The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity

by Peter Brown

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the YearA Tablet Book of the YearMarking a departure in our understanding of Christian views of the afterlife from 250 to 650 CE, The Ransom of the Soul explores a revolutionary shift in thinking about the fate of the soul that occurred around the time of Rome’s fall. Peter Brown describes how this shift transformed the Church’s institutional relationship to money and set the stage for its domination of medieval society in the West.“[An] extraordinary new book…Prodigiously original—an astonishing performance for a historian who has already been so prolific and influential…Peter Brown’s subtle and incisive tracking of the role of money in Christian attitudes toward the afterlife not only breaks down traditional geographical and chronological boundaries across more than four centuries. It provides wholly new perspectives on Christianity itself, its evolution, and, above all, its discontinuities. It demonstrates why the Middle Ages, when they finally arrived, were so very different from late antiquity.”—G. W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books“Peter Brown’s explorations of the mindsets of late antiquity have been educating us for nearly half a century…Brown shows brilliantly in this book how the future life of Christians beyond the grave was influenced in particular by money.—A. N. Wilson, The Spectator

Genres: History, Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction, Theology, Ancient History, Medieval

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Peter Robert Lamont Brown FBA is an Irish historian. He is the Rollins Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University. Brown is credited with having brought coherence to the field of Late Antiquity, and is often regarded as the inventor of said field. His work has concerned, in particular, the religious culture of the later Roman Empire and early medieval Europe, and the relation between religion and society.

Reviews

[Jo Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, excellent, a model of clarity and fascinating, must read everything else Brown has ever written.

This book looks in detail about changing Christian views on the afterlife, almsgiving, and sin, over a crucial period of Late Antiquity, and it does it in luminous prose and with compassion and understanding. Brown shows us what things meant when they were written, not as they were later read, and then how they were later read in changed times. He takes away the filters we use to see things so we can see clearly. Just great.

[Jack Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brown writes well and with a deep knowledge of late antiquity, but his aims are often obscure. The chapters by themselves are interesting and loosely cohere around a few themes, but the larger structure was lacking. In short, the book's theme revolves around how the Christian conception of the afterlife "became a cosmos of its own" (as stated in the conclusion), highlighting the growing divide between death and heaven and the increasing emphasis on personal responsibility for one's post-mortem fate. However, one often has to squint to see this among discussions of alms-giving as expiation, Pelagian controversies, and the debates of Gallic bishops about the immaterial soul.

[Bohdana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author attempts to show the change in view of the afterlife during the period of around 250 to around 650 AD. His thesis is very focused (as in the title, is about how alms, money, and prayer were given in exchange for forgiveness of sins in the afterlife and building up "treasure in heaven").

Several themes and topic are mentioned were the debated of if the soul is material or immaterial, the question of if rituals could help protect a dead soul in it's journey, if a soul had to wait around a while before going on it's journey, what happened to the non valdes ("not altogether good/bad"), of the theme of the poor and the judgement of God, the changing view of monasteries and convents, the social stratification and the "out class" (nobility who became monks), the views throughout the former Empire (for example Egypt versus the Gaul).

It is from Proverbs, "The ransom of the soul of a man is his wealth". It later came to mean that the living can assist the dead through almsgiving. Early in the period, remembrance is associated with intercession. The introduction begins by contrasting both ends of the above period. Each chapter roughly has a few figures discussed to show the evolving views.

[sam tannehill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every book I read by Peter Brown is extremely interesting! His books are very focused, so be prepared! The thesis is always clearly stated in the sub-title and in the table of contents. So if you are reading one of his books and you feel inundated with detail, take a step back and review the general information to regain your footing. The Epilogue of this book is especially important and interesting. Four stars! Minus one star because I got sidetracked in the third chapter.

[Giacomo Contratto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran bel saggio di Peter Brown, il grande storico del cristianesimo tardo-antico. Una lettura tecnica, complessa, ma molto scorrevole e scritta sempre con quella bella prosa ricca ed evocativa tipica dell’autore. Tema intrigante, spiace solo che non sia stato approfondito maggiormente.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brown is good as ever, and much more concise here.

[Ardi Pierik · Rating 4 out of 5]

In dit boek verkent Brown de sociaal-culturele achtergronden van een belangrijke verschuiving in de (Westerse) vroegchristelijke eschatologie. Waar Tertullianus stelde dat de zielen van de martelaren direct bij God zijn en die van de overige christenen na hun dood in alle rust de opstanding afwachten, denkt Julianus van Toledo voor de niet-heiligen aan een lange reis onderweg naar hemel of hel, die o.a. door gebed van levende of gestorven heiligen of door bij leven aalmoezen te geven beïnvloed kan worden.
Brown neemt de lezer mee via het vroege christendom van de tweede eeuw, het Noord-Afrika van Augustinus en zijn strijd tegen de Pelagianen, boete en besef van het Laatste Oordeel in Gallië naar een wereld waarin deze en de toekomende wereld steeds meer vervlochten raakten. Brown weet helder uit te leggen in welke context deze veranderingen plaatsvonden. Hij maakt bovendien expliciet met welke vooroordelen wij deze teksten en ontwikkelingen tegenwoordig benaderen. Daarbij leest de tekst ook nog eens erg prettig.
Ik raakte gefascineerd door het idee dat het mogelijk is om een schat in de hemel op te bouwen door het geven van aalmoezen. Brown citeert het grafschrift van bisschop Hilarius van Arles: "He bought up heaven with his earthly gifts." Niet iets wat snel bij mij in de kerk gezegd zou worden. De rol die het geven van aalmoezen speelt, is sowieso een van de focuspunten van het boek, al had ik wel de indruk dat deze factor aan het begin van deze ontwikkeling een grotere rol speelde dan aan het eind.
Hoe dan ook is dit een zeer lezenswaardig boek, dat mij hielp om mijn eigen kerkelijke achtergrond wat meer te contextualiseren. Een aanrader dus!

[Selina Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Read for a history class on Medieval Christianity)
I really enjoyed this book. Brown's writing style flows nicely and is easy and nice to read. His argument, I thought (although apparently some other students disagreed), was clear and well-presented. He does a good job of tracking changes in Christian theology about death and the afterlife from about 250-650 CE/AD, and an excellent job placing those changes in their historical socio-economic context to understand both why the changes occurred and how they affected society and who they affected. A great look at how belief about the afterlife started one way and ended up with purgatory (although Brown leaves off juuuuust before purgatory). Brown does assume familiarity with the general history of the period and occasionally throws out a reference to something he doesn't explain, which can be confusing if you don't have any knowledge of the general history of 3rd-7th century Roman Empire/Europe. I'd definitely recommend for people interesting in this aspect of the change of Christian belief.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at Early Christian view of death, the afterlife and the giving of alms to better secure ones place in heaven. Professor Brown's engaging and clear writing style, and his extensive use of comparisons and contrasts between different periods greatly assist the general reader to understand the role wealth played in the evolution of Christian beliefs and customs.

[!Tæmbuŝu]

Reviewed by Open Letters Monthly

[Andy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always with Peter Brown, a must read. An insightful and engaging look at the relationship between wealth and the afterlife, focused on the late and post-Roman West.

[Richard Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine review of this period.