Product Description

Henri Daniel-Rops has written a history embracing not merely the development of the ecclesiastical administration, the rise and fall of churches, empires and dynasties, but giving a warmly sympathetic insight into the impact of faith upon the humble mass of its adherents, new and old, its influence upon learning, the arts and the material appurtenances it had preserved for the world, and its profound effect even upon its enemies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1716324 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

About the Author
Henri Daniel-Rops was a member of the Academie Francaise, and was the winner of its Grand Prix. His books have been translated into many languages.

Customer Reviews

It takes a French historian to provide clear English!
I admit I bought the book almost on impulse, and by the time it arrived in the mail I was wondering if I would ever read it. Nonetheless, I started it, and can say I finished it.

The title is misleading. This is as much a history of Dark Age European politics and society as it is the Church. Emperors, kings, political intrigues and wars receive as much attention as Popes, saints and heresies.

It is delightful reading, which owes as much to Daniel-Rops' expressive French as Butler's translation. It is so refreshing to escape from the absurdly self-conscious ramblings of modern acadamia without feeling that things have been 'dumbed down'! There is real intellectual engagement, and the reader is impressed with IDEAS, not the incoherent language that disguises a lack of ideas.

It is unique, too, in presenting a modern interpretation of the Dark Ages sympathetic to the Roman Catholic Church - something that is perhaps less likely to be found in native English. (?) The premise throughout is that the Truth of Christianity, through the Church, prolonged the Empire, tempered Barbarian excesses, and was always the positive catalyst for the Renaissance. The Empire is portrayed as deserving destruction, and the Barbarians are treated much more fairly than they were in my high school social studies text book.

These are only some examples of the myths of history that Daniel-Rops endeavours to dispel.

Highly recommended!!