Light to the Isles

In this book, Dales succeeds in shedding new light on the theological approach to the evangelism of The British Isles and the work of missionaries to and from the British Isles in the Western church throughout the period 400-800 AD. Although the historical value of the literary texts analysed is substantial, this study gives them an inherent theology pre-eminence. This reprint is thus an examination of particular people, and the beliefs they shared with those who remembered them, and who causedthese texts to be written. Through these pages, we discover that the origin of hagiographical literature in this specific area comes from a remote and singular period when the memory of the Roman era and of the church fathers was ever present. It was because of the barbarous condition that the Church faced, that the stream that fought to keep Latin Christian culture alive to nurture monastic education, missionary activity and the ascetic cultivation of sanctity remained hidden.



by Douglas Dales



Foreword by Benedicta Ward Preface Introduction Prologue I. Martin Part 1: II. Patrick III. Samson and Gildas IV. Columba and Columbanus Part 2: V. Augustine and Paulinus VI. Aidan and Cuthbert VII. Theodore and Wilfred Part 3: VIII. Bede IX. Willibrord and Boniface Abbreviations References Bibliography In