The key focus of this book is the vitality and dynamism of all aspects of Christian experience from late antiquity to the First Crusade. By putting the institutional and doctrinal history firmly in the context of Christianity’s many cultural manifestations and lived formations everywhere from Afghanistan to Iceland, this volume of The Cambridge History of Christianity emphasizes the ever-changing, varied expressions of Christianity at both local and world level. The insights of many disciplines, including gender studies, codicology, archaeology and anthropology, are deployed to offer fresh interpretations which challenge the conventional truths concerning this formative period. Addressing eastern, Byzantine and western Christianity, it explores encounters between Christians and others, notably Jews, Muslims, and pagans; the institutional life of the church including law, reform and monasticism; the pastoral and sacramental contexts of worship, belief and morality; and finally its cultural and theological meanings, including heresy, saints’ cults and the afterlife. "...inspires awe....enormous diversity of of excellent scholars....stands out from rivals by its sheer scale....provide an effective structure....identification and development of themes is thoroughly successful....deeply impressive..." --Philip Jenkins This History stresses the vitality, dynamism and diversity of Christianity in the early medieval period. Thomas F. X. Noble is Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute and Professor of History, University of Notre Dame. He previously held positions at Texas Tech University (1976–80) and at the University of Virginia (1980–2000), as well as several prestigious fellowships in both the United States and Europe. He has written or edited six books and over thirty book chapters or journal articles. Julia Smith is Edwards Professor of Medieval History, University of Glasgow. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has previously taught at Trinity College, Hartford, CT and at the University of St Andrews. Professor Smith has written numerous journal articles, and is the author or editor of four books including, most recently Europe After Rome: A New Cultural History 500–1000 (2005).