, as well as new evidence concerning the relics of the saint enshrined in St Davids Cathedral. J. WYN EVANS is the Dean of St Davids Cathedral. JONATHAN M. WOODING is Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion in Celtic Societies at University of Wales Lampeter. Contributors: JULIA BARROW,JANE CARTWRIGHT, FRED COWLEY, JOHN REUBEN DAVIES, OWAIN TUDOR EDWARDS, J. WYN EVANS, G.R. ISAAC, DANIEL HUWS, DAVID HOWLETT, T.F.G. HIGHAM, HEATHER JAMES, JOHN MORGAN-GUY, L.D.M NOKES, HUW PRYCE, C. BRONK RAMSEY, MARK REDKNAP, RICHARD SHARPE, BERNARD TANGUY, +GLANMOR WILLIAMS, JONATHAN M. WOODING, W.N. YATES.Trade ReviewSt David of Wales is among those rare books that one can call epoch-making: it is a médaille d'or contribution to the history of Welsh Christianity. Seldom does one read an account of Wales's past as rich, substantial, comprehensive and satisfying as this one. [...] For decades to come, St David of Wales will be the first call for anyone seeking information on St David's life and cult, and on the history of the cathedral and diocese that bear his name. * WELSH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY *This is a collection of essays which is likely to have a long-term impact on Welsh ecclesiastical history. [...] A very useful and timely collection of essays which will do much to promote and stimulate debate of Welsh ecclesiastical history. * WELSH HISTORY REVIEW *A fine volume of essays. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *A significant landmark for those studying both Welsh history and hagiography in general. [...] There is certainly a wealth of information and detailed research here.and there is an excellent bibliography for those wishing to go further. * H-NET REVIEW, July 2008 *Table of ContentsThe figure of David - Jonathan M Wooding Transition and survival: St Davids and St Davids Cathedral - J. Wyn Evans The geography of the cult of St David: a study of dedication patterns in the medieval diocese - Heather James St Davids adn a new link with the Hiberno-Norse world - Mark Redknap Which text is Rhygyfarch's Life of St David? - Richard Sharpe Rhygyfarch's Life of St David - John Reuben Davies Some observations on the `Nero', `Digby', and `Vespian' recensions of Vita S. David - John Reuben Davies Armes Prydain Fawr and St David - Graham Isaac The cult of St Non: rape, sanctity and motherhood in Welsh and Breton hagiography - Jane Cartwright The cults of SS. Nonne and Divi in Brittany - Bernard Tanguy St David in the liturgy: a review of sources - Daniel Huws The office of St David in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, ms. lat. 17294 - Owain Tudor Edwards A triad of texts about St David - David R. Howlett The relics of St David: the historical evidence - Fred Cowley AMS radiocarbon dating of bones from St Davids cathedral - Thomas Higham Shrine and counter-shrine in 1920s and 1930s Dewisland? - John Morgan-Guy The archbishoprics of St Davids and the bishops of Clas Cynidr - John Reuben Davies The dynasty of Deheubarth and the church of St Davids - Huw Pryce The statutes of St Davids Cathedral 1224-1259 - Julia Barrow The crisis of the sixteenth century - Glanmor Williams The diocese of St Davids in the early nineteenth century: a reappraisal - Nigel Yates

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Book SynopsisAn account of how, in certain parts of sixteenth-century England, challenges to conventional piety anticipated the Reformation. Here is a richly detailed account of the relationship between Lollard heresy and orthodox religion before the English Reformation. Robert Lutton examines the pious practices and dispositions of families and individuals in relationto the orthodox institutions of parish, chapel and guild, and the beliefs and activities of Wycliffite heretics. He takes issue with portrayals of orthodox religion as buoyant and harmonious, and demonstrates that late medieval piety was increasingly diverse and the parish community far from stable or unified. By investigating the generation of family wealth and changing attitudes to its disposal through inheritance and pious giving in the important Lollard centre of Tenterden in Kent, he suggests that rapid economic development and social change created the conditions for a significant cultural shift. This study contends that in certain parts of England by the early sixteenth century piety was subject to dramatic changes which, in a number of important ways, anticipated the Reformation. Dr ROBERT LUTTON teaches in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham.Trade Review[An] impressive book.backed with a wealth of meticulously analyzed evidence, that it brings to bear as it engages key debates in the field. * SPECULUM *A thoughtful and convincing account that provides a more realistic picture than the happy and uniform Catholicism of recent revisionist writing. * HISTORY *A lucid, bold and rich prosographical study. * SOUTHERN HISTORY *[An] intelligent book.well written and thoughtful. * THE RICARDIAN, XVIII, 2008 *

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Book SynopsisA new interpretation of Celtic Christianity, supported by images of Christ taken from manuscripts, metalwork and sculpture, and showing how it departed from continental practice largely due to a differing perception and application of Pelagianism. Christ in Celtic Christianity gives a new interpretation of the nature of Christianity in Celtic Britain and Ireland from the fifth to the tenth century. The written and visual evidence on which the authors base their argument includes images of Christ created in and for this milieu, taken from manuscripts, metalwork and sculpture and reproduced in this study. The authors challenge the received opinion that Celtic Christians were in unity with Romein all matters except the method of Easter reckoning and the shape of the clerical tonsure. They find, on the contrary, that the strain of the Pelagian heresy which rooted itself in Britain in the early fifth century influenced the theology and practice of the Celtic monastic Churches on both sides of the Irish Sea for several hundred years, creating a theological spectrum quite distinct from that of continental establishments. MICHAEL W. HERRENis Professor of Classics and Distinguished Research Professor at York University (Toronto), a member of the Graduate Faculty at the Centre for Medieval Studies in the University of Toronto, and an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy; SHIRLEY ANN BROWN is Professor of Art History and a member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University.Trade ReviewThis comprehensive, if controversial, study of the Christology of the late antique and early medieval British church is undoubtedly one of the most learned and substantial contributions to appear in the field of Celtic Christianity. * MEDIEVAL REVIEW *Stimulating. * EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE *[The authors] have shed a great deal of light on many features of the early churches of Ireland and Britain. Their profound scholarship is manifested in countless ways. * THE INNES REVIEW *A fascinating picture of early Celtic Christianity [that] will be critical to subsequent scholarship. * SPECULUM *Nuanced and very well researched....Overall this is an important book. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *This is an important book....There is much of great value in this study. * JNL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *The writing is consistently engaging and renders the arcana of late-antique / early medieval religious thought eminently accessible and even compelling. * CELTIC STUDIES ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER *

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive examination of the English Catholic community in all its aspects. The half-century following the Glorious Revolution has been viewed as a time of retreat and withdrawal for English Catholics: the response to tightening penal laws, periods in exile and the failures of the Jacobite cause. This book argues that the perception has arisen because research has been directed into the wrong places. It aims to recapture the eighteenth-century Catholic 'recusant' imagination through a study of hitherto unexplored treatises, manuscript literature and private correspondence preserved in family and religious archives. Contrary to the image of seclusion, Catholic lives were penetrated by questions of national identity, religious liberty and the authorityof an international church: conflicts experienced not merely within their own nation, but in the European courts, seminaries and universities that supported them in exile. Their writings can be understood as commentaries on the state of a community trapped between the political, cultural and intellectual divisions that cut across the Roman Catholic world. Many were actively promoting change in church and state within Britain and Europe, and their argumentsshaped the emergence of a 'Catholic Enlightenment' that outlasted the commitment to Jacobitism. The English Catholic Community investigates Catholic education and family life, scholarship, poetry and spirituality. Itoffers a fresh contribution to debates surrounding the history of the Jacobite movement, the construction of British national identity, and the origins of the Enlightenment. Gabriel Glickman is Assistant Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Warwick.Trade ReviewA probing study. * NORTHERN HISTORY *[A] masterful and useful study. * ANGLICAN AND EPISCOPAL *Glickman's own work brilliantly succeeds in re-integrating English Catholics into their wider transnational confessional world. [...] We are presented with a nuanced and convincing portrait of a Catholic community torn between different imperatives. [It] is a major achievement. The maturity of judgement on display is rare in a first book [...] The English Catholic Community immediately becomes the core monograph for its subject. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Detailed, well informed, and fast paced. It adds a vitally important dimension to what is already known about eighteenth-century English Catholicism. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *This important book breaks new ground. [...] This well-written and sympathetic study offers a brilliant insight into an often forgotten Catholic world, and in doing so makes a vital contribution to late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century English history. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *This is an outstanding and clever book which provides a definitive treatment of English Catholicism and its relation to Jacobitism in the much neglected first half of the eighteenth century. [...] Never before has the story of such complexity and European breadth been narrated. * ROYAL STUART JOURNAL *Based on a wide reading of primary sources, and displaying a firm command of the subject's historiography, it is an extremely thorough, well-written, subtle and interesting study. As so often, one is struck by how sustained, painstaking research, rather than fleetingly fashionable methodologies, yields fine results. * HISTORY *An extraordinarily complex account and analysis, based on extensive scholarly research in manuscript holdings as well as printed texts that are difficult to locate. [...] This is an important book on a neglected subject and it brings much that is new both by way of material and interpretation. * H-WRBI *A triumph of archival recovery. [Glickman's] novel monograph is likely to produce a significant shift in perspectives on this period. * TLS *An important study of both the vigorous survival of recusant Catholicism in Britain and its considerable influence on the wider Jacobite community. It is, moreover, a nicely produced book. * THE JACOBITE *

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Book SynopsisThis book challenges the recently established consensus that the trial was a carefully prepared and executed judicial process in which the judges were amenable to reasonable arguments. Thomas More's treason trial in 1535 is one of history's most famous court cases, yet never before have all the major documents been collected, translated, and analyzed by a team of legal and Tudor scholars. This edition serves asan important sourcebook and concludes with a 'docudrama' reconstructing the course of the trial based on these documents. Legal experts H. A. Kelly and R. H. Helmholz take different approaches to the legalities of this trial, and four experienced judges [including Justice of the Queen's Bench Sir Michael Tugendhat] discuss the trial with some disagreements - notably on the meaning and requirement of 'malice' called for in the Parliamentary Act of Supremacy. More's own accounts of his interrogations in prison are analyzed, and the trial's procedures are compared to and contrasted with 16th-century concepts of natural law and also modern judicial practices and principles. The book is a 'must read' not only for students of law and Tudor history but also for all concerned with justice and due process. As a whole, the book challenges Duncan Derrett's conclusions that the trial was conducted in accord with contemporary legal norms and that More was convicted only on the single charge of denying Parliament the power to declare Henry VIII Supreme Head of the English Church [testified to by Richard Rich] - a position that has been uniformly accepted by historians since 1964. Henry Ansgar Kelly, Distinguished Research Professor, is past Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA. LOUIS W. KARLIN is an attorney with the California Department of Justice and Fellow of the Center for Thomas More Studies, University of Dallas. GERARD B. WEGEMER is Director of the Center for Thomas More Studies and Professor of Literature at the University ofDallas.Trade ReviewA valuable reference tool-all the more so as it includes twenty major documents, many otherwise not easily available and all translated into English, and a comprehensive bibliography.. [E]ssential reading for anyone interested in Thomas More's trial about which much remains controversial. * CERCLES *[A] clever and innovative volume. ... The essays are meticulously researched and legal jargon never gets in the way of historical understanding. Anyone interested in the particulars of one of the most renowned trials in history will find this book indispensable. * ANNUAL BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL LITERATURE *

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Book SynopsisThe Middle Ages saw a flourishing of mysticism that was astonishing for its richness and distinctiveness. The medieval period was unlike any other period of Christianity in producing people who frequently claimed visions of Christ and Mary, uttered prophecies, gave voice to ecstatic experiences, recited poems and songs said to emanate directly from God and changed their ways of life as a result of these special revelations. Many recipients of these alleged divine gifts were women. Yet the female contribution to western Europe's intellectual and religious development is still not well understood. Popular or lay religion has been overshadowed by academic theology, which was predominantly the theology of men. This timely book rectifies the neglect by examining a number of women whose lives exemplify traditions which were central to medieval theology but whose contributions have tended to be dismissed as 'merely spiritual' by today's scholars. In their different ways, visionaries like Richeldis de Faverches (founder of the Holy House at Walsingham, or 'England's Nazareth'), the learned Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch of Brabant (exemplary voice of the Beguine tradition of love mysticism), charismatic traveller and pilgrim Margery Kempe and anchoress Julian of Norwich all challenged traditional male scholastic theology. Designed for the use of undergraduate student and general reader alike, this attractive survey provides an introduction to thirteen remarkable women and sets their ideas in context.Trade Review'Andrea Janelle Dickens appeals to the mystic in every reader with her inviting and informative treatments of a dozen medieval women. For the widely known (Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and Hildegard of Bingen) as well as the less studied (Angela of Foligno, Richeldis of Faverches, and Mechtilde of Hackeborn) matters of love, location, authority, pilgrimage, and anti-clericalism are common themes. This readable introduction is the perfect primer for the religious studies or gender studies classroom and has ample scholarly apparatus to encourage further study.' - Mary E Hunt, Co-director, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), Silver Spring, Maryland. 'The Female Mystic will serve as an excellent introductory textbook to the life, works and thought of twelve leading women mystics, from 11th Century Richeldis of Faverches to 16th Century Teresa of Avila. The discussion throughout is balanced, informed and clear. The author has both an eye for detail and an admirable capacity to sketch an insightful overview of each figure against the background of her own historical period and within her own social contexts. In these pages the mystical texts emerge as distinctively female, though open-endedly so, and as a vital communication of the rich, multi-faceted world of medieval Europe. The Female Mystic will open up new horizons for any reader who wishes to come closer to these extraordinary texts and their authors.'- Oliver Davies, Professor of Christian Doctrine, King's College London.Table of ContentsCONTENTS: 1. Introduction 2. Richeldis de Faverches 3. Hildegard of Bingen 4. Christina the Astonishing 5. Hadewijch of Brabant 6. Mechtilde of Magdeburg 7. Mechtilde of Hackeborn 8. Angelina Foligno 9. Marguerite Porete 10. Julian of Norwich 11. Catherine of Siena 12. Margery Kempe 13. Theresa of Avila 14. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis'The present state of the old world is running up like parchment in the fire.' So declaimed Gerrard Winstanley, charismatic leader of radical religious group the Diggers, in mid-seventeenth century England: one of the most turbulent periods in that country's history. As three civil wars divided and slaughtered families and communities, as failing harvests and land reforms forced many to the edge of starvation, and as longstanding institutions like the House of Lords, the Established Church and even the monarchy were unceremoniously dismantled, so a feverish sense of living on the cusp of a new age gripped the nation."Radical Religion in Cromwell's England" is the first genuinely concise and accessible history of the fascinating ideas and popular movements which emerged during this volatile period. Names like the 'Ranters', 'Seekers', 'Diggers', 'Muggletonians' and 'Levellers' convey something of the exoticism of these associations, which although loose-knit, and in some cases short-lived, impacted on every stratum of society. Andrew Bradstock critically appraises each group and its ideas, taking into account the context in which they emerged, the factors which influenced them, and their significance at the time and subsequently. The role of political, religious, economic and military factors in shaping radical opinion is explored in full, as is the neglected contribution of women to these movements. Drawing on the author's long study of the topic, "Radical Religion in Cromwell's England" brings a remarkable era to vivid and colourful life.Trade Review'Andrew Bradstock has balanced affection and scholarship in his splendid introduction to a social and religious world in which much is bizarrely different, but much is prophetic of modern spiritual and political explorations. It is a pity that contemporaries did not have such a clear and unsensationalised guide to the radical religion of the Interregnum; it might have encouraged them not to subject James Nayler to bodily mutilation, flogging and perpetual imprisonment.' - Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford and author of A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years; 'The upheavals of the English civil war triggered an astonishing explosion of ideas - on religion, politics, society, economics and morality - that were unprecedented and without parallel in English history. These ideas crystallised in a succession of new movements: the pioneering democratic Levellers; communist Diggers; millenarian Fifth Monarchists, proclaiming an imminent kingdom of heaven on earth; and Quakers, fiery and combative evangelists who struck fear into most of their contemporaries. Andrew Bradstock brings these movements to vivid life, capturing their spirit and excitement, and explaining their ideas and appeal. He assesses, too, the challenge they presented to the government and to social order. His book provides an accessible, scholarly, and up-to-date introduction to all these groups, along with Baptists, Ranters and Muggletonians, and offers an ideal introduction for both undergraduates and general readers. Although most of these movements have long since vanished, Bradstock spells out in a stimulating conclusion how many of the concerns they raised - on democracy, authority, toleration, property rights, and gender, for example - remain pressing issues today.' - Bernard Capp, FBA, Professor of History, University of Warwick; 'At the heart of this important book is Andrew Bradstock's concern with the power of religious ideas to inspire political actionA" in the tumultuous years of the English revolution. He shows in lively and lucid prose how attacks on the established church and speculation about sin, salvation and religious truth had profound implications for seventeenth-century government and society. The writings, arguments and interventions of a remarkable array of individuals and movements are presented; Bradstock provides a balanced discussion of the latest scholarly debates on Quakers, Ranters, Levellers and the rest, but often he allows his subjects to speak for themselves with generous extracts from the vivid pamphlets in positions were defended, and enemies denounced. The author covers inspirational but ephemeral movements, like the Diggers who, energised by the extraordinary prose of Gerrard Winstanley, sought to make the earth a common treasury for allA", and other groups like Quakers and Baptists, who endure to this day. Students, more advanced scholars and all those concerned with the dramatic conflicts and fundamental debates of seventeenth century England will benefit enormously from Bradstock's book, and will be encouraged to reflect on the continuing relevance of his themes to contemporary concerns with religious freedom and social justice.' - Ann Hughes, Professor of Early Modern History, Keele UniversityTable of ContentsPreface Introduction Baptists Levellers Diggers Ranters Quakers Fifth Monarchists Muggletonians Conclusion Notes Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis is a unique collection of essays that brings together contributions from theology, aesthetics, social and political science, philosophy and cultural theory to examine the surge in the public visibility of religion.Since the late 1980s, sociologists have been drawing our attention to an international surge in the public visibility of religion. This has increasingly challenged two central aspects of modern western European culture: first, the assumption that as we became more modern we would become more secularised and religion would disappear; and secondly, that religion and politics should occupy radically differentiated spheres in which private conviction did not exert itself within the public realm. The new visibility of religion is not simply a matter of what Keppel famously called 'The Revenge of God', that is, the resurgence of Christian, Islamic and Jewish fundamentalism. Religion is permeating western culture in many different forms from contemporary continental philosophy, the arts and the media, to the rhetoric of international politicians.This collection of essays brings together a unique collection of voices from theology, aesthetics, social and political science, philosophy and cultural theory in an exploration of four major aspects of this new visibility of religion: the revision of the secularisation thesis, the relationship between religion and violence, the new re-enchantment of reality and the return of metaphysics. The exploration is conducted through essays by and interviews with figures at the forefront of reflecting upon this major cultural shift and its implications. It is distinctively multidisciplinary, examining the phenomenon of the rise of religion in Western Europe from a number of interrelated perspectives.In recent years the study of the nature and function of religion with respect to politics has seen enormous changes. This important series provides a range of books devoted to furthering this study, and aimed at those studying and researching in this area across both disciplines.Titles in this series look specifically at the relationship between religion and political culture. Drawing upon a broad range of religious perspectives, the series is open for studies of historical as well as current phenomena in political culture. It seeks not only to inform but to provoke debate at a time when religion is gaining increasing prominence in the public realm.Trade ReviewMention -Book News, February 2009'Useful not only for theologians but also for scholars in religious studies and cultural analysis.' -- Temenos: Nordic Journal of Comparitive ReligionTable of ContentsHoelzl, M. Ward, G. Introduction; I. Secularisation; Sweeney, J. Revising Secularisation Theory; Riordan, P. Five Ways of Relating Religion and Politics; Williams, R. Secularism, Faith and Freedom; II. Violence; Girard, R. Palaver, W. The Bloody Skin of the Victim; Palaver, W. The Ambiguous Cachet of Victimhood: On Violence and Monotheism; Huber, S. Visibility, Rivalry and Religious Identity; Eagleton, T. Ward, G.; III. Aesthetics; Larcher, G. 'Religion' in Modern Contemporary Art; Ornella, A. 'A Devil in a Midnight Mass': A Reflection on the Relationship between Media and Religion; Weibl, P. Larcher, G.; IV. Theology; Ward, G. Milbank, J. Hoelzl, M.; Scott, P.; Boeve, L. Religion after Detraditionalisation: Christian Faith in a Post-Secular Europe; V. Conclusion; Hoelzl, M. Ward, G.

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Book SynopsisThe Beauty of Holiness: The Caroline Divines and Their Writings offers an expansive and detailed portrait of the continued maturation of Anglican theology and devotion in the central half of the seventeenth century. The Caroline Divines have long been hailed as the patrons of an Anglican ‘golden age’. Their emphasis upon liturgical renewal and development, like their emphases upon learning and piety, have had a pervasive influence on the Anglican ethos that extends down to our own day. The Beauty of Holiness includes selections from key figures such as Lancelot Andrewes, John Cosin, and Jeremy Taylor, but also expands the canon of Caroline divinity to include lay writings, some of which were published posthumously. Traditional topics such as sacramental theology and private devotion are complimented by readings on poetry as a spiritual discipline, natural theology, and the importance of family prayers. Chapters survey diverse facets of Anglican orthodoxy such as liturgical practice, the cult of King Charles the Martyr, and defenses of the celebration of Christmas, while an introductory essay sets these developments within the historical context. The Beauty of Holiness thus functions as both an introduction to the Anglican past and a catechism for the Anglican present.Trade Review"Benjamin Guyer, in this strikingly variegated collection of writings, sets out to change the prevailing conception of the Caroline Divines and their significance...The strength of the book lies in its provision of a wide range of sources to illustrate the religious literature of the period." -- Rev W Brown Patterson * The Living Church *

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Book SynopsisThe nineteenth century was one of the most fascinating and volatile periods in Christian history. It was during this time that Christianity evolved into a truly global religion, which led to an ever greater variety of ways for Christians to express and profess their faith. Frances Knight addresses the crucial question of how Christianity contributed to individual identity in a context of widespread urbanisation and modernisation. She explores important topics such as the Evangelical revival led by the likes of the founder of the Christian Mission - later the Salvation Army - William Booth; the Oxford Movement under Newman, Keble and Pusey; Mormonism and Protestant revivalism in the USA; socialism and the impacts of Karl Marx and anarchism; continuing theological divisions between Protestants and Catholics; and the development of pilgrimage and devotion at places like Lourdes and Knock. Her book also examines the most significant intellectual trends, such as the rise of critical approaches to the Bible, and the different directions that these took in Britain and America. The author's unique emphasis on the 'ordinary' experience of Christians worldwide makes her volume indispensable for students and general readers who will be fascinated by this sensitive twenty-first century perspective on the nineteenth century.Trade Review'A series such as this is hugely welcome. Its emphasis on the history of ideas, and on the global - not just European - experience of Christianity and its manifestations of church, will be valued by students, scholars and general readers alike. The I.B.Tauris History of the Christian Church brings ecclesiastical history into a new era, for a new generation'. - Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford

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Book SynopsisWhile the book of Jonah is, in some ways, unique, it stands firmly in the Old Testament tradition. There have been various suggestions as to genre, the most likely being the (short) didactic story; but the aim of the author is not easy to discern. The authenticity of Jonah's message to the Ninevites is stressed, as is their repentance, and Yahweh's mercy. The purpose of the book must lie in a combination of these themes. Lamentations is a neglected book, perhaps because it was associated with the book of Jeremiah and considered almost as an appendix. On the question of genre it has the closest affinities with the psalms of lament; but, whereas it is very difficult to link a psalm with a specific historical event or period, the five chapters of Lamentations appear to have the Fall of Jerusalem as background. While gloom abounds, the careful reader discovers the faith of the author shining through. He is a "practical monotheist" who interprets the castastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem in the light of his faith.

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive study is unique in its chronological breadth, intellectual diversity and historical scope and which demonstrates the central role played by Sufism in Persianate culture in Iran, Central Asia and IndiaTrade Review‘This remarkable trilogy is likely to remain the definitive work in the field for many years.’ * Expository Times *Table of Contents1. Introduction 3 II. Persianate Sufism in Historical Perspective 19 III. Sufism and Society in Safavid Persia 63 IV. Sufism and Ishraqi and Aknarian philosophy 225 V. Esoteric Movements and Contemplative Disciplines 275 VI. Persianate Sufism in India, Central Asia and China 361 VII. Persianate Sufi Poetry in Iran and India 417

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Book SynopsisThis succinct but comprehensive study of the history of the Bahá’í Faith explores the religion from its origins in mid-nineteenth century Iran to the spiritual and social concerns of the present day, covering key people, places and events.Trade Review"Good, straightforward and authoritative; extremely readable." * World Congress of Faiths *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Part I: The Bábí Religion, 1844-53 1. The Islamic and Iranian Background 2. The Emergence of the Bábí Movement. 3. The Developemnt of a New Religion, 4. Conflict and Collapse, 1848-53 Part II: The Estabishment of the Bahá’í Faith 5. Bahá’u’lláh 6. The Writings and Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh 7. ’Abdu’l-Bahá 8. Bahá’í Communities, 1866 - 1921 Part III: The Bahá’í Faith since 1972 9. Shoghi Effendi 10. The Universal House of Justice. 11. Bahá’í Communities, 1866 - 1921 Conclusion Chronology of improtant dates Further reading Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe only comprehensive introduction to al-Farabi - the first Islamic philosopher to translate the works of Plato and Aristotle. This new survey from a leading scholar documents the philosopher's life, writings and achievements.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1 LIFE AND WORKS 2 AL-FĀRĀBI AND THE GREEK LEGACY The genesis of philosophy Philosophy and religion Presocratics, stoics and peripatetics Plato and his philosophy The philosophy of Aristotle The harmony of Plato and Aristotle 3 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES The interrelation of the sciences Logic and mathematics Physics and metaphysics Ethics and politics The Islamic sciences 4 AL-FĀRĀBI AS LOGICIAN The logical corpus The analysis of logical terms The demonstrative art Rhetoric and poetics 5 THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE The nature of scientific knowledge The various senses of the term ‘intellect’ (‘aql) The Active Intellect 6 EMANATION VERSUS CREATION The Neoplatonic legacy The nature of the First Being or the One The intellect, as the first emanation The heavenly bodies The material world The human soul and its faculties Prophecy and the imaginative faculty 7 ETHICAL THEORY The attainment of happiness The moral virtues and their acquisition Evil and not-being Justice and friendship 8 POLITICAL THEORY The principles of political association The master organ and the master ruler (ra’īs) The qualification of the chief ruler (ra’īs) The virtuous city The non-virtuous cities The outgrowths (nawābit) as a hybrid class Lawlessness and discord Political justice and religious piety The fate of the soul after death 9 AL-FĀRĀBI AND MUSIC 10 AL-FĀRĀBI IN HISTORY The triumph of Neoplatonism Al-Fārābi’s philosophical legacy Al-Ghazāli’s onslaught on Al-Fārābi and Ibn Sīna Ibn Bājjah and the Andalusian interlude Ibn Rushd (Averroes) Neoplatonism and Sufism Al-Fārābi and the West Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn evocative journey into a diverse culture, this is the engaging yet long-neglected story of Iran’s influence on the beliefs, practices, and scriptures of the world’s religious traditions. Spanning the full spectrum of Persian history from the earliest settlers right up to the present age, Foltz offers a fascinating and invaluable insight into not only Iranian identity, but also the way in which religious traditions grow and change.Table of Contents1. The Origins of Iranian Religion 1 2.. Zoroastrianism 17 3. Judaism 43 4. Buddhism 61 5. Christianity 77 6. Cnostic Traditions 97 7. Islam 115 8. The Babi Movement and the Baha'I faith 141 9. Religions in Iran today.

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Book SynopsisWandering dervishes formed a prominent feature of most Muslim communities well into the modern period, surviving in some regions even today. Shocking in appearance, behavior, and speech, these social misfits were revered by the public, yet denounced by cultural elites. /God's Unruly Friends/ is the first in-depth and comprehensive survey of this enigmatic type of piety, tracing the history of the different dervish groups that roamed the lands. As the definitive appraisal of this neglected topic, /God's Unruly Friends/ will fascinate both scholars of religion and those who seek to challenge and broaden their conception of Islam.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Renunciation through Social Deviance 3. Renunciation, Deviant Individualism, and Sufism 4. Ascetic Virtuosi 5. Dervish Groups in Full Bloom, 1200-1500 6. Dervish Groups in the Ottoman Empire, 1450-1550 7. Renunciation in the Later Middle Period 8. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisSt Augustine (354-430) is one of the towering figures of church history, widely regarded as the greatest of the early theologians. This study focuses on three major disputes in which he engaged: against the Manichees who denied the essential goodness of creation; against the Donatists with their exclusive views of the church; and against the British scholar Pelagius who in modern times is being rescued from his reputation as a heretic and is now thought to have said some good things. Gerald Bonner admits to having changed his views of Augustine and these disputes over the years; here we have the mature, considered reflection of a lifetime's work and study in this area.

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Book SynopsisAlcuin of York was one of the most significant figures of the Anglo-Saxon Church alongside Bede and Cuthbert. This introductory selection from his extensive writings includes Alcuin's prayers, poetry and prose.Trade Review'This beautifully produced book is a precious resource for all who seek to understand and follow the rule of St Benedict.' RENEW, Issue 149

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Movement sprang into life in the 1830s in reaction to the liberalisation of theology and in response to new freedoms for Catholics in society. It was an opportunity for Anglicans who regarded themselves as loyal to Rome, despite the interruption of the Reformation, to promote Catholic theology in the Church of England. A high doctrine of the Church and the sacraments, ritualistic worship and the revival of religious life - plus remarkable social work in slum areas - all characterise what we now call Anglo-Catholicism, still alive and well and accounting for a third of the C of E today. Here the writings of the leading lights of the Oxford Movement are introduced with a useful commentary and explanation.Trade Review"This collection by Professor Raymond Chapman is drawn heavily, and properly, from the Tracts and brings them in selected extracts before a new audience as they are not easily obtainable nowadays beyond the confines of academic libraries. It is the latest contribution to a series by the estimable Canterbury 'Studies in Spiritual Theology'. (...) It is an admirable enterprise. The books are short and accessible. Professor Chapman provides a clear introduction and leads succinctly into each extract and provides an excellent assessment of the Oxford Movement, its heirs and successors." -- Edward Benson, New Directions, December 2006.

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Book SynopsisFrank Dennison Maurice (1805-72) was arguably the most significant Anglican thinker of the modern age, with an immense influence on contemporary Anglican identity and understanding. Through a series of bruising encounters with his contemporaries, he pioneered a creative response to the critical challenges of modernity. Paying equal attention to contemporary criticism and orthodox Christian belief, he anticipated trends in later theology and set a pattern for reflection and negotiation that is familiar in Anglicanism today. In his work on the church's social witness, he founded Christian Socialism; in his writing on the doctrine of the church, he set out principles that remain central to Anglicanism today; he advocated a representative rather than a hierarchical theology of the ministry; and he established the formula of 'Scripture, creeds, sacrament and episopacy' which has guided Anglican approaches to inter-church relations for a century. This reader draws on sermons, pamphlets as well as his classic texts. An introductory essay explores the man and his remarkable legacy.Trade Review'Morris has organised a great variety of texts in a way that will interest many readers to learn more about Maurice. Morris's reader provides an interesting collection of texts that will help the reader to appreciate the main issue of Maurice's theology and the vibrant commitment of his faith'. -- The Living Church, October 2008

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Book SynopsisThe figure of Mary Magdalene has fascinated and perplexed people for centuries. She is portrayed in the Gospels as a neurotic woman, possibly with a past, yet she is the first to encounter the risen Christ and he charges her with the responsibility of proclaiming the resurrection. She is therefore Christianity's first evangelist - a difficult concept for churches with exclusively male hierarchies who prefer to think of her as just a reformed prostitute. The belief that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus and that the Church has tried to suppress this truth was not invented in recent years but is almost as old as Christianity itself. This gives a grand tour through 2000 years history, art and tradition with surprises and discoveries all the way.Trade Review'Mary Magdalene, despite her importance to the life and ministry of Christ, is the most enigmatic and puzzling figure in the Christian gospel. In 'Mary Magdalene'Robin Griffith-Jones examines ancient sources to give us a comprehensive, scholarly and impressively researched account of her discipleship and continued influence on the history of the Church. I found this book more enthralling than any secular mystery and for the first time felt that I understood something of the character of this frequently misunderstood saint. Beautifully written and illustrated, Mary Madgdalene will be as fascinating to lay people as it will be welcomed by theologians and historians. I congratulate the Master of the Temple on a fine and timely achievement.' -- P. D. James * 2008 *

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Book SynopsisA study of the significance of the death of Christ in the early Church by one of the UK's leading Patristics scholars.

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Book SynopsisPilgrimage was an integral part not only of medieval religion but medieval life, and from its origins in the 4th-century Meditteranean world rapidly spread to northern Europe as a pan-European devotional phenomenon. Drawing upon original source materials, this text seeks to uncover the motives of pilgrims and the details of their preparation, maintenance, hazards on the route, and their ideas about pilgrimage sites - especially Jerusalem, Compostela and Rome - and gives an account of the multiplicity of interest which grew up around the many shrines along the way. The period covered is from about 1000 AD to 1500 AD - before the first crusade and the beginning of the great growth in pilgrimage in the Orthodox church, Byzantine of Russia. The bibliography includes printed sources and a listing of secondary works.Table of ContentsPart 1 Pilgrimage down to the 12th century: the development of medieval European pilgrimage. Part 2 European pilgrimage c.110-c.1500: penitential pilgrimage, indulgences and jubilees, help and hazard -the pilgrim's experience; remembering pilgrimage - souvenirs; pilgrimage post mortem - wills; pilgrimage in one city - Pistoia. Part 3 Pilgrimage in one country - England: Englishmen abroad; pilgrimage in England; pilgrimage to and from Scotland; European visitors. Part 4 Verdicts on pilgrimage: criticism and evaluation of pilgrimage.

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Book SynopsisPublished by Boydell & Brewer Inc.

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Book SynopsisThe Henry Bradshaw Society was established in 1890 in commemoration of Henry Bradshaw, University Librarian in Cambridge and a distinguished authority on early medieval manuscripts and liturgies, who died in 1886. The Society was founded 'for the editing of rare liturgical texts'; its principal focus is on the Western (Latin) Church and its rites, and on the medieval period in particular, from the sixth century to the sixteenth (in effect, from the earliest surviving Christian books until the Reformation). Liturgy was at the heart of Christian worship, and during the medieval period the Christian Church was at the heart of Western society. Study of medieval Christianity in its manifold aspects - historical, ecclesiastical, spiritual, sociological - inevitably involves study of its rites, and for that reason Henry Bradshaw Society publications have become standard source-books for an understanding of all aspects of the middle ages. Moreover, many of the Society's publications have been facsimile editions, and these facsimiles have become cornerstones of the science of palaeography. The society was founded for the editing of rare liturgical texts; its principal focus is on the Western (Latin) Church and its rites, and on the medieval period in particular, from the sixth century to the Reformation. Study of medieval Christianity - at the heart of Western society - inevitably involves study of its rites, and the society's publications are essential to an understanding of all aspects (historical, ecclesiastical, spiritual, sociological) of the middle ages.

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