This is a collection of three books containing the correspondence of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I. Most of his letters are composed to other vassals within the realm, but much of it has to do with the ecclesiastial affairs of the empires, his political dealings with Roman Papacy, international relationships relating to the state and to the Holy Land. Rudolph's work would help transition Germany out of the Medieval period, and he would be a forerunner for the coming Habsburg dynasty of Europe, which would come to sit upon the thrones of most of Western Europe. This work is an unparalleled glimpse into his thoughts and courtly behaviors.
St. Germain was the the 6th century bishop of Paris and is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His work in the Frankish church would help lay the foundation for the various medical, educational, and welfare supports that would aide French civilization throughout the centuries and up until our own time. In more recent years he has been christened the "father of the poor" because of his influence over charitable efforts in the city itself.
In this short volume, St. Albert the Great outlines and explores the meaning of human destiny. His draws upon sources from the classical world and tries to synthesize their perspectives through the process of medieval scholasticism.
During the Latin presence in the Holy Land in 12th and 13th century, contact was made between papal legates and the Armenian Apostolic Church in Cilicia (Armenia Minor). Among the various doctrinal exchanges that took place, and the brief lived union between Roman Catholics and Armenians, was this document, where common theological ground is specified by the reigning Roman Pope in Avignon. This theological common ground would be revisited during the Council of Florence in the 15th century, and again in the modern Armenian Catholic Church.
The Eight Principal Vices' is one of the various Latin prose composed by the 7th century Anglo-Saxon saint, Aldhelm. It deals with the subject of morality and cautions against the sundry vices that might pose a threat to a Christian's soul. It is similar in its composition to work by Eutropius, Aldhelm's Visigothic contemporary. This work includes both the original Latin text as well as the English translation.
Pope Adrian I sought to establish the church under the protection of the Frankish king, Charlemagne. In his effort to draw himself closer to the Frankish court he needed to institute a sense of reformatio which would correct the episcopal abuses of the church, reinforce the claims of the Papal Curia, and distance Rome from the authority of Constantinople. In doing so Pope Adrian created these clauses of church law to emphasis that changes that would take place under his papacy.
An abridged collection of the laws passed during the reign of the Emperor Justinian I. Most of them deal directly with the administration of the church within the empire, its relationship to the authority of the state and the person of the emperor, and the criminality of heresy within the imperial realm itself.
Blossius Aemilius Dracontius offers a legal apology via his own prose for his religious dispute the Arian king of the Vandals. This texts offers a rare insight into late Roman North African from the eyes of a common resident of Carthage. Little is known of the fate of Dracontius. However, he is known to have been released or escaped for the Vandal jail and made his way to freedom in Northern Italy.
This is a collection of nine ecclesial acts, composed by the Cardinal John Bessarion, relating to the fate of some churches under Greek jurisdiction and what their fate will be because of the contemporary fate of the late Eastern Roman Empire. Select Acts grant some insight into the deteriorating state of the late Byzantine church, and the short lived attempt to achieve full union between the Catholic and Orthodox faiths following the conclusion of the Council of Florence in 1439 AD.
This famous bishop of Lyon, St. Eucherius, sought to counter some of the extremity of his own time, both in terms of the lawlessness which was becoming rampant in southern Gaul, as well as the punitive self-denial pushed by some monastic groups. This work, originally titled in Latin formularum spiritalis intelligentiae, intends to offer some directive for initiates into the Christian life. In this way he is a forerunner to St. Ignatius and his own work the Spiritual Exercises. St. Eucherius also uses this work to emphasis the allegorical value of the Greek and Hebrew scriptures, and expands them for potential mystical interpretation.
While the specifics of these canons are unlikely to have been from the hand of St. Patrick, they are attributed to him. They also grant insight into some of the early issues that the Irish church was facing in the century after the death of Patrick. Full communion with Rome had yet to be achieved, and the standardization of church policies needed to be addressed. This is a document that stands as a landmark text to the Irish church and the growth of Christianity in Ireland and Scotland.
This extended work is intended to address the claims made by Theodore, the bishop of Mopsuestia, who allegedly was the counselor and defender of Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople. St. Cyril, along with many other of the church fathers, claim that the Nestorian heresy originates with Theodore and his claims about the divinity of Christ, and by extension, his mother the Theotokos. Theodore, during his lifetime, was regarded as an orthodox Christian churchman, who guarded against the Arianist camp, but was later condemned formally four years later at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus. This work by St. Cyril is likely dated to that period between his death and the assembly of the council in Anatolia.
St. Gall of Ireland was allegedly one of the twelve companions of Columba on his mission from Ireland to the continent. His origins are unknown, although he may have been a native of Germany. His missionary activity brought him to what is now Switzerland to the townland which now bears his name, St. Gallen. What follows is a collection of his sermons, all of which are relatively brief. They are short exegetical readings of the Christian scriptures and how they apply to the daily life of the Christians who abided in his small Swabish community.
The apostle Bartholomew is long remembered for the gruesome nature of his martyrdom. It is an image popularized by Renaissance art, and famed for its brutality. However, the legends that surrounds the life, ministry, and death of this apostle are varied. All accounts name Armenia as the region of his death, and as the founder of the church in that nation. Yet, there is still considerable mystery to his activity. This text contains three different account regarding his life, all from different time periods and cultures. The Greek account grants few details, and was likely composed in North Mesopotamia by a Nestorian author in the 6th century. The Arabic account if likely from the 7th or 8th century and is also terse. The Armenian account is the version that is by far the most complete and detailed. It is here published in its unabridged form in English for the first time.
This is a collection of eleven relatively brief documents, mostly of papal origin, which deal with the establishment of the church in Scandinavia. They deal with the establishment of the mission at Hamburg, under Imperial protection, and the attempt to extend this mission diocese into the untamed lands of Sweden and Denmark. While the Christianization of the Nordic countries begins under this period, it will not be fully realized for another century when the centralized monarchies of these nations adopted the cross and accepted baptism themselves.
The 7th century bishop of Zaragoza (Caesaraugsta), St. Brauclio, recounts in this work the the mayhem and impact of the Diocletian persecution on his native city. He recounts the various martyrs and their refusal to bend the knee to the emperor and his drive to crush the growing power of the Christian church.
Attached is the surviving correspondence of St. Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia, and a significant member of the Carolingian court of the Emperor Charlemagne. His letters records the Frankish church's political alliance with Leo III and all future popes of Rome. He also encourages the king to observe the necessary noblesse oblige when it comes to the ongoing welfare of his subjects, the church, as well as the realm in general.
This account of the life of St. Mary is the primary source of what we know about her. Allegedly right before her death she recounted her life to St. Zosimas of Palestine, who went on to have his student, Sophronius compose a this volume about her charity and ascetic lifestyle. She remains a popular figure of Egyptian Christianity in the 4th century. This book also includes the original Latin text of Sophronius, as well as the English translation.
St. Didymas the Blind is one of the most famous Coptic theologians of the early Church, while he is famously regarded as a student of Origen, his own work remains within the orthodox realm. Regrettably, many of his works have been lost to time, as they were not copied for future generations of student. His friend, St. Jerome, was able to make a Latin translation of this work from its original Greek. His work emphasizes the presence of personhood of the Holy Ghost in the Christian Trinity, looking to clarify the orthodox position in the face of perennial confusion that existed amongst his peers and the laity.
This second volume of the Book of Ethiopian Maccabees is shorter than the first. Moreover, it appears to be composed at a different time and by a different person, likely during the high medieval period around the 1450's. It again attempts to recount the events of the Maccabee revolt, but with various confabulations in the series of events. In this version a man name Maccabeus makes war against Israel, as a punishment for their transgressions.
This is the first volume of the book of Armenian saints for the month of Navasard. Each entry contains the account and hagiography about a saint that is sentinel to the Armenian Apostolic Church. For the month of Navasard specifically, emphasis is placed on St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Bartholomew, the alleged founder of the ancient church, and various Imperial martyrs that faced their death during the height of the Diocletian persecution.
This 5th century work, likely composed by the Armenian saint, Mesrop Mashtots, illustrates the family dynamic and political conflict that surrounds both St. Gregory the Illuminator, and Nerses I the Great, both Catholicos of Armenia. The historicity of this text is obscured, as it appears to be a function of the 5th century, with larger later additions coming from the medieval period. It does offer some insight into the early Armenian church and the weave of familial ties that supported it in its earliest centuries.
This work, frequently misattributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, is a biblical exegesis of the problem of pain and civil collapse. This theme is not arising out of a cultural vacuum. Our author, the 5th century bishop of Carthage, was captured by the Vandal tribesman under King Gaiseric, a devout Arian. By luck or providence he was able to negotiate his deportation to Roman Italy, and avoid a death sentence. This work appears to be the psychological response to the political chaos of North Africa at the time.
The Vandal king Huneric was a devout Arian, and interfered with ecclesiastical affairs during his reign as king over north africa. The Arian attacks on the catholic monasteries in the region, caused a tremendous amount of tumult, including that of the young monk Fulgentius, who would spar with the Arians in the region over the next few decade. This included disputing the episcopacy of Ruspe, which any catholic was banned by royal edict from occupying. Laid out here, Fulgentius, delineates his polemic against the African Arians and their doctrinal arguments.
This is a work composed by Ennodius, the bishop of Pavia, around the year 507 AD, who sought to congratulate Theodoric for his military victories and political achievements in general. The document itself entertains the royal prestige of its namesake, whom is portrayed as a an agent of continuity for the idea of eternal Rome.This is portrayed as a potential re-birth of the Roman authority and Imperial distinction, at least over the tatter remnants of the Western Empire. The golden age that was predicted under Theodoric was not to be, but this manuscript serves as a reminder of the political aspiration for the age right after the Western Empire's collapse.
In August 1087, a synod was held at Benevento which renewed the excommunication of the Antipope Clement III, the condemnation of lay investiture, proclaimed a crusade against the Saracens in northern Africa, and anathematised Hugh of Lyons and Richard, Abbot of Marseilles. This speech is one of the last public statements he made during his pontificate. Victor appears to frequently reference the Normans, who had recently established themselves in the region politically.
This brief funeral oration was composed by the Greek monk Michael Apostolius, also known as Apostolius Paroemiographus. He laments the passing of Cardinal Bessarion, who was the last remaining line of connection between the exiled Greek community and the late Eastern Roman Empire. In this work he compares Bessarion to the Greek orators of the ancient world, in his skill and style, and laments the diminishment of Classical civilization with the conquests of the Turkish Empire in his lifetime.
St. Orsisius, successor to St. Pachomius, on the island monastery of Tabenna, elected to offer some of his own advise for the Christian life and the workings of the monastic community. His wisdom is collected here in this extended volume relating to maintaining monastic discipline. However, unlike the more common set of orders and rules that are set forth by monastic leaders, this work is not one of strict legal codes. St. Orsisius offers advise to his successors on the pure practical and interpersonal relationships that need to be fostered within the common. He does this by offering the importance of Christian charity, and remembering the salience of apostolic teaching.
Following the fall of Constantinople, Pope Pius II called upon the various Christian powers to launch a military response against the Ottoman Turks. Refugees from the empire had fled into Italy and requested that the Pope place political pressure to launch a potential crusade to retake the city, and push the Ottomans out of the Balkans.
This work, by the 5th century Syriac father St. Jacob of Serug, expands on the tradition that St. Thomas the Apostle built a palace in India for king Gondophares. This tradition is found elsewhere, in texts like the Acts of Thomas, as well as in the Ramban Pattu, which all account part of this legend. This texts by St. Jacob appears to be independent of the two aforementioned traditions, as it disagrees with some of the details of their account. This text is available for the first time in the English language, being originally composed in the Classical Syriac tongue.
At various point during the tenure of the Carolingian dynasty, it was necessary to resolve dynastic disputes through the intervention of ecclesiastical synods with the public task of electing a monarch for the realm from the family of Charles the Great. Enclosed in this short volume are the documents relating directly to four of these elections, for the persons of: Boso of Provence, Eudes of France, Louis III the Blind, and Guy II of Italy.
The Life of Saint Mary the Harlot is later attributed to St. Ephrem the Syrian, deacon of the church in Edessa and was likely written towards the end of his life, though there have been claims against Ephrem's authorship. The text itself appears to have originally been composed in Syriac, and would circulate through Christendom under its Latin and Greek translation. It contains sixteen chapters about the life of the Syriac orphan, Mary and her uncle Abraham. The text concludes with a prayer, as it surviving in Latin, allegedly composed by St. Ephrem.
During the late Crusader period the Roman Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church attempted to establish an ecclesiastical union, under the auspices of similar doctrines and as a means of political alliance with the Latin held crusader states.This attempt at union was short-lived and merited little in terms of ecumenical dialogue. In 1341, Pope Benedict XII issues this document, serving as a polemic against members of the Armenian Church which did not see eye-to-eye with Rome in terms of doctrine and ecclesiology.
This is a collection of one hundred points of advise that was given by the 5th century Greek church father St. John of Karpathos to a collection of monks in the east. It is unclear if this is in fact 'India' in the proper modern sense, or just within the Persian Empire. However, St. John appears to be interested in offering them direction to controlling their desires, observing Christian virtue, and holding some community discipline for the various monks submitting to the abbot.
This papal bull from 1312 was meant to negotiate a compromise between two disputing factions within the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan) from the papal apartments in Avignon. The dispute was over the question of apostolic poverty and was heavily charged in political as well as ecclesiastical circles. Previously the ecumenical gathering at Vienne attempted to address the controversy, which would periodically appear for the next few decades.
St. Germain lays out in this work, the now lost Gallican rite of the Catholic church, which was utilized specifically by the church in France during the 2nd to 11th century before being replaced with the Roman rite. St. Germain's account is one of the few recorded memories of that rite to survive antiquity.
In this work, St. Albert looks to address some of the errors that he believes is being taught amongst the Aristotelian professors at the University of Paris. He outlines his argument into fifteen separate theses, and seeking to define the breakdown in logical that he has observed in philosophical and theological matters from his peers.
This is a short document, chronicling the death of the 3rd to last Eastern Roman Emperor, Manuel II. He laments that the Emperor died too soon and grants a litany of his accomplishment during his reign over the fragile fragments of the Roman state. Bessarion preserves this text in Latin, as the future Imperial administration under his son John VIII, would look to the Papacy and the Italian states for political protection.
A council, usually called the Synod of St-Basle, was convoked at Reims by King Hugues Capet, assisted by Gerbert of Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II, to consider the case of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, illegitimate son of the late King Lothair. Arnulf was accused of conspiring with his uncle, Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, against Hugh Capet. He was duly deposed by the council, and Gerbert appointed in his place. This was done without the approval of Pope John XV, who refused to accept either Arnulf's removal or Gerbert's appointment. The matter dragged on until 995 when Arnulf was restored, and was only completely resolved by Pope Gregory V in 997.
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