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.

Introduction: Christendom, ca. 600 Peter Brown; Part I. Foundations: Peoples, Places, and Traditions: 1 Late Roman Christianities Philip Rousseau; 2. The Emergence of Byzantine Orthodoxy, 600-1095 Andrew Louth; 3. Beyond Empire I: Eastern Christianities from the Persian to the Turkish Conquest, 604-1071 Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev; 4 Beyond Empire II: Christianities of the Celtic Peoples, 600-1100 Thomas M. Charles-Edwards; 5 Germanic Christianities, 600-1100 Lesley Abrams; .6 Slav Christianities, 800-1100 Jonathan Shepard; Part II. Christianity in Confrontation: 7. Christians and Jews, 600-ca. 1100 Bat-Sheva Albert; 8 The Mediterranean Frontier: Christianity Face to Face with Islam Hugh Kennedy; 9.Christians Under Muslim Rule Sidney H. Griffith; 10. Latin and Greek Christians Tia M. Kolbaba; 11. The Northern Frontier: Christianity Face to Face with Paganism Ian N. Wood; Part III. Christianity in the Social and Political Order: 12. The Christian Church as an Institution Thomas F. X. Noble; 13. Ascetism and its Institutions Anne-Marie Helv_tius and Michel Kaplan; 14. Law and Its Applications Janet L. Nelson; 15. The Problems of Property Rosemary Morris; 16. Ideas and Applications of Reform, ca. 600-ca. 1100 Julia Barrow; 17. Churches in the Landscape Dominique Iogna-Prat; IV. Christianity as Lived Experience: 18. Birth and Death Frederick S. Paxton; 19. Remedies for Sins Rob Meens; 20. Sickness and Healing Peregrine Horden; 21.Gender and the Body Lynda L. Coon; 22. Sacrifice, Gifts, and Prayers In Latin Christianity Arnold Angenendt; 23. Performing the Liturgy Éric Palazzo; Part V. Christianity: Books and Ideas: 24. Visions of God Alain Boureau; 25. Orthodoxy and Deviance E. Ann Matter; 26. Making Sense of the Bible, 600-1100 Guy Lobrichon; 27. The Christian Book in Medieval Byzantium Leslie Brubaker and Mary B. Cunningham; 28. Saints and Their Cults Julia M. H. Smith; 29. Last Things Jane Baun; Conclusion: Christendom, ca. 1100 John H. Van Engen.