Histoire du Christianisme des origines à nos jours Sous la direction de Jean- Marie Mayeur, Charles et Luce Pietri, André Vauchez, Marc Venard (review)

BOOK REVIEWS713 other saints, blesseds, and charismatic figures. Martinez's work which amends this imbalance is not outdated hagiography but presents the lives of the saints of Carmel by way of a critical methodology and in a modern theological context . The result is a clear signal that it is more than time that a like collection be undertaken in English. The many "saints" of Carmel deserve to be known more widely than is presently the case. Much of the scholarly work that made Martinez's volume possible first appeared in Santi del Carmelo: Biografié da vari Dizionari, edited by Ludovico Saggi, O.Carm. (Rome: Institutum Carmelitanum . 1972; 403 pp.) An abridged version of Saggi's work appeared as Saints of Carmel, translated by Gabriel Pausback, O.Carm. (Rome: Carmelite Institute, 1972; 356 pp.). The Italian original has received little attention in English-speaking countries, and the abridged volume seems hardly to be have been noticed. Martinez has divided his work into five parts: I: The Primitive Saints of Carmel,The Great Reformers ofthe Fifteenth Century; II: (Saints) In the Heart of the Church; III: Spiritual Masters; IV:The GreatWitnesses of Carmel;The Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War,Witnesses of Human Values; Exceptional Figures of the Twentieth Century (Titus Brandsma and Edith Stein); V Those Who Have Read the Signs of the Times. Figuras del Carmelo has taken advantage of recent, solid scholarship. Oddly, some glaring mistaken dates appear here and there. The centenary of the death of Thérèse of Lisieux should read 1897-1997 (in the preface by A. Yubero, p. xiv).John of the Cross's birth date is 1542 (p. 189). The introduction is helpful. There are an extensive bibliography, pertinent or significant materials in footnotes , very useful indices, and carefully chosen black and white illustrations. Keith J. Egan Saint Mary's College Notre Dame, Indiana Histoire du Christianisme des origines à nosjours. Sous la direction de JeanMarie Mayeur, Charles et Luce Pietri,André Vauchez, Marc Venard. Tome LX: L'Âge de raison (1620-1750) sous la responsabilité de Marc Venard. (Paris: Desclée. 1997. Pp. 1216. 480 FF.) L'Âge de raison (1620-1750),the ninth in a projected series oftwelve tomes appearing under the general title Histoire du Christianisme, avoids strict historical narrative and presents instead a collection of well documented articles arranged along four broad thematic lines. Because of its institutional focus, L'Âge de raison is mainly traditional in scope and it is the better for this. Those favoring esoteric investigations may not care for the book's organization or emphases ,which are entirely in keeping with a survey ofthis type. However,L'Âge de raison defies easy categorization because it follows the two preceding 714BOOK REVIEWS tomes surveying the Reformation era [t. 7, De la réforme à la Réformation (1450-1530) and t. 8,Le temps des confessions (1530-1'62O)], while also serving as the transitional volume to the revolutionary era (1750-1830) that is to be examined in the tenth volume of the series. Fortunately, contributors to the ninth tome include such seasoned scholars as Bernard Vogler of Strasbourg and Willem Frijhoff of Rotterdam, who have deliberately written in a straightforward descriptive manner that avoids polemics and builds upon the consensus of scholarly opinion. As a collaborative work, L'Âge de raison primarily aims to synthesize. Each chapter contains extensive footnotes as well as selective bibliographies of mostly secondary sources in French. English titles, however, do not figure prominently, and the coverage of English history is less than satisfying. The volume's index also excludes subjects , thereby limiting its reference utility. In a volume that evaluates the entire Christian world, the paucity of reliable maps (only ten) is disappointing. On a positive note, the editor, Marc Venard, professor emeritus of modern history at the University of Paris and president of the Société d'Histoire religieuse de la France, has assembled a readable, up-to-date survey of Christianity that covers the overlapping periods of Catholic Reformation and pre-Enlightenment. Professor Venard, who has contributed several pieces here, including a chapter on Christian culture and la morale (pp. 990-1033), has made use of nearly two dozen capable...