1. GREGORY THE GREAT & THE EARLY PAPACY: STUDIES

 

Eamon Duffy, Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes, 3rd ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007) paperback, $19.  A magnificently illustrated one-volume history of the papacy originally designed to accompany a 6-part television series.  Duffy, a Reformation historian by training, threads his way with finesse through a complex, many-sided history.  His well-written & smooth narrative sometimes glides over debates between scholars on various issues, especially those concerning the early history of the papacy.  A superb point-of-entry and overview.

 

R.A. Markus, Gregory the Great and His World, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997) paperback, $23. Some have called Gregory (d.604) the first medieval pope.  Like his medieval successors, Gregory was an able local administrator who repaired Rome’s aqueducts and fended off barbarian invaders; he also saw the papacy in a world-wide perspective, offering sage pastoral guidance to Christians in North Africa and initiating the great Christian mission to England.  He also lived in a world that was falling apart: an empire collapsing around him, an Italy devastated by the Black Plague.  He saw himself as pope for the endtimes—and spoke movingly of the meaning of suffering in his magisterial sermons on the Book of Job.

 

John A. Cavadini, ed., Gregory the Great: A Symposium, Notre Dames Studies in Theology (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001) paperback, $16.

G.R. Evans, The Thought of Gregory the Great (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986).

J.N.D. Kelly, Oxford Dictionary of Popes (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986) paperback, $16.  Superb.  Entries are arranged chronologically, so that it be read straight through.

Robert A. Markus, From Augustine to Gregory the Great (London: Variorum Reprints, 1983).  A valuable collection of essays.  See especially: “Gregory the Great and the Origins of Papal Missionary Strategy,” reprinted from Studies in Church History 6 (1970) 29-38.

William D. McCready, Signs of Sanctity: Miracles in the Thought of Gregory the Great, Studies and Texts 91 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1989).

Richard McBrien, Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997) paperback, $20.

Bernard McGinn, The Growth of Mysticism: 500 to 1200 A.D. (New York: Crossroad, 1994) paperback, $30.  See Chapter 2 (pp. 34-79) for a superb study of Gregory as a contemplative.

Thomas F.X. Noble, The Republic of St. Peter: the Birth of the Papal State, 680-825, Middle Ages Series (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1984) paperback, $21.

Joan M. Petersen, The Dialogues of Gregory the Great in Their Late Antique Cultural Background, Studies and Texts 69 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1984).

Carole Straw, Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection, Transformation of the Classical Heritage 14 (Berkeley: University of California, 1988).

 

 2. GREGORY VII & THE MEDIEVAL PAPACY: STUDIES

 

Colin Morris, The Papal Monarchy: The Western Church from 1050 to 1250, Oxford History of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991) paperback, $60.  A fine study of the rise of the papacy, but also a first-rate survey of the crucial period which witnessed the ascendancy of much else: of the Crusades, of heresy, of the universities, of the mendicants.

 

Gerd Tellenbach, The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the Early Twelfth Century, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993) paperback, $32.  Tellenbach, one of the deans of medieval studies, offers a nuanced study of the period that marks the rise of the papacy.  He skillfully debunks easy-going generalizations about papal power and about church-state relations.  Not for beginners. 

 

Geoffrey Barraclough, The Medieval Papacy, Library of World Civilization (New York: W.W. Norton, 1979) paperback, $16.  A well-written introduction, fine illustrations.

Uta-Renate Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, Middle Ages Series (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988) paperback, $20.

Uta-Renate Blumenthal, Papal Reform and Canon Law in the 11th and 12th Centuries (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1998).  Collected essays.

H.E.J. Cowdrey, Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) hardcover, $165.

Kathleen Cushing, Papacy and Law in the Gregorian Revolution, Oxford Historical Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) hardcover, $100.

Kathleen G. Cushing, Reform and the Papacy in the Eleventh Century: Spirituality and Social Change (Manchester: University of Manchester Press, 2005) paperback, $23.

Detlev and Horst Fuhrman, Papal Letters in the Early Middle Ages, History of Medieval Canon Law (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2001).

Richard Krautheimer, Rome, Profile of a City, 312-1308 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980).

C.H. Lawrence, ed., The English Church & the Papacy in the Middle Ages (Sutton, 1999) paperback.

Aristeides Papadakis & John Meyendorff, The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy: The Church, 1071-1453 A.D. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1994) paperback, $19.  An orthodox viewpoint.

Kenneth Pennington, Popes and Bishops: The Papal Monarchy in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1984).

James M. Powell, ed., Innocent III: Vicar of Christ or Lord of the World? (Washington, DC: Catholic University Press, 1994) paperback, $15.

Christopher Ryan, ed., Religious Roles of the Papacy: Ideals and Realities, 1150-1300, Papers in Mediaeval Studies 8 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1989.

I.S. Robinson, The Papacy, 1073-1198: Continuity and Innovation, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990).

Jane Sayers, Innocent III, Leader of Europe, 1198-1216 (New York: Longman, 1994) paperback, $19.

Bernhard Schimmelpfennig, The Papacy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992) paperback, $30. Disappointing.

Gerd Tellenbach, Church, State, and Christian Society at the Time of the Investiture Contest, Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 27 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991/ 1940) paperback, $14.

Susan Wood, The Proprietary Church in the Medieval West (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) hardcover, $199.  NEW.

 

 3. THE MEDIEVAL PAPACY: TEXTS

 

Brian Tierney, ed., The Crisis of Church and State, 1050-1300, Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 21 (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1988) paperback, $13.  One of the best collections of material on the Investiture Controversy and the Gregorian reform. 

 

H.E.J. Cowdrey, The Register of Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085: An English Translation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover, $130.  Gregory’s grand vision of the papacy is best found in his letters.  This is a new translation of key documents from the medieval papacy. 

 

Bernard of Clairvaux, Five Books of Consideration: Advice to a Pope, Cistercian Fathers 13, trans. John D. Anderson & Elizabeth T. Keenan (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1976) paperback, $10.  When one of Bernard’s protégés was elected pope, Eugenius III (d.1153), Bernard sent him a stern admonition on the duties and perils of his new position. 

 

Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care [Regula pastoralis], Ancient Christian Writers 11 (Westminister, MD: Newman Press, 1950).

Gregory the Great, Gregory the Great: Forty Gospel Homilies, trans. Dom David Hurst (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1990).

Innocent III, Between God and Man: Six Sermons on the Priestly Office, Medieval Texts in Translation, trans. Corinne J. Vause & Frank C. Gardiner (Washington, DC, 2004) paperback.

The Deeds of Pope Innocent III, by an Anonymous Author, trans. James M. Powell (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2004) hardcover.

 

 4. THE CRUSADES: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Jonathan Riley-Smith, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) paperback, $25.  The place to start.  When Urban II called the first crusade in 1096, he embarked Western Christendom on a path that would last for centuries: the idea of an armed pilgrimage.  It is a complex many-sided affair with Riley-Smith traces out with great skill.

 

Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, trans. John Gillingham (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), paperback, $18.

Eric Christiansen, The Northern Crusades (New York: Penguin USA, 1998) paperback, $16.

Robert de Clari, The Conquest of Constantinople, Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 36, trans. Edgar Holmes McNeal (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997) paperback, $14.

John France, The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom, 1000-1714 (New York: Routledge, 2005) paperback, $30.

Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives (New York: Routledge, 2000) paperback, $50. 

Norman Housley, The Later Crusades, 1274-1580: From Lyons to Alcazar (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) paperback, $30.

Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (New York: Schocken Press, 1985) paperback, $16.

Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, 2nd ed., trans. John Gillingham (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988).

Edward M. Peters, The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, Middle Ages Series (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998) paperback, $20.

Jean Richard, The Crusades, c.1071-c.1291, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).

Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: a Short History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990) paperback, $20.

Jonathan Riley-Smith, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Middle Ages Series (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988) paperback, $20.

Steven Runciman, History of the Crusades, 3 volumes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951-1954) paperback, $26 per volume.  Dated, but a classic.

Donald E. Queller, The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 2nd ed. (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999) paperback, $20.

Joseph Strayer, The Albigensian Crusades (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1992) paperback, $18.

Geoffrey de Villehardouin & Jean de Joinville, Chronicles of the Crusades, trans. Margaret R. Shaw (New York: Penguin Book, 1963) paperback, $14.

 

 5. THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE & THE GREAT SCHISM

 

J.M. Hussey, The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, Oxford History of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986) paperback, $56.  A superb survey of Byzantine history and theology.  It touches on a host of valuable issues touching medieval history, including the iconoclastic controversy, the Great Schism, and the Crusades.

 

Henry Chadwick, East and West: The Making of a Rift in the Church: From Apostolic Times Until the Council of Florence, Oxford History of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) paperback, $45.

 

John Binns, An Introduction to Christian Orthodox Churches (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) paperback, $21.

Robin Cormack, Byzantine Art, Oxford History of Art (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) paperback, $20.

Judith Herrin, Women in Purple: Rules of Medieval Byzantium (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002) hardcover, $30.

Romilly Jenkins, Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, A.D. 610-1071, Medieval Reprints for Teaching 8 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991) paperback, $22.

Alexander P. Kazhdan et al., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 3 vol. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991).

Derek Krueger, Byzantine Christianity, A People’s History of Christianity, vol. 3 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006) hardcover, $35.  NEW.

Michael Maas, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian Cambridge Companions to Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) paperback, $35.

John Meyendorff, Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: the Church, 450-680 (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir Seminary Press, 1989) paperback, $19.

Aidan Nichols, Rome and the Eastern Churches: A Study in Schism (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992) paperback.

John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries (New York: Knopf, 1988) hardcover, $45.

John Julius Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee (New York: Knopf, 1992) hardcover, $45.

Lyn Rodley, Byzantine Art and Architecture: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) paperback, $35.

Steven Runciman, The Eastern Schism: A Study of the Papacy and the Eastern Churches During the XIth and XIIth Centuries (Oxford, 1953).  Dated, but a classic.

Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 (reprint of 1965 edition: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991) paperback, $17.

Alice-Mary M. Talbot, Byzantine Defenders of Images: Eight Saints’ Lives in English Translation (Dumbarton Oaks, 1998) paperback, $20.

Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1997) paperback, $37.

Mark Whittow, The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996) paperback, $23.

 

 6. BYZANTINE THEOLOGY: STUDIES

 

Hilarion Alfeyev, St. Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) hardcover, $90.

Roman Cholij, Theodore the Stoudite: The Ordering of Holiness (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover, $74.

Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (reprint of 1953 edition: Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997) paperback, $14.

Andrew Louth, St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover, $65.

John Anthony McGuckin, Standing in God’s Holy Fire: The Byzantine Tradition (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001) paperback, $15.

John Meyendorff, Christ in Eastern Christian Thought (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987) paperback, $15.

John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes, 2nd ed. (New York: Fordham University Press, 1987) paperback, $20.

Jaroslav Pelikan, The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700), vol. 2 of The Christian Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) paperback.

Tomas Spidlik, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook, Cistercian Studies 79 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1986) paperback, $25.

 

 7. BYZANTINE THEOLOGY: TEXTS

 

St. John of Damascus, Three Treatises on the Divine Images, Popular Patristics Series, trans. Andrew Louth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) paperback, $12.

St. Maximus the Confessor, On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ, Popular Patristics Series, trans. Paul M. Blowers & Robert L. Wilken (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) paperback, $14.

St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses, Popular Patristics Series, trans. Alexander Golitizin (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press).  3 volumes:

• Vol. 1: The Church and the Last Things (2003) paperback, $13.

• Vol. 2: On Virtue and the Christian Life (1996) paperback $12.

• Vol. 3: Life, Times, and Theology (1998) paperback, $11.

Daniel J. Sahas, ed., Icon and Logos: Sources in Eighth-Century Iconoclasm (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998) paperback, $19.

Pauline Allen & Bronwen Neil, Maximus Confessor and His Companions: Documents From Exile (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover, $65.

 

 

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Revised: December 15, 2007

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