Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia

by Allan D. Fitzgerald (Editor)

Overview

The definitive reference work on Augustine that scholars, from all fields of theological study, describe as "superb" and "indispensable" for students, scholars, libraries, and anyone interested in studying Augustine. While the work provides exhaustive resources on Augustine's own life and his theological and pastoral work, it also provides an exceptional wealth of information about scholarship, past and present on the great theologian. Moreover, it documents the influence of Augustine on the Catholic Church, the Reformation and on great thinkers and theologians such as Kierkegaard, Luther, Erasmus, and Calvin. Topics range from archeology to martyrdom, from imagination to Augustine's personal friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802864796
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/09/2009
Pages:	952
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.90(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Professor of patristics at the Augustinian Patristic Institute in Rome, and editor of Augustinian Studies for Villanova University.

What People are Saying About This

Arkin

If this book makes easier the life of a scholar seeking to pin down an esoteric piece of information, it will have done its job well. But if it makes Augustine more readily accessible to the ordinary reader, it will have done a greater service both to that reader and to the vitality of the western canon.

Editorial Reviews

"The first full encyclopedic handling of the thought and influence of St. Augustine of Hippo. . . . Topics range from the general (Anthropology, Archaeology, Love, Time) to the specific (personal names, places, and Latin titles)."
—Library Journal

From the Publisher

"A more than welcome addition to the shelves of any theologian or church historian, certainly to the shelves of any theological library, large or small.... This volume, from "Abortion" to "World" by way of "Cyberspace, Augustine in", is a one-stop solution to the study of the life and writings of Augustine of Hippo. It will be of enormous benefit to all students of theology and their mentors, and not only to those who find the Augustinus Lexikon rather too daunting. I cannot recommend it too highly. Fr. Fitzgerald is to be congratulated both on his courage in undertaking the task, and on the high standards which he set—and maintained."

Heythrop Journal

A very remarkable accomplishment.... An almost comprehensive account is given within the compass of one volume and in a very clear and legible form.... The organizational skills which have gone into the volume are formidable.... Likewise the number and internationally distinguished nature of the group of contributors ensures the depth, reliability and consistency of the scholarship; and so the volume is bound to become a basic research tool for students, as well as a standard general work of reference. All in all it is a very pleasing and very welcome book.

Expository Times (UK)

A magnificent achievement.... Essential for academic libraries, this splendid book is warmly recommended for parish and personal collections, where it should receive regular use by Christians who understand that, whether we know it or not, we are all Augustinians now—and have been for a millennium and a half.

First Things

Augustine of Hippo, one of the great Latin church fathers, is well served by this encyclopedia. Little is missed of his life, works, and contemporaries.... The signed entries are substantial, and each has a supporting bibliography. Editions and translations of Augustine's own works are listed. There is even an article on Augustine in cyberspace.... This volume is essential for all serious collections in religion, church history, history of philosophy, and late antiquity. Highly recommended even to smaller academic and larger public libraries.

Choice

"This inexpensive volume is a fine achievement. Few figures in history are so great in their own time and so lastingly influential that they can stand being made the subject of an encyclopedia of over 900 pages. If not every article is a masterpiece, the majority are admirably done by a distinguished team of well-informed scholars. Lucid articles summarize Augustine's numerous extant works and the major themes of his writing..... Notable is the decision to survey Augustine's subsequent influences on, for instance, Boethius, Gregory the Great, Carolingian debates, Peter Lombard, Luther and Reformation, Seripando and Trent, Renaissance humanism, Jansenius, Blondel, Harnack and Heidegger..... The bibliographies are valuable. All in all, a desirable, well-produced volume."

Times Literary Supplement

It is an honor and a pleasure to salute this splendid achievement and to commend it to readers.

Jaroslav Pelikan

An encyclopedic treatment of the life, thought, and influence of arguably the most influential Western Christian thinker after the apostles, Augustine of Hippo.... Indexes, cross-references, and current bibliographies should make this volume a useful research tool.

Reference & Research Book News

The book is, quite simply, magisterial. It is also, equally evidently, a labor of love. The volume contains almost five hundred entries representing contributions from more than 140 scholars—most of whom are from North America—in fields ranging from classics, philosophy, and political science to theology and patristics.... Each entry has an extensive scholarly apparatus, including bibliography and cross-references to other entries. Further enhancing its usefulness, the book begins with a complete list of entries and ends with a full index to aid the reader in locating subjects that are not apparent from entry titles.... If this book makes easier the life of a scholar seeking to pin down an esoteric piece of information, it will have done its job well. But if it makes Augustine more readily accessible to the ordinary reader, it will have done a greater service both to that reader and to the vitality of the western canon.

The New Criterion

The encyclopedia will undoubtedly be the standard reference work for those interested in Augustine's great influence on the modern Christian church and the world.

Worship

The encyclopedia's entries cover a wide range of topics, making it a terrific starting place for tracing Augustine's thoughts from their origins to some fascinating conclusions.

Christian History

A superb reference work that will rapidly become indispensable for Augustinian scholars and all those interested in the late antique world that gave birth to that most extraordinary of figures, Augustine of Hippo.
— First Things

Jean Bethke Elshtain

Fitzgerald (patristics, Augustinian Patristic Institute, Rome, and editor of for Villanova U.) presents an encyclopedic treatment of the life, thought, and influence of arguably the most influential Western Christian thinker after the apostles, Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430). Includes some 400 articles written by scholars whose academic backgrounds include classics, history, philosophy, political science, and theology, and which cover every aspect of Augustine's life and writings and trace his influence on the church and on the development of Western thought. Indexes, cross- references, and current bibliographies should make this volume a useful research tool. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews