A Rare English Text that looks into Byzantine Philosophy
921565
Byzantine Philosophy is topic often forgotten about in the Latin West. Often relegated to Classics departments history departments or theology departments, this anthology presents not just some of the issues through particular looks at authors such as Michael Psellus,Theodore Metochites and others. It also has a brief look into the  historical development of the philosophy of the Byzantine empire. This anthology is multidisciplinary and does contain a great use of Koine Greek. A person without a strong understanding of Koine Greek could grasp much of the material but what they would grasp is open, this is due to the anthologies multi-disciplinary nature. Without going directly into articles of the anthology, there is a discussion of logic, political philosophy, metaphysics, and ethics in this work. It is a good book for those who want to teach a medieval philosophy course to become acquainted with Byzantine works that otherwise exist as a gap as well as for other philosophers to take notice into arguments that are otherwise ignored.
2630258
The book "What Life Was Like Amid Splendor and Intrigue - Byzantine Empire AD 330-1453" truly does justice to its title. It tells the story of Byzantium through richly informative and very colorful images and fascinating articles. There is not a page in the book without at least one photo of a Byzantine sculpture, building, mosaic, tapestry, or jewel. What is refreshing is that all of these images were produced in Byzantium, so this book allows the reader to form a perception of Byzantium based on images that Byzantines made themselves.

As well, this book is a well-organized thematic introduction to life in Byzantium. It includes sections on the origins of Byzantium, Imperial Women, Luxury goods, Soldiers, Religion, the End of the Empire, and much more. If you want to have an enjoyable, educational and fun introduction to Byzantine Civilization, I highly recommend this book to you.
4573103
The book was first published in 1958;
Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople (806-815)died in 829 and is now a Saint, of course.
After crowning MICHAEL I, he inspired massacres of "heretic" Paulicians.
If you want to read (in French) the quality of his insults against the horrible Iconoclasts, and the quality of his theological
thinking, please look up the KLINCKSIECK book.
Alexander does not take sides but the subject is iconophiles againt iconoclasts. His great merit is to remind us that THREE iconoclastic councils took place and that all was not ended by the NICAEA COUNCIL in 787.
The book presents a summary of Nicephorus' "Refutatio et Eversio", against the DOGMATIC DEFINITION of the Iconoclastic Council of
St Sophia (815). The bibliography is very useful but presents few titles in english, usually expensive ones.
The Index is indispensable. The politics of the Byzantine empire are not well known.
Please look up my more detailed review on Amazon. Fr.
I'm very passionate about the whole thing. Iconoclasts were not intolerant thugs, but devout Christians.
Iconoclasm was the last chance (before the Reform)to save Christianism from idolatry and paganism.
3440305
I think this is essential reading for anyone (catholic/orthodox) to communicate the traditional faith as it was defended and propagated in the early church; it is a great anti-dote to the poisoning influence of liberalism and novelty so prevalent in theology today. It is brief but stands as an anchor to antiquity.
3209564
I've been reading about the many different classes of people during the Middle Byzantine and this book has been an enjoyable and interesting read.  I like how the papers are quite different from one another, and yet fit together under the theme.  Especially enjoyed the illustrations with the article by Timothy Dawson, the boots were a revelation!  I also found the article on women's ownership of property and how persons were identified in records and what that likely meant-- truly interesting and gave new dimension to my understanding of life in that period and region.  Worth reading!
2492809
This timely volume, the first of a projected four, offers the modern Anglophone world its first glimpse into the earliest of St. Bridget's (1303-1373) tremendously influential visionary writings. The fine 1990 Classics of Western Spirituality edition from Paulist Press offers only Books 5 and 7 of her corpus along with some associated texts; this comprehensive series of translations will, when completed, undoubtedly be well-appreciated by those interested in late medieval spirituality and mysticism.

St. Birgitta (or Bridget - and "Saint Bride" to Margery Kempe), the patron saint of Sweden and one of the three co-patronesses of Europe, had an extensive sequence of visions throughout her life; these led her to extensive pilgrimages, residence in Rome, and ultimately the foundation of a monastic order that survives to this day. Her texts circulated widely across Europe in the late fourteenth- and fifteenth-centuries; the Bridgettine Order established houses throughout Scandinavia and beyond (the most remarkable for the study of English religious culture being the famous Syon Abbey, Isleworth).

Her visions were dictated in Swedish and translated by her confessors into a rough, workaday Latin; Searby's translation skillfully preserves the idiosyncrasies of the original. The general introduction (pp. 3-38) offers an exceptionally clear contextualization of St. Bridget's revelations, their textual history, and their significance both to her period and to present-day readers. The much shorter introductions that preface each of the three books translated in this volume neatly summarize both the essential message of the book and its most striking images and analogies.

Stylistically, this volume has been designed with evident care: woodcuts from incunabula and manuscript illuminations are liberally distributed; one image of a probable holograph folio is especially exciting. The editor and translator have generously given the English-speaking world a fascinating glimpse into one of the most important figures of late medieval religious culture (albeit one studied with less frequency than some of her contemporaries); the scholarly community has good reason to await eagerly the further three volumes of the series.
941588
Two brief but useful reviews of (1) classical Greek and Hellenistic approaches to understanding how Greek thinkers understood language (notably Stoic and Epicurean epistemology) , and (2) a summary of the 50-year chronology of  the principal parties who undertook solving the mystery of the Cretan (Minoan) tablets inscribed with unknown figures in an unknown language (which turned out to be a syllabary for pre-Homeric Greek ca. 1500 B.C.  This latter essay is a tasty appetizer to Margalit Fox's "The Riddle of the Labnyrinth."
1089712
This work illuminates the intrigue behind the transmission of New Testament scripture during the early centuries of Christianity. Over five thousand extant manuscripts from the second to the sixteenth century contain probably hundreds of thousands of corruptions. Most are accidental and easily corrected by Greek scholars. However, intentional alterations serve to advance the theological agenda of one school of thought or another. Some of these corruptions emerged from the pre-Nicene Christological debate.

  The task of the textual critic is to ferret out the corruptions and unveil what is true to the autographs. Ehrman seeks to identify these intentional corruptions and explain them in terms of the Christological agenda of various factions. Eventually, those ideas which prevailed in the debate became codified in the creeds of the church. Ehrman calls those who held them "proto-orthodox." Proto-orthodox scribes are responsible for some of those corruptions. The average lay Christian may find it unsettling that the transmission of the New Testament has been tainted with errors which have not all been resolved even today. Nevertheless, it is important for one to know about the complexities involved in the history of its transmission and preservation. It is my favorite reference source in my personal library. I recommend it highly to all Christians who wish to have a deeper understanding of the history and intrigue behind the development of the New Testament as it is preserved for us today.
2850202
This collection of Philo's works, translated by the classicist C.D. Yonge, represents an affordable though dated collection of the Jewish mystic's works.

Philo is extremely important from the point of view of early Christianity, since he is a contemporary of Jesus and St Paul, and his allegorical method of interpreting the Bible had a strong impact on many important Christian Church Fathers, especially Origen, who introduced the allegorical method of reading the Bible into Christianity.

Philo interprets the Bible in an allegorical fashion (that is, he seeks for meanings past the literal sense of the letter of the text) to seek deeper spiritual truths about God and the cosmos.  Philo justifies this using the assumption the Bible is the word of God, and because it is inspired it has infinite layers of meaning which delve into the deeper infinite mystery of God himself.  In this sense, Philo is completely the opposite of scientific historians like Herodotus, Thucydides or Josephus, who read their sacred texts or cultural documents in terms of scientific history, and were averse to any myth-mongering or allegory.  However, valuable historical information is especially to be found in Philo's 'Embassy to Gaius', and also his works on the Essene sect of Judaism, both very valuable sources of historical information for those interested in the time of Jesus and St Paul.

Philo's more mystical works interpret the Bible in terms of Neo-Platonic philosophy, which was flourishing in Alexandria where Philo studied and worked.  He interprets key Old Testament texts in terms of the journey of the mind to God, leaving behind the body and the visible creation to the invisible realm of spirit where the incomprehensible God dwells, formless and in mystery.  Philo is especially interesting in the way he treats many old testament characters and places in terms of stations on the mystical journey to the ineffable, a method which was taken over brilliantly by Origen and later applied extensively to the Old and New Testaments to read Christ into scripture.  Also of interest is Philo's introduction of the Greek and Stoic concept of the logos, an intermediate agent between God and the world which comes from God, which God uses to form and create the world.  It is possible the writer of the Gospel of John was influenced at least in part by this idea, when meditating on how Jesus could be both human and also the son of God, as Christian tradition was to believe, and the writer of the Gospel took this concept and adopted it to Christian belief in the appropriate way.

In any case studying Philo's works is essential for understanding the mindset of the world in the time of Christ, the Apostles and St Paul, and this collection represents a readily available and affordable copy of Philo's works.
438024
I checked this out a couple of times from the library, and so I decided to get a copy of my own (and I'm quite pleased).

Philosophy in the Middle Ages, edited by Hyman/Walsh is a great hodgepodge of various excerpts from different thinkers of the middle ages from across the three major religions of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish philosophy.  The editors were quite generous with the excerpts, and you really get a lot of information to become familiar with the subject.  The editors also include short biographical accounts of each of the authors in the text which adds to the insight to their writings/understanding.  I also like the way they included the bibliographic material at the end of each excerpt of an author which really makes it easy to find those sources used if one wants to investigate further into the writings of the various authors.

The excerpted philosophers include quite an extensive list.  Some of them included in this anthology are; Augustine, Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abailard and John of Salisbury, Avicenna, Al-Gazali, Averroes, Saadia, Hasdai Crescas, Bonaventure, Aquinas, Nicholas of Autrecourt, among many others.

Al-Gazali has two interesting essays, Deliverance from Error and another (Concerning the Natural Sciences) from the book&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Incoherence-of-the-Philosophers-2nd-Edition-Brigham-Young-University-Islamic-Translation-Series/dp/0842524665/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Incoherence of the Philosophers, 2nd Edition (Brigham Young University - Islamic Translation Series)</a>.  However I wish the editors would have included his summery of the division of labor which he used the example of a needle factory and 25 workers (if I remember correctly) around 700 years prior to Adam Smith.  I think that would interest some readers in the "west".

Overall this is a good collection of philosophy from the middle ages and readers should pick up the volume and study it.
4148806
Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization by Lars Brownworth is a great introduction to a phase of Western culture and civilization that is all but ignored in most public and private schools, colleges and universities.  Brownsworth starts this work giving the reader a good introduction to events in and surrounding Rome, before Constantine I moved the capital of the empire to Constantinople, now Istanbul.  As one who studied Byzantine History in the early 1970s I credit the author for changing my thinking on events and those defenders of Byzantine history and culture.  If the book has faults, it is in two areas.  One, the author really doesn't not elaborate much on how what we know about ancient Greek and Roman art, culture, philosophy and writings is really attributable to its preservation by the Eastern Roman Empire.  All too often the credit for preserving ancient culture and writings is given to Islam, but the Muslims actually received these writings and archives from the Byzantines.  Also, like many works on Byzantium there is a predisposition to view Eastern Orthodox Christianity as superior.  In some respects it was, but most writers ignore the writings of the early Church fathers, have little or no background in theology, and inadvertently establish how Orthodoxy was united much more culturally than theologically to the Byzantine state and culture.  But, these are minor things for such a great book.  I highly recommend Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization by Lars Brownworth to any student of history and anyone who wants a very good introduction to Byzantine history and culture.
2822057
In the 19th century German scholars put out a monumental series of Byzantine historical sources in 50 volumes called the Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (also known as the Bonn Corpus or CSHB). The Greek text was accompanied by a Latin translation. These are now readily accessible online.

However, the quality of many of the critical editions was poor so it was decided in 1966 to re-edit and reissue these sources in a new series called Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae. This volume by Michael Featherstone is volume 53 in this series. It contains a critical Greek text of Theophanes Continuatus Volumes I - IV, along with an English translation. The author of the history is unknown but it is speculated to be Theodore Daphnopates who wrote under Constantine Porphyrogennetos some time around 960 AD.

Theophanes Continuatus is a continuation of the Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, which ends in 813. Unlike Theophanes whose chronicle follows an annalistic format Theophanes Continuatus Books I - IV take the form of a series of imperial biographies.

Book I is on the career of Leo the Armenian (reigned 813 - 820). Book II is on Michael the Amorian (reigned 820 - 829). Book III is on Theophilus (reigned 829 - 842) and book IV is on Michael the 'Drunkard' (reigned 842 - 867). As Constantine Porphyrogennetos' ancestor murdered Michael the Drunkard and supplanted his dynasty it was in the best interest of any propagandist under Constantine to blacked Michael's name and that is exactly what you get.

A few highlights for me included the account of the sack of Amorium by the Arabs in 838 during the reign of Theophilus and the (supposed) debauched hi jinks of Michael the Drunkard.

As an avid collector of Byzantine sources I couldn't let this book go. I had to have it despite the price. At the rate Byzantine books are being translated I suspect the entire corpus of Byzantine history books will be translated into English within a decade.
1259358
Part of the Oxford History of Art Series, this text on medieval architecture by Nicola Coldstream is an excellent survey of the development of architectural forms throughout the medieval period. Designed for the art major who is taking courses on architectural forms and history, the text provides a well-rounded presentation on the subject. Commencing with the derivation of the word "gothic," the book goes on to describe gothic's subsequent development as an architectural form through some five hundred years, and presents the differentiating features of the early, high, and late gothic, the flamboyant, and the rayonnant forms.

After this orientation to the term "gothic," the text moves into a section on "Structure and Design," which covers floor plan design, architectural models, the role of the architect, and constructive geometry. A large section of the book covers the symbiotic roles of patrons and builders. Later sections of the book cover issues such as architectural space and representational art in great detail. Numerous full-color diagrammatic images support the text, and maps are also used as needed, making this book quite an impressive introductory text to the subject that should orient any reader to the subject.

It is rare to find a book on such a theme that is simultaneously printed on high-quality semi-gloss paper, presented with the majority of its images in full color, be small enough to comfortably hold, and at the same time, be reasonably priced. This book, however, fits the bill admirably. The only small quibble would be that not ALL the photos are color. The majority indeed are, but it is unfortunate that, in an attempt, no doubt, to keep the cost down, a number of the photos are reproduced only in black and white. Nevertheless, and especially when one considers the price, it is pleasing to find the majority of photos are in color, and reproduced in good quality, as well. I highly recommend this book as an outstanding part of the library of a medievalist, an art scholar, or simply anyone interested in the emergence of gothic architecture. That the book is available at less than $15 is simply incredible.
4789361
This is an archaeological survey of Greek colonization, it is very old, and quite dated but still invaluable since there is really no other book in English on the subject that is not very localized.  There is a new Afterward (circa 1999) that briefly corrects some errors in the text, but this is about the extent of the updates.

It is by no means a pleasure to read, and comes from an antique school of classical archaeology that is Hellenophillic to say the least.  There are moments in the text where one starts to appreciate modern Processual archaeology, something I thought I would never write.  After reading this I actually pulled out Binford and Flannery and even Sahlins and felt apologetic.  As another reviewer has pointed out, it is not bad as an art history book for Archaic Greek art, but when a work contains such marvelous passages as this:

"The result, with a further massive injection of Greek influence in the sixth century, was 'Etruscan Art'; the showy blend of Greek, oriental, and barbarian taste which can still inspire or impress those who cannot come to terms with the more controlled achievements of Greek art."

One starts to get irritated, even if I understand what the author means.  This distaste for the Oriental, reaches full florescence in Boardman's disdain for Cypriot Greek art and culture, something belatedly and only partially retracted in the epilogue, and even the Egyptians do not escape his Philo-Hellenism.  The ultimate though is his very traditional "old school" high opinion of the Scythians.

So why four stars?  Because it is really the only book available on the subject to the English language audience, it is beautifully illustrated with excellent black and white illustrations, and aside from all the annoyances it is still by far the best book on the major Greek colonies from Syria and Egypt to Marseilles and the Black Sea.  It is sad to say that if this is a subject you are interested in you have really no choice but to read this book.  Other than in the Black Sea or Ionia there is no real competition, even in the form of Historically themed works that are easily available, except for the Classical and Roman authors themselves.  So that even if you don't enjoy reading dated and not entirely convincing discussions of pottery, you will have to wade through this anyway.  This is as good as it gets, so in parting I would like to say:

"Please sir may I have some more?"

Somebody please write a more modern synthesis!!!
4713000
This magnificent 284 page piece of scholarship was first published in English in 1939 by W.W. Norton, and reprinted more than a dozen times afterwards. My copy, published by Meridian and Barnes and Noble in October 1961, is the sixth Meridian printed after its first 1957 issue of the book.

But the book had more than a dozen publications in French as well. The Meridian edition was translated "by Bernard Miall from the French of the 10th edition published by Librarie Felix Alcan in Paris and Nouvelle Societe d'Editions Brussels.

The author concluded that the Germanic invasions did not destroy the unity of the ancient world or the Mediterranean. By the 5th Century, there was still a Roman culture, even without an Emperor in the West. The regions by the sea had preserved that culture, and spawned the innovations that followed--monasticism, Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons and so on. Moreover, much of this culture emanated from Constantinople, which remained, in the year 600, the center of the world.

But "the break with the tradition of antiquity" was caused by "the rapid and unexpected advance of Islam." The result was "the final separation of East from West, and the end of the Mediterranean unity." Whereas before, Africa and Spain had been part of the Western community, Islam attracted them to "the orbit of Baghdad." The root of the change was "another religion, and an entirely different culture. The Western Mediterranean, having become a Musulman lake, was no longer [the] thoroughfare of commerce and of thought" it had always been before.

The Catholic church, interestingly, gained power in Europe, precisely because the Emperor was completely distracted by the advancing "Musulmans," which meant the church no longer had a political counterweight or rival. During the protracted anarchical transitional phase, from 650 to 750, "the tradition of antiquity disappeared...."

The most important section of the book, in my view, is the first chapter in Part II, "The Expansion of Islam in the Mediterranean Basin." Here Pirenne compares the effects of the Germanic invasions to the Islamic conquests. The invading Germanic tribes had "promptly allowed themselves to become absorbed" by European civilization.

But Mohammed's "propaganda" gave "his people a religion which it would presently cast upon the world, while imposing its own dominion." The early interpretation of John of Damascus, of Islam as a sort of schism, like all previous heresies, had already put the western empire "in deadly danger."

The Arab conquest also "brought confusion and chaos upon both Europe and Asia" thanks largely to its unprecedented swiftness and brutality. Pirenne compares it only to the victories of "the Mongol Empires of Atilla, Jenghiz Khan and Tamerlane." But of course, Tamerlane was also Muslim.

Unlike the German tribes, moreover, the Musulmans "were exalted by a new faith." With this, the Arabs required the subjection of conquered populations. "And this subjection they enforced wherever they went."

The conquered, alone, were taxed, and they were "excluded from the community of the faithful. The barrier was insuperable." The Koran, moreover, requires "only obedience to Allah, the outward obedience of the inferior, degraded and despicable beings, who are tolerated, but who live in abjection."

Henri Pirenne (1862-1935) was born and educated in Belgium, and from 1886 to 1930 was professor of history at the University of Ghent. He received "many foreign academic honors.

It's a shame that Pirenne and his body of work have not retained their deserved rankings among contemporary scholars of Islam.

--Alyssa A. Lappen
4675888
This is a good readable edition of Paley's classic work. It is not a scholarly edition, but is fine for anyone who wants to read this surprisingly sophisticated text in its entirety, or for students or scholars who simply need an affordable complete edition.

As to the work itself, natural theology is greeted with well-deserved ridicule by modern philosophers, but it is worthwhile to understand just what Paley was trying to accomplish and what contemporary intellectual trends and arguments he was responding to. Though his general line of argumentation is now solely the province of religious cranks, it was in his time a respectable attempt to understand natural philosophy and early modern science in light of the omnipresent religious mythology of the day. In offering his infamous "watchmaker" analogy, he was not (as today's creationists do) jumping to pre-determined conclusions by simple indulgence of his own incredulity, but rather making the point that actual observational evidence, as opposed to mere scripture, could be upheld as a standard of evaluation of theories about the natural world. He also found in this a basis for utilitarian - and thus rationalized - ethics. Given that religious dogma could not have been evaded in any real sense, this was a move toward evidence-based scientific theories and non-dogmatic ethics, and a contribution to the debate between natural philosophy and dogmatic religion - on the side of rationalism - that stands in ironic contrast to the use that is usually made of this work today.
3214148
Theodore the Studite (759-826) is a neglected Church Father who deserves a wider audience. He wrote letters, orations, treatise and catechesis so he has a substantial body of work. This volume collects all his works against the iconoclasts.

Anyone with any knowledge of Byzantine iconoclasm knows it was divided into two periods. The first period ran from 726 to 787. John of Damascus was the chief intellectual opponent of these Byzantine iconoclasts. The second period went from 814 to 842. Theodore the Studite, along with Patriarch Nikephoros (who Theodore didn't get along with) were the main defenders of the veneration of icons. As a result of his opposite Theodore suffered exile and imprisonment but that didn't stop him from speaking out.

This volume contains the following works:
First Refutation of the Iconoclasts
Second Refutation of the Iconoclasts
Third Refutation of the Iconoclasts
Seven Chapters against the Iconoclasts
Some Questions Posed to the Iconoclasts
Letter to His Own Father Plato about the Veneration of the Sacred Images
Refutation and Subversion of the Impious Poems
Note: Plato was Theodore's uncle and abbott of his monastery.

Theodore tends to use metaphysical arguments in favour of icons like the reality of the incarnation so the introduction spends a lot of time explaining these concepts (pages 7-37). I found the treatise of John of Damascus easier to read but Theodore's works certainly have their place. I found that in reading Theodore my suspicions that Byzantine iconoclasts had a faulty christology confirmed. A fair bit of the time Theodore seems to be responding to actual arguments put forward by the Iconoclasts (this is hard to know for sure as iconoclast texts don't survive). This book wouldn't be my first choice in looking for arguments in favour of icons but since Theodore the Studite is such a famous and influential figure I am glad to have some of his writings in my collection of Patristic texts.