Christian Latin poetry from the fourth to sixth centuries was hugely influential on English and French medieval literature. In this, the first substantial overview of this poetry, Carolinne White sets the works in their literary and historical context, including translations of over thirty poems and excerpts, many never translated into English before.

Christian Latin poetry from the fourth to sixth centuries was hugely influential on English and French medieval literature. In this, the first substantial overview of this poetry, Carolinne White sets the works in their literary and historical context, including translations of over thirty poems and excerpts, many never translated into English before.

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St Benedict's inspirational work has been guiding Benedictine monks for fifteen centuries, and the Penguin Classics edition of The Rule of Benedict is translated with an introduction and notes by Carolinne White. Founder of a monastery at Monte Cassino, between Rome and Naples, in the sixth century, St Benedict intended his Rule to be a practical guide to Christian monastic life. Based on the key precepts of humility, obedience and love, its aim is to create a harmonious and efficient religious community in which individuals can make progress in the Christian virtues and gain eternal life. Here, Benedict sets out ideal monastery routines and regulations, from the qualities of a good abbot, the twelve steps to humility and the value of silence to such every day matters as kitchen duties, care of the sick and the suitable punishment for lateness at mealtimes. Benedict's legacy is still strong - his Rule remains a source of inspiration and a key work in the history of the Christian church. Carolinne White's accessible translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing Benedict's teachings, what is known of his life, and the influence and spread of his Rule. Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-543 AD) founded twelve monasteries, the best known of which was his first monastery at Monte Cassino, in Italy. Benedict wrote a set of rules governing his monks, The Rule of Benedict, one of the more influential documents in Western Civilization. Benedict was canonized a saint in 1220. If you enjoyed The Rule of Benedict you might enjoy St Augustine's Confessions, also available in Penguin Classics.

These pioneering Lives are central sources for the major Christian monastic figures from St Antony, who died in 356, to St Benedict (c. 480-547). They also shed light on the beliefs and values of their celebrated authors. Athanasius' Life of Antony reveals the man who many believe was the first to set out into the Egyptian desert to pursue the path of poverty, abstinence and solitary prayer. St Jerome fought for the cause of chastity and asceticism in writing about Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus, while in his Life of Martin Sulpicius Severus described the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary. Almost two hundred years later, Pope Gregory the Great in his Dialogues focused above all on St Benedict, whose Rule became the template for every subsequent form of monasticism. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, all these works proved hugely popular and influential and also inspired much of the visual imagery of the Middle Ages.

This anthology presents in two volumes a series of Latin texts (with English translation) produced in Britain during the period AD 450–1500. Excerpts are taken from Bede and other historians, from the letters of women written from their monasteries, from famous documents such as Domesday Book and Magna Carta, and from accounts and legal documents, all revealing the lives of individuals at home and on their travels across Britain and beyond. It offers an insight into Latin writings on many subjects, showing the important role of Latin in the multilingual society of medieval Britain, in which Latin was the primary language of written communication and record and also developed, particularly after the Norman Conquest, through mutual influence with English and French. The thorough introductions to each volume provide a broad overview of the linguistic and cultural background, while the individual texts are placed in their social, historical and linguistic context.

The autobiographical poems of Gregory of Nazianzus, fourth-century Father of the Greek church, are remarkable not only for a highly individual picture of the Byzantine world but also for moments that are intimate, passionate, and moving. The book contains Greek text and facing English translation of a selection from his one hundred or so surviving poems. Gregory is best known for the five orations he gave in Constantinople but, De Vita Sua apart, his poems can only be read in a nineteenth-century Greek edition and have never before been translated into English. The selected poems highlight Gregory's spiritual outlook and also his poetics; Gregory shows his expertise in a variety of metres and literary dialects, deriving from his knowledge of classical Greek literature. The substantial introduction provides biographical information against which to set the poems, focusing particularly on the years which Gregory spent in Constantinople.

This study presents the evidence, derived from letters and theological works, for theories of Christian friendship as they were developed by the leading fourth-century Church Fathers, both in East and West. The author attempts to find out how consistent and positive is the picture of friendship between Christians at the time, and considers friendship in the context of the relation between pagan theory and Christian ideas. All of the writers considered had a profound influence on later ages as well as on their own period.

The autobiographical poems of Gregory of Nazianzus, fourth-century Father of the Greek Church, are remarkable not only for a highly individual picture of the Byzantine world but also for moments that are intimate, passionate and moving. This book contains Greek text and facing English translation of a selection from his one hundred or so surviving poems. Gregory is best known for the five orations he gave in Constantinople. Except for the poem "De Vita Sua," his work can only be read in a nineteenth-century edition and has never before been translated into English.

This study presents the evidence, derived from letters and theological works, for theories of Christian friendship as they were developed by the leading fourth-century Church Fathers, both in East and West. The author attempts to find out how consistent and positive is the picture of friendship between Christians at the time, and considers friendship in the context of the relation between pagan theory and Christian ideas. All of the writers considered had a profound influence on later ages as well as on their own period.