Are there angels within spitting distance of men? What did Pope Gregory the Great think of pagans? Were the monks of Battle compulsive forgers? Is temptation always a bad thing? These and many other fascinating questions are explored in this book. Commisssioned in honour of the distinguished medieval historian, Henry Mayr-Harting and reflecting the range and focus of its honorand's interests, the twenty-five essays provide a panoramic and stimulating exploration of the interrelated fields of belief and culture in the middle ages. Sanctity and sacred biography, seduction and temptation, forgery and litigation, patronage and art production, conversion and oppression were all part of the rich fabric of medieval Christian culture that is scrutinized here. Individually the studies shed new light on a series of key issues and questions relating to the cultural, religious, and political history of the sixth-century church, of Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, and of Carolingian, Ottonian, and Investiture Contest Europe; while collectively they illuminate the interaction of Christianity and politics, of secular and sacred, and of belief and culture from late antiquity to the thirteenth century.

This collection of essays focuses on fundamental issues of Christian belief and culture in the Middle Ages. Ranging geographically from the Mediterranean to the Slav lands, and including the British Isles, exploring individual prelates, potentates, and patrons, the volume offers a panoramic exposition of medieval belief and culture.

This collection is a coherent one which makes a quite particular contribution to medieval studies ... Henry Mayr-Harting's influence is present in every part of this collection ... This volume is a fitting tribute to a very distinguished scholar.