Peter Brown
Peter Brown is the Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University. He is credited with having created the field of study referred to as late antiquity (250-800 A.D.), the period during which Rome fell, the three major monotheistic religions took shape, and Christianity spread across Europe. A native of Ireland, Professor Brown earned his B.A. in history from Oxford University, where he taught until 1975 as a Fellow of All Souls College. He joined the Princeton faculty in 1986 after teaching at the University of London and the University of California, Berkeley.
Books by Peter Brown
“The book…is still revolutionary in the way that it offered us a functionalist account of what’s going on with the cult of saints.” Read more...
Simon Yarrow, Historian
Augustine of Hippo
by Peter Brown
St Augustine's Confessions is one of our most recommended books on Five Books. In this biography, one of the great historians of the 20th century, Peter Brown, looks at the life of the extraordinary man credited with creating the concept of 'original sin.'
The World of Late Antiquity
by Peter Brown
In very few words he managed to sketch out a whole new geography which taught us that you can’t think about the rise of Christianity without looking at the fate of the old established religions like Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism, and that the rule of the Roman Empire had to be brought into the context of Persia, the Barbarian north and followers of Islam from Arabia.
Interviews with Peter Brown
-
1
The Social And Economic History Of Roman Empire
by Michael Rostovtzeff -
2
A History of Education in Antiquity
by Henri-Irénée Marrou -
3
Philosophy as a Way of Life
by Pierre Hadot -
4
Mosaics as History: The Near East from Late Antiquity to Islam
by GW Bowersock -
5
Pauvreté économique et pauvreté sociale à Byzance
by Evelyne Patlagean
The best books on Late Antiquity, recommended by Peter Brown
The best books on Late Antiquity, recommended by Peter Brown
The Best Books to Read on Late Antiquity — a Five Books Reading List
Interviews where books by Peter Brown were recommended
The best books on Religious and Social History in the Ancient World, recommended by Robin Lane Fox
Cultural and philosophical changes that occurred in late antiquity are essential to our understanding of the world today, but few us know much about that period. Historian Robin Lane Fox recommends the best books to read to get a good sense of late antiquity.
The best books on Byzantium, recommended by Judith Herrin
Byzantine scholar Judith Herrin, professor emerita at King's College London, selects five books to help us understand the place of Byzantium in world civilisation.
The Best Augustine Books, recommended by Catherine Conybeare
Christianity has been profoundly influenced by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE), but the fifth-century North African bishop has impacted almost every area of western thought: philosophy, theology, political theory, linguistics, and rhetoric. His Confessions is one of the most recommended titles on Five Books, but is it really the first autobiography? Professor Catherine Conybeare introduces us to the life, thought, and personality of this controversial yet brilliant figure. She picks the best books to learn more about St. Augustine and explores how he has been unfairly maligned.
The best books on Sin, recommended by Paula Fredriksen
Tortured by the sins of your past? Or contemplating new ones? The historian of ancient Christianity recommends five books you to understand the role of sin in Christian thought.
-
1
The Confessions
by Augustine (translated by Maria Boulding) -
2
The Cult of the Saints Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity
by Peter Brown -
3
Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary
by Miri Rubin -
4
Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits
by Allan Greer -
5
Between Heaven and Earth: The Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them
by Robert Orsi
The best books on The Saints, recommended by Simon Yarrow
The best books on The Saints, recommended by Simon Yarrow
Heroes are universal to human culture and, in Christian culture, they manifested themselves as saints. Historian Simon Yarrow recommends the best books to understand the saints, from their widespread appearance in late antiquity to their continuing influence in modern America.
