Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (Volume 22)

Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (Volume 22) by McLynn, Neil B.. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780520084612.

In this new and illuminating interpretation of Ambrose, bishop of Milan from 374 to 397, Neil McLynn thoroughly sifts the evidence surrounding this very difficult personality. The result is a richly detailed interpretation of Ambroses actions and writings that penetrates the bishops painstaking presentation of self. McLynn succeeds in revealing Ambroses manipulation of events without making him too Machiavellian. Having synthesized the vast complex of scholarship available on the late fourth century, McLynn also presents an impressive study of the politics and history of the Christian church and the Roman Empire in that period. Admirably and logically organized, the book traces the chronology of Ambroses public activity and reconstructs important events in the fourth century. McLynns zesty, lucid prose gives the reader a clear understanding of the complexities of Ambroses life and career and of late Roman government.