Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy) [Hardcover]

Neil B. McLynn (Author)

Book Description

Series: California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy | Publication Date: December 13, 1994

In this new and illuminating interpretation of Ambrose, bishop of Milan from 374 to 397, Neil McLynn thoroughly sifts the evidence surrounding this very difficult personality. The result is a richly detailed interpretation of Ambrose's actions and writings that penetrates the bishop's painstaking presentation of self. McLynn succeeds in revealing Ambrose's manipulation of events without making him too Machiavellian. Having synthesized the vast complex of scholarship available on the late fourth century, McLynn also presents an impressive study of the politics and history of the Christian church and the Roman Empire in that period.
Admirably and logically organized, the book traces the chronology of Ambrose's public activity and reconstructs important events in the fourth century. McLynn's zesty, lucid prose gives the reader a clear understanding of the complexities of Ambrose's life and career and of late Roman government.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"This is an important book, for it deals with Ambrose's public career very thoroughly . . . something we have long been waiting for . . . a hard-headed account, keeping well clear of either hagiography or denigration, presenting many of the central episodes of Ambrose's career in an entirely new light."--Robert Markus

"Ambrose of Milan has long needed the modern biography which Neil McLynn has now written. Here is a learned and thorough work, absorbingly readable, bringing Ambrose vividly to life."--Sir Henry Chadwick, Oxford University

"McLynn has something fresh and (usually) revisionist to say about every familiar episode in this period, and he succeeds in exposing a very different Ambrose--a sweat-soaked saint who knew how to struggle and improvise."--Hal Drake, University of California, Santa Barbara

"McLynn possesses an impressive control of the general history of the period, as well as a detailed knowledge of specific events in which Ambrose was a participant, or even the 'impresario.' He gives us a critical and nuanced book about this important bishop, which will change how we read and think about Ambrose."--Carole Straw, Mount Holyoke College

From the Back Cover

"This is an important book, for it deals with Ambrose's public career very thoroughly . . . something we have long been waiting for . . . a hard- headed account, keeping well clear of either hagiography or denigration, presenting many of the central episodes of Ambrose's career in an entirely new light." (Robert Markus)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (December 13, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520084616
• ISBN-13: 978-0520084612
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating for its scholarship, April 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading this book as much for its footnotes as for its lively and engaging text. McLynn has done a superb job of piecing together bits of information from many sources to provide a new interpretation of Ambrose's career, especially his relations with the imperial court. The basic argument, that Ambrose didn't win all the battles he himself presented as victories, is refreshing but not always convincing. Of necessity the author must speculate a great deal, and at times his arguments border on special pleading -- as, for example, when he insists on reading Theodosius's famous law of 391, usually interpreted as the final blow against the public practice of pagan rites, as a minor statute directed only at a few officials. All in all, though, this is a masterly work of scholarship, and bound to give the reader new insight into the life and character of a key figure in the advance of Christianity as a political force.