Celts and Christians: New Approaches to the Religious Traditions of Britain and Ireland
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Celts and Christians: New Approaches to the Religious Traditions of Britain and Ireland
By (Author) Mark Atherton
University of Wales Press
University of Wales Press
30th July 2002
United Kingdom
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
History of religion
European history: medieval period, middle ages
274.1
Physical Properties
Paperback
211
Width 138mm, Height 216mm
313g
Description
What is Celtic Christianity How and to what extent is it Celtic This volume aims to take a fresh look at the saints, scholars, nature poets and religious thinkers who shaped the early forms of Christianity in Britain and Ireland. Beginning with discussions of the problematic term "Celtic", its origins and usefulness, the first part of the volume discusses Celtic ethnicity, location and national identities. The second part considers texts from a theological viewpoint and also examines the role of the literary text in the mediation and dissemination of a Celtic religious sensibility.
Reviews
'Celts and Christians is an appealing and rewarding collection, a welcome demonstration that 'Celtic Christianity' can be explored in ways which are not only balanced and cautious, but also imaginative, sensitive and penetrating.' Reviews in Religion and Theology ' ... This is a thought-provoking book which deserves to be well-known and studied. The basically academic approach to the texts is balanced by profound convictions about spirituality today, this providing a timely balance, preventing 'celtic' from becoming a laughable fantasy, while affirming the sources as life giving for all ...' (Regent's Reviews) 'This attractive volume of essays is perhaps the best introduction now available to what might be described as the new ''middle way'' that has emerged in the study of Celtic Christianity... this volume can be recommended to readers who... will discover that the beauties of this complex set of traditions are enhanced, not diminished, by careful attention to texts in their historical and literary particularity.' Anglican Theological Review
Author Bio
Mark Atherton is Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture, Regent's Park College, Oxford. He has published widely in the field of Anglo-Saxon literature and is the editor of Hildegaard of Bingen: Selected Writings.
