Overview

"The fourth century of our common era began and ended with a miracle. Traditionally, in the year 312, the Roman emperor Constantine experienced a ""vision of the Cross"" that led him to convert to Christianity and to defeat his last rival to the imperial throne; and, in 394, a divine wind carried the emperor Theodosius to victory at the battle of the Frigidus River. Other stories heralded the discovery of the True Cross by Constantine's mother, Helena, and the rise of a new kind of miracle-maker in the deserts of Egypt and Syria. These miracle stories helped Christians understand the dizzying changes they experienced in the fourth century. Far more than the outdated narrative of a ""life-and-death"" struggle between Christians and pagans, they help us understand the darker turn Christianity took in subsequent ages.In A Century of Miracles, historian H. A. Drake explores the role miracle stories played in helping Christians, pagans, and Jews think about themselves and each other. These stories, he concludes, bolstered Christian belief that their god wanted the empire to be Christian. Most importantly, they help explain how, after a century of trumpeting the power of their god, Christians were able to deal with their failure to protect the city of Rome from a barbarian sack by the Gothic army of Alaric in 410. Augustine's magnificent City of God eventually established a new theoretical basis for success, but in the meantime the popularity of miracle stories reassured the faithful--even when the miracles came to an end. Thoroughly researched within a wide range of faiths and belief systems, A Century of Miracles provides an absorbing illumination of this complex, polytheistic, and decidedly mystical phenomenon."

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9780199367412

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Reviews

"""A Century of Miracles is a pleasant read. Drake knows how to combine scholarly discussion with an accessible and at times punchy style ... and lively comparisons are made with modern issues. The miracle stories are contextualised with late antique history in general, discussions ranging from the relations between emperors and bishops; questioning the dichotomies of pagans and Christians; the problem of the Constantinian turn; the debates on Julian's School Law, and so on."" -- Maijastina Kahlos, Gnomon ""Drake succeeds in demonstrating how these miracle stories reassured Christians that God wanted to make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The author writes objectively, and while stating his intention in writing, he is not biased nor demonstrates an agenda to build a case for the miraculous. That is evident when he meticulously and critically examines the evidence purporting such happenings."" -- Mark Anderson, PNEUMA ""Drake's treatment is a humorous, learned and delightful romp that provides for long-embattled questions within the field answers that are intelligible, coherent and enjoyable to engage... It is a valuable read for any student of 4th-century Christianity and a requisite one for any scholars working on the issues Drake covers."" --CJ-Online ""Throughout, Drake proves himself to be a most congenial guide to the late antique miraculous, pointing out the highlights and inconsistencies, and always helping the reader understand how such apparently implausible stories came to exercise so profound an influence over the historical imagination from the 4th century down to our own day.""--Mark Humphries, Reading Religion ""Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers."" -- Choice ""[this book] gives an insightful and engaging account of the development of Christian ideology across the fourth century, and is probably all the better for sidelining the doctrinal controversies that might otherwise bog down the narrative. There are plentiful insights and neat turns of phrase, and helpful illustrations including a stunning photograph (sourced from Wikimedia Commons) of a real solar halo. Drake tells his stories with a touch of humour, and he is quite right not to believe them."" --Michael Stuart Williams, Bryn Mawr Classical Review ""In this masterly book, Drake takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the last century of the Roman Empire. From Constantine's conversion onwards, a series of breathtaking military victories and similar stunning events seemed to prove that the empire was directly favored by the Christian God. Then the ride ended with a spectacular jolt. In 410 the Goths sacked Rome. Only Augustine's City of God could make sense of the end of an age of public euphoria. For those who wish to capture the feel of Rome in its last days-and especially the poignant hopes of those who believed that Christianity might make Rome great again-this book is a must."" --Peter Brown, Princeton University ""Drake traces how in the fourth century, Roman emperors and their families, bishops, and ascetics all appealed to miracles to foster their agendas as well as the Empire's Christianization. A lively, accessible account of an important century by a master historian of the Constantinian era."" --Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University ""With keen insight and indomitable good humor, Drake investigates the tumultuous period between Constantine ('the emperor who opened the door to Christianity') and Theodosius ('the one who slammed it shut on everybody else'). What factors fed the rise of the church? Christians, he urges, learned how to meaningfully-and strategically-narrate miracles. A pleasure to think with and a joy to read, A Century of Miracles belongs in your hands and on your bookshelf. Tolle, lege!"" --Paula Fredriksen, Boston University and Hebrew University"

With keen insight and indomitable good humor, Drake investigates the tumultuous period between Constantine ('the emperor who opened the door to Christianity') and Theodosius ('the one who slammed it shut on everybody else'). What factors fed the rise of the church? Christians, he urges, learned how to meaningfully - and strategically - narrate miracles. A pleasure to think with and a joy to read, A Century of Miracles belongs in your hands and on your bookshelf. Tolle, lege! * Paula Fredriksen, Boston University and Hebrew University * Drake traces how in the fourth century, Roman emperors and their families, bishops, and ascetics all appealed to miracles to foster their agendas as well as the Empire's Christianization. A lively, accessible account of an important century by a master historian of the Constantinian era. * Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University * In this masterly book, Drake takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the last century of the Roman Empire. From Constantine's conversion onwards, a series of breathtaking military victories and similar stunning events seemed to prove that the empire was directly favored by the Christian God. Then the ride ended with a spectacular jolt. In 410 the Goths sacked Rome. Only Augustine's City of God could make sense of the end of an age of public euphoria. For those who wish to capture the feel of Rome in its last days - and especially the poignant hopes of those who believed that Christianity might make Rome great again - this book is a must. * Peter Brown, Princeton University *

Drake succeeds in demonstrating how these miracle stories reassured Christians that God wanted to make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The author writes objectively, and while stating his intention in writing, he is not biased nor demonstrates an agenda to build a case for the miraculous. That is evident when he meticulously and critically examines the evidence purporting such happenings. -- Mark Anderson, PNEUMA Drake's treatment is a humorous, learned and delightful romp that provides for long-embattled questions within the field answers that are intelligible, coherent and enjoyable to engage... It is a valuable read for any student of 4th-century Christianity and a requisite one for any scholars working on the issues Drake covers. --CJ-Online Throughout, Drake proves himself to be a most congenial guide to the late antique miraculous, pointing out the highlights and inconsistencies, and always helping the reader understand how such apparently implausible stories came to exercise so profound an influence over the historical imagination from the 4th century down to our own day. --Mark Humphries, Reading Religion Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. -- Choice [this book] gives an insightful and engaging account of the development of Christian ideology across the fourth century, and is probably all the better for sidelining the doctrinal controversies that might otherwise bog down the narrative. There are plentiful insights and neat turns of phrase, and helpful illustrations including a stunning photograph (sourced from Wikimedia Commons) of a real solar halo. Drake tells his stories with a touch of humour, and he is quite right not to believe them. --Michael Stuart Williams, Bryn Mawr Classical Review In this masterly book, Drake takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the last century of the Roman Empire. From Constantine's conversion onwards, a series of breathtaking military victories and similar stunning events seemed to prove that the empire was directly favored by the Christian God. Then the ride ended with a spectacular jolt. In 410 the Goths sacked Rome. Only Augustine's City of God could make sense of the end of an age of public euphoria. For those who wish to capture the feel of Rome in its last days-and especially the poignant hopes of those who believed that Christianity might make Rome great again-this book is a must. --Peter Brown, Princeton University Drake traces how in the fourth century, Roman emperors and their families, bishops, and ascetics all appealed to miracles to foster their agendas as well as the Empire's Christianization. A lively, accessible account of an important century by a master historian of the Constantinian era. --Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University With keen insight and indomitable good humor, Drake investigates the tumultuous period between Constantine ('the emperor who opened the door to Christianity') and Theodosius ('the one who slammed it shut on everybody else'). What factors fed the rise of the church? Christians, he urges, learned how to meaningfully-and strategically-narrate miracles. A pleasure to think with and a joy to read, A Century of Miracles belongs in your hands and on your bookshelf. Tolle, lege! --Paula Fredriksen, Boston University and Hebrew University

Author Information

H. A. Drake is Research Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Constantine and the Bishops.

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