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Journal of Early Christian Studies 10.4 (2002) 543-544



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Bertrand Lancon, Rome in Late Antiquity: Everyday Life and Urban Change, A.D. 312-600 Translated by Antonia Nevill with introduction and "Guide to Further Reading" by Mark Humphries New York: Routledge, 2001 Pp. xxii + 185. $22.95 (paper).

Ralph Martin Novak Jr. Christianity and the Roman Empire: Background Texts Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity International Press, 2001 Pp. x + 340. $35 (paper).


Frances Andrews, whose essay ". . . Rome and Romanitas: Aspects of Transition" introduces the splendid festschrift honoring Donald A. Bullough (Leiden: Brill, 2000), observes that "it is striking that until very recently, the city of Rome itself has often been either absent or peripheral in essay collections on cities in late antiquity" (3). While L*ancon's concise monograph does not conform strictly to the terms of Andrews's remark, it should be noted that Rome in Late An-tiquity, admittedly a work of haut vulgarization, which was published originally in a French edition (1995), appears nowhere in Andrews's essay or in any other [End Page 543] essay in the Bullough festschrift. Nonetheless, L*ancon, Andrews, and a host of other scholars are greatly enriching our understanding of the most vital and significant urban center of the Mediterranean world during late antiquity—Rome, the city of Emperors and the city of Popes.

The English edition has a foreword by the author that is historiographically significant because of L*ancon's comments on Jerome Carcopino's Rome à l'apogée del'Empire, which in translation (Daily Life in Ancient Rome) was very successful. The foreword is followed by Humphries's characterization of L*ancon's approach (which emphasizes the "everyday life" of "ordinary citizens" and not that of "emperors and aristocrats") and by Humphries's incisive appreciation of "the city between antiquity and the Middle Ages" (xvi-xxii).

In twelve chapters, divided among four parts ("The Majesty of the Quirinal," "Plebs and Patricians," "Religion and Religiosity," "Worldly Concerns"), L*ancon provides an enlightening description of life in the imperial Urbs. The Christian factors are carefully expounded throughout, concluding with chapter 13, "The Influence of Christian Rome." Supporting this valuable narrative are five maps and sixteen illustrations and a short index of persons from late antiquity.

Described by the publisher as a book for "undergraduates, seminarians, and general audiences," Novak's book has, indeed, provided an impressive array of background texts for those interested in Christianity and the Roman Empire. In doing so, the author has added to the steadily expanding collection of texts on this captivating historical relationship.

The "Index of Ancient Texts" (328-35) at the close of the volume demonstrates Novak's thoroughness in identifying pertinent ancient sources extending from the "Acta Saturnini to Ulpianus (plus William of Occam's "Razor" in an introduction to the "Historical Method"). Exclusive of biblical citations, this alphabetical list totals nearly one hundred texts (with many cited numerous times, e.g., Cassius Dio twelve times and Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History more than fifty times).

The texts are woven into Novak's narrative, and each is identified numerically within each chapter. By the end of chapter 6, which brings the chronological review to 416 C.E., 172 texts have been quoted and assessed. The narrative chapters are supplemented by five appendices on "Primary Source Topics." These include "Accusations of Christian Immorality," "The Worship of the Roman Emperor," "The Formulation of the Nicene Creed," and "Determining the Dates of the Life of Jesus."

Novak's narrative is supported with useful citations of secondary studies (in English) in the footnotes while in "Sources and Translations" (311-27) there are succinct comments on the ancient texts and authors, again with citations of modern studies. An "Index of Subjects" (336-40) concludes this volume which is very useful for its designated audience.

 



Harry Rosenberg
Colorado State University

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