The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy [Paperback]

Steven Runciman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1982 | ISBN-10: 0521289262 | ISBN-13: 978-0521289269 | Edition: Reissue of 1st Edition

A reissue of Sir Steven Runciman's classic account of the Dualist heretic tradition in Christianity from its Gnostic origins, through Armenia, Byzantium, and the Balkans to its final flowering in Italy and Southern France. The chief danger that early Christianity had to face came from the heretical Dualist sect founded in the mid-third century AD by the prophet Mani. Within a century of his death Manichaean churches were established from western Mediterranean lands to eastern Turkestan. Though Manichaeism failed in the end to supplant orthodox Christianity, the Church had been badly frightened; and henceforth it gave the hated epithet of 'Manichaean' to the churches of Dualist doctrines that survived into the late Middle Ages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; Reissue of 1st Edition edition (September 30, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521289262
• ISBN-13: 978-0521289269
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Review of Steven Runciman's "The Medieval Manichee", published 1947, October 4, 2008

By 

Didier LEBEAU (Fiennes, FRANCE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy (Paperback)

One can only marvel at Mr. Runciman's scholarship, his knowledge of Eastern history and languages was remarkable; he was acquainted with Latin, Greek, Russian, French, Arabic and many other Balkan languages. The sources he consulted and quoted are exhaustive and sometimes not easily accessible. He can only be commended for the depth of his research and making known to the reader the existence of a vast literature dealing with the subject covered in this book.

Nevertheless, it must be remembered that Mr. Runciman was a secular historian dealing with a religious subject, this obviously leads him to some unjustified conclusions. Despite his obvious erudition, the author fails to give us an adequate assessment of those he ranked among the Medieval Manichee. His appreciation of these people is often pejorative and even derogatory at times.

The sources available and used by Mr. Runciman are almost all hostile, since the opponents and in particular the Inquisition made sure that all the writings of those called Manichee were destroyed. All historians know this fact and should therefore be very careful in quoting them. The information gathered by those who dealt directly with these people and which was included in their histories, reports, letters and other writings was bias and therefore largely unreliable.

When one desires to write objectively about a movement like say the Paulicians, he should be aware of these well known facts and take them into account so as to present an accurate picture of his subject. It is clear that in his book Mr. Runciman took many sources he read for granted. He failed to weigh things in the balance of objectivity and sometimes he even contradicts common sense. He repeats many of the aberrations that were written a foretime without intimating that his sources could be questionable.

Historically this book is helpful for its broad outline and bibliographical notes. But it is my personal view that it fails totally to tell us the true story of these "Manichee".

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little dated but still a great book., December 8, 2002

By 

Blah (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy (Paperback)

Obviously, this book is a little old being originally published in the eighty's. However, it is still a great read and one of the best books on the subject. Best of all it is short and easy to read so if you want just a cursory overview of dualism this is where to start. If you want to learn more after reading this one, I suggest Yuri Stoyanov's The Other God. Stoyanov's work is longer and much more difficult to read but it has been recently revised in 2001 and is a more complete look at dualism not only Christian but also Zoroastrianism and other similar belief system

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The classic, May 31, 2004

By 

David M. Wagner (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy (Paperback)

This is still the go-to book for a broad view of how the heresy of spirit/matter dualism spread from its pre-Christian origins in Persia, through various pseudo-Christian manifestations, moving westward over the centuries until it reached its much-hyped popular guise as Catharism.

This is a world-hating ideology that does not deserve the good press it gets merely for having been persecuted by the Catholic Church. Runciman, as an Anglican, does not carry water for the Catholic Church, but he is realistic about the nature and implications of dualist-gnosticism.