John Thomson has produced a relatively short but solid survey of the medieval Church from the fifth to the early sixteenth century. The book is divided into three parts arranged chronologically beginning with the period c. 450-1050, continuing with the period 1050-1279, and ending with the period 1270-1515. In each part the author examines the institutional, doctrinal, and social developments affecting the Church in an effort to provide students with an understanding of "how [the Church] developed and how it related to the world in which it was situated." (p. vii). Although in many ways Thomson is successful in accomplishing this goal, his text is not likely to challenge established texts for a place on the syllabi of surveys of the medieval Church.
In part one, "The Age of Convergence (c. 450-1050)," Thomson examines the formation of the Church in the late antique and early medieval world. His approach in this section, as in the other two, is a thematic one rather than a chronological one. In the first chapter he surveys the growth of the Church in the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries--although perhaps a bit more attention could have been paid to the works of the Latin fathers, especially Augustine--and in the barbarian kingdoms from the fifth to the fourteenth centuries. In chapter two Thomson surveys pilgrimage and relic cults, the rise of monasticism and the Rule of Benedict. He next describes the rise of the papacy and rightly notes that the history of the popes was complicated by their position as bishops of Rome, successors of Peter, and major land holders in central Italy. In the final two chapters of part one, he outlines the place of the bishops in the early medieval Church, their relationships with secular authority, and the local focus of the Church and also the development of orthodoxy and relative lack of heresy in the period before 1050. "The Age of Convergence," thus, tells the story of the establishment of the institutions and doctrine of the Church in age when society as a whole underwent the transformation from late antique to medieval civilization.
Whereas part one addresses the formation of the basic structures of the Church, part two, "The Age of Unification (1050-1270)," examines the perfection of these structures and the establishment the Church's institutional and doctrinal authority throughout western Christendom. The first two chapters of this section consider the most important movement of the period, the Gregorian Reform and its influence on the clergy and the lay authority. Thomson begins with an important caveat, noting that "the historian should be cautious about how the concept of reform is interpreted, and [that] it would be foolish to see it as a sudden revolution." (p. 81) He argues that the pre-Gregorian Church was not as bad as reformers claimed and that the impact of the Gregorian Reform was perhaps not as profound or immediate as some have claimed. He does recognize that the Gregorians did have success in their fight against clerical marriage and in distinguishing the clergy from the laity. He also describes the dramatic struggle between Gregory VII and Henry IV over lay investiture and the eventual restructuring of relations between the papacy and secular powers, a relationship marked by the desacralization of royal power and the papal effort to "harness the activity of the Christian laity to the Church's ends" through its leadership of the Crusades. (p. 105)
The remaining four chapters of section two concern the Church's response to broader social change and the Church's own intellectual, spiritual, and political growth. Indeed, for Thomson, growing prosperity and urban and demographic growth posed a challenge to traditional forms of religious life and led to the emergence of new orders. Perhaps recalling the "crisis of coenobitism" argument in chapter eight, Thomson describes the decline of Cluniac monasticism and the rise of the Cistercian ideal and the growth of orders of regular canons and the emergence of the mendicant orders. In chapter nine, "Heresy and Orthodoxy," Thomson recognizes that change in society and in the structure of the Church influenced the rise of heresy in the twelfth century. He notes that "the emergence of heretical ideas must be related to the increasingly clear definitions of orthodoxy which are formed at this time." (p. 125) But he also notes that the same spiritual yearnings that shaped orthodox movements, especially that of the mendicant orders, also affected "an increasingly literate laity asking questions for itself." (p. 127) Lay piety found outlet in the Waldensian and Cathar movements, which, Thomson explains, were crushed by Church authority and also in mystical and millenarian movements. The final two chapters of section two outline the culmination of medieval theological development and also the triumph of papal power. He notes the work of Peter Abelard, Peter Lombard, Gratian, and Thomas Aquinas. He describes the rise of the universities and the difficulties some university masters got into over the use of Aristotelian thought near the end of the thirteenth century. He ends section two with a survey of the rise of the papal monarchy, focusing on the achievements of Innocent III and the ultimate victory of the papacy in its struggles with the imperial authority.
In part three, "The Age of Divergence (1270-1515)--the strongest of the three--Thomson describes the collapse of the unity of the medieval Church. The pattern of this section is similar to the previous two. He begins with a survey of the fortunes of the papacy, describing its decline of political influence but not its decline in power over the Church. He reviews the unfortunate history of the papacy during its period of captivity, schism, and challenge from conciliarists, and also notes the eventual resurgence of the papacy and failure of the conciliar movement in the early fourteenth century. In chapter fourteen he outlines the breakdown of the medieval synthesis at the hands of Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and the alternative theological teachings of John Wyclif, Franciscan dissidents, and mystics like Nicholas of Cusa and Meister Eckhart. This is followed by a chapter on orthodox and heterodox expressions of faith in the late Middle Ages, which includes discussion of Hussites, Lollards, and the Devotio Moderna. Thomson concludes his book with a chapter on relations between the Church and the secular power and a chapter on the Church in the early sixteenth century. The latter chapter is particularly useful for its comments on the limits placed on western Christendom in the fifteenth century and his survey of Christian humanism and its influence on the Church. And, the chapter on the early sixteenth century is valuable because of Thomson's insistence that "the Church just after 1500 must be understood in its own terms" and not merely as a prelude to the Reformation. (p. 230)
Thomson's book has a number of things to recommend it. It is a fairly thorough survey of the medieval Church which includes three appendices. The appendices, particularly useful for the introductory level, include a table of important events, a list of popes from 312 to 1517, and a glossary. The bibliography provides a good overview of scholarly works on the medieval Church, although some glaring omissions including works by Peter Brown and Brian Stock and translations of Herbert Grundmann and Heinrich Fichtenau do exist. Despite these omissions in the secondary literature, the bibliography remains one of the great strengths of the book especially because of its extensive list of primary literature. Indeed, Thomson's effort to refer "to original source material which has recently become available in numerous translations" is most praiseworthy. (p. vii) His use of source material in translation throughout the book offers new students an opportunity to examine these translations themselves and, as Thomson notes, help them "find a way into the mental world of the past." (p. vii)
Despite its virtues, Thomson's book does not seem destined to replace texts already in use. His thematic approach fails to provide a clear sense of chronological development, an important matter for his intended audience. This difficulty is most evident in part one where Thomson has a tendency to draw examples from across the period and thus offers a fairly static view of the period under consideration. In his discussion of the devotion to relics in part one he cites the Merovingians Guntram and Dagobert, the Carolingians Charles Martel and Pippin, and later medieval figures including Guibert of Nogent, John of Salisbury, Louis VIII, and Louis IX. Moreover, one wonders if Thomson under appreciates the importance of the Carolingian era and if he does not over emphasize the role of Gregory VII in eleventh-century reform. There are also occasional omissions of fact and detail. His treatment of heresy in the early eleventh- and early-twelfth century overlooks several episodes of heresy. He neglects to discuss perhaps the most celebrated incident of heresy in the early eleventh century, the episode at Orleans, and he neglects to mention the heretics noted by Guibert of Nogent and the heretic Peter of Bruys, whose teachings may have influenced those of Henry of Le Mans and which, for some scholars, suggests early Bogomil influence.
The greatest omission, however, is that of women. His observation that extended discussions of women is "more important as a part of gender studies than of ecclesiastical history" does a disservice to both gender studies and ecclesiastical history. (Pp. vii-viii) As Thomson himself demonstrates at several points in his book, it is possible to discuss women and their place in the Church. His comments concerning the Beguines, Marie d'Oignies, and Margery Kempe demonstrate how "women's" history can be integrated with ecclesiastical history. At numerous points throughout the text, Thomson could have added similar comments to provide a more complete history of the Church. His discussion or early monasticism would have been enriched by references to Radegund and the tradition of double-monasteries. Reference to the role of Matilda of Tuscany during the Investiture struggle and to Anna Comnena during the Crusades would have provided further insights into both movements. And certainly no discussion of the twelfth-century spirituality is complete without reference to Hildegard of Bingen or to Robert d'Arbrissel, Fontevrault, and his relationship with religious women. Indeed, attention to the role of women in the history of the Church would have greatly enriched Thomson's book.