The Formation of Christendom

by Christopher Henry Dawson

Dawson's book traces the formation of Christian culture from its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition through the rise and the decline of medieval Christendom. Here, as in all his works, he sees religion as the dynamic element of culture. He shares with Arnold Toynbee the ideal of a universal spiritual society as the goal of history but whereas Dr. Toynbee sees this as achievable by a consensus of the great world religions, East and West, Dawson sees it as coming from the working out of the Catholic principle. Catholicism does not rest on the consensus of human wisdom—even on its highest and most spiritual plane—but on a divine revelation which is also an act of creation. The Church is, in his view, just such a society working as a leaven in history its role in history is that of healing the divisions of humanity by bringing the nations back into spiritual unity.

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

319 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