Review of two books on Christians in late Roman Africa

In this paper I examine three pieces of early ninth-century Frisian hagiography: Liudger’s Vita Gregorii abbatis Traiectensis, Altfrid’s Vita Liudgeri and the anonymous Vita altera Bonifatii. Between them, these texts commemorate three generations of missionaries who left a lasting impact on Frisia. This commemoration was vital for cementing the…[Read more]

This article seeks to contribute to recent debates over Christian dialogue in late antiquity. It explores a specific form of dialogue text: invented debates about the definition of correct doctrine, often starring renowned church Fathers and notorious heretics. It argues that, far from symbolizing an ‘end’ to dialogue in late antiquity – close…[Read more]

A sense of an ending dominates accounts of African Christianity after the Vandal conquest of the 430s, not least as a result of the apparent disappearance of the Donatists in an Africa now ruled by Homoian Christians. In fact, the transfer from Donatist schism to new ‘Arian controversy’ more closely resembles the broader picture of Vandal Afr…[Read more]

Of all the antagonists to feature in the eighth- and ninth-century sources, Radbod of Frisia isone of the most prominent, featuring heavily in both historical and hagiographical texts.Because of his prominence, though, there was no fixed vision of Radbod, and he could be different things to different authors working at different times.…[Read more]

Abstract of published article.

Abstract of published article

Abstract of published article.

Submission version of article published in Journal of Medieval History

This is the accepted manuscript version of my review of Strategies of Identification for The Mediaeval Journal. Some wording may differ from the final published version.