The Rise of Western Christendom

Peter Brown is Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, and the Royal Historical Society. His previous books include Augustine of Hippo: A biography (1967, second revised edition, 2000); Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity (1982); The Body and Society: Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1989); Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire (1992) and Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire (2001).

List of Maps. Preface. Introduction. Part I: Empire and Aftermath: AD 200-500. 1. 'The Laws of Countries": Prologue and Overview. 2. Christianity and Empire. 3. Tempora Christiana: Christian Times. 4. Virtutes sanctorum . strages gentium: "Deeds of Saints . Slaughter of Nations". 5. On the Frontier: Noricum, Ireland, and Francia. Part II: Divergent Legacies: AD 500-750. 6. Reverentia, rusticitas: Caesarius of Arles to Gregory of Tours. 7. Bishops, City, and Desert: East Rome. 8. Regimen animarum: Gregory the Great. Part III: The End of Ancient Christianity: AD 600-750. 9. Powerhouses of Prayer: Monasticism in Western Europe. 10. The Making of a Sapiens: Religion and Culture in Continental Europe. and in Ireland. 11. Medicamenta paenitentiae: Columbanus. 12. Christianity in Asia and the Rise of Islam. 13. "The Changing of the Kingdoms": Christians under Islam. 14. Christianities of the North: Ireland. 15. Christianities of the North: The Saxons of Britain. 16. Micro-Christendoms. Part IV: New Christendoms: AD 750-1000. 17. The Crisis of the Image: The Byzantine Iconoclast Controversy. 18. Closing the Frontier: Frisia and Germany. 19. "To Rule the Christian People": Charlemagne. 17. In gear gagum: "In Days of Yore": Northern Christendom and its Past. Notes. Coordinated Chronological Tables. Bibliography: Primary Sources; Secondary Sources. Index.