Description
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive survey of the history of the Church in Western Europe, considers the Church both as a set of institutions and as a spiritual body. It examines the religious belief and practice from 9001050 as well as the rise of the papacy and the 'reform movement.'
Trade Review"This is a wonderful book, not the least because it will force all students of this revolutionary epoch, as Tellenbach also believes it was (p. 340), to rethink their presuppostions. The translation by Timothy Reuter is excellent, both accurate and elegant." John Van Engen, University of Notre Dame, Speculum-A Journal of Medieval Studies
"Gerd Tellenbach, professor emeritus at the University of Frieburg im Breisgau, ranks as one of the leading historians of the Middle Ages. His 1936 work Church, State and Christian Society at the Time of the Investiture Contest has become a classic. Now, in The Church in Western Europe, Tellenbach produces much more than a survey of a critical period in church history, and we are fortunate to have this work available in the eloquent translation of Timothy Reuter....Tellenbach brings a master's touch to complicated and controversial issues....[This book] will help to build a much needed bridge between the English speaking reader--from the advanced undergraduate on--and German medieval scholarship." Jay T. Lees, History
"...its greatest strength lies in the wealth and precision of its detail, the mature depth of its scholarship, and the richness of the ongoing bibliographic commentary that runs through its footnotes." Francis Oakley, Church History
"This is an outstanding translation of an outstading book.... English readers will be especially grateful that Professor Reuter has updated and expanded the bibliography in accordance with English practice as well." The Catholic Historical Review
"There is no book with which this one can be compared. It is more comprehensive that any existing study of comparable length and scope and, what is more, other books usually do not offer a few hours in the company of one of this century's greatest medievalists as he talks at length on the subjects that have engaged his attention and interest for more than six decades." American Historical Review
Table of ContentsTranslator's note; Author's preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Western Christendom and its environment in the tenth and eleventh centuries; 2. The church and its manifestations on earth; 3. The material existence of the churches and the clergy; 4. Religious life and thought; 5. The beginnings of the revolution in church history; 6. Gregory VII (1073–1085); 7. Continuing conflicts between established principles; 8. Pope, church, and Christendom; Epilogue; Select bibliography; Index.
