Seventh-century Ireland is becoming a land of saints, scholars, and spiritual foster mothers as well as warriors. The boy Aidan, a descendant of Saint Brigid, is formed by all of these as well as by a pilgrimage, aborted by an Arab uprising, on which he meets a follower of the Prophet Muhammad. He is transferred to Iona, the mother-house of Saint Columba's family of monasteries, where his character is forged. Aidan becomes guest-master to challenging visitors, one of whom conducts a mysterious affair, suffers a midlife crisis, and develops friendships with royal Saxon exiles at the Dunadd court, the seat of the "real" King Arthur. Iona commissions Aidan to evangelize the original WASPs: the White, Anglo-Saxon Pagan invaders of Britain. Aidan offers a radically different approach to that of the Roman missionaries. His gentle grassroots gospel-sharing through friendship, his villages of God that model God's kingdom, his introduction of spiritual foster-mothers such as Hilda to the English, his soul friendships and heartbreaks with successive saintly and power-hungry kings, and his near-death foresight into the future take us inside the heroic spiritual formation of a person and a people in a story that has contemporary significance. Even Aidan's name, Flame, tells a story of its own

An collection of essays by specialists in the field examining Anglo-Saxon learning and text interpretation and transmission.

The Poetical gazette; the official organ of the Poetry society and a review of poetical affairs, nos. 4-7 issued as supplements to the Academy, v. 79, Oct. 15, Nov. 5, Dec. 3 and 31, 1910

This set reprints volumes 1, 2 and 3 of James Bowen's A History of Western Education originally published by Methuen in the 1970s. Volume One: The Ancient World: Orient and Mediterranean 2000B.C - A.D. 1054 The volume traces the development of education in the ancient world from the first scribal cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt to learning in the early Christian church. A detailed account is given of the acheivements of Greece in literacy, learning, philosophy and training for public life - achievements which were further developed in the Hellenistic Orient and incorporated by the Romans into their own highly organized educational system. This leads to the emergence of a specifically Christian ideal of education, the decline of secular learning in the West, and the preservation of learning both in Byzantium and in Western monasticism. Volume Two: Civilization of Europe: Sixth to Sixteenth Century Volume Two follows the growth and process of learning in Europe from its foundations in the Carolingian era through its evolution in medieval Europe - especially italy, France, Germany and England - to its expansion and refinement in the sixteenth century. Particular attention is paid to: * The role of medieval institutions of the cathedral and grammer schools and the university * The contribution of notable scholars of the age such as Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Erasmus and Luther Volume Three: The Modern West: Europe and the New World The final volume covers the period of educational dissent, which became conspicuous in the early seventeenth century and reached crisis proportions in the late twentieth, when the dominant ideologies of progress and equality, generated at the beginning of the nineteenth century, were questioned for the first time on a widespread, popular scale.

Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral care Christian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways. In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focusing on skills that help carers nurture connections between everyday life and Christian faith, she explores the need for carers to understand common stressors, listen, pray with others, and nurture their personal resilience. Grounded in an understanding of God as the true caregiver and healer, the author offers tips for readers who are training other pastoral carers or developing their own understanding and skills. Each chapter ends with discussion and reflection questions, making the book helpful for groups. Lynne Baab brings readers hope for their caring role and for their own spiritual journey.