A Formação da Cristandade: Das Origens na Tradição Judaico-Cristã à Ascensão e Queda da Unidade Medieval

by Christopher Henry Dawson, Márcia Xavier de Brito (Translator)

A Formação da Cristandade delineia o nascimento do mundo cristão desde as raízes judaicas e helenísticas até o colapso da cristandade medieval. A obra é dividida em três partes. Os objetivos e os fundamentos teóricos do estudo são apresentados na primeira, merecendo destaque as reflexões sobre a natureza, o desenvolvimento e a difusão da cultura. A segunda parte narra os primórdios da cultura cristã na Antiguidade. O ápice desse trabalho é a terceira parte, que trata da formação, do desenvolvimento e do declínio da cristandade na Idade Média. No epílogo, o autor discute o ideal de sociedade espiritual universal defendido pela cristandade, apontando questões de grande importância histórica para todos os que desejam entender as autênticas necessidades de nossa era ecumênica.
A presente obra reúne virtude e moderação, erudição e clareza – qualidades que fizeram Christopher Dawson ser aclamado tanto por católicos quanto por protestantes.

Genres: History, Religion, Catholic, Nonfiction, Christianity, Theology, Church History

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Christopher Henry Dawson (12 October 1889, Hay Castle – 25 May 1970, Budleigh Salterton) was a British independent scholar, who wrote many books on cultural history and Christendom. Christopher H. Dawson has been called "the greatest English-speaking Catholic historian of the twentieth century".

Reviews

[Joel Zartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the thing about Dawson: he's not only read everything about the period he's talking about, he has digested it. The result is an understanding of what the people and movements mean that he's dealing with unsurpassed. He's dealing with 1500 of Christian history.

Dawson is also a son of the Catholic church and takes her point of view: universality is more important in a church than holiness. As a result he looks at things on one side of that vision as rigorist and sectarian, and on the other side as dissipated and humanitarian (too taken up with merely human concerns, no more). But you have to understand the historian to understand his history with any of them. And once you do, you can figure out how to take what he says.

Dawson is setting forth a Catholic vision, complete with a section of blame for the Eastern Church. It reminds me, because of that, of Vladimir Lossky's The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, which does something similar to what Dawson does, only from a different perspective. Both are stimulating books.

Reading Dawson requires a lot of attention, but he rewards attention. I always know when I'm reading Dawson I'll come away with useful insights and a better grasp of the meaning of this or that period of history. I look forward to his clear and steadfast progress through a chapter of explanation. He can be relied on to make a really good point and expand your understanding of what happened, and why.

[Peter Bringe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an insightful book on the development of visible and universal Christian culture, particularly from the early church to the 13th century. Dawson is a Roman Catholic, and has a perspective I would differ from in some points, but I benefitted from his writing. He makes some good points on the church's role in being the new regenerate humanity with concrete visibility in, and effect on, history and culture. He also gives a good overview of the history of the medieval era, which was not static, and how its basically Christian culture was formed. Good things to chew on as we look to form Christendom in our own age.

I learned about this book from an "Easy Chair" discussion by R. J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott where it was highly recommended to help one appreciate the history of medieval Christianity (see 28:00-29:14 and 32:00-32:52 on this recording: http://chalcedon.edu/research/audio/g...)

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente livro introdutório para se entender a formação da cristandade e a história da Igreja. A lente pela qual Dawson lê a história é a cultura, como ela se forma, se propaga, morre, se enraiza, enfim, como ela forma e é expressão de uma pessoa e do seu povo. Depois de explicar seus critérios, perpassa a história da Cristandade parando antes da falsa-reforma protestante. Leitura leve, agradável e permite descobrir muito da bonita história da humanidade dos primeiros 15 séculos depois de Cristo.

[Kezscribe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The formation of the West—or of Christendom—from a historical and social perspective. It demonstrates how Christianity served as a cultural driving force that shaped our civilisation. The standout feature is the excellent linguistic and cultural analysis; Dawson reveals how language, traditions, and ideas intertwined to create something greater.

[Enes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinç tayanç isimli çevirmeniyle dikkat çekici:) ilk baskısı 76 yılına dayanan bu kitap, dergah yayınlarından çıkmış vakt-i zamanında. Dawson hristiyanlık üzerine donanımlı. batıyı tarif ederken ilk kaynak olarak helenizmi çok önemli bir yere koysa da Avrupa için, İslam ve doğu hakkında söyledikleri de dikkatle okunasıdır.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good