This book is easy to read, in an engaging series. Philip Campbell writes well, and tells stories in an appealing way, and makes the dark ages come alive as a real time in history, not just a caricature. It was a period of time I knew little about, and this book was a great introduction to this period.

Due to some health issues, I was unable to get this book read and reviewed in a timely manner. I apologize.

A fascinating, engaging read on what history calls the Dark Ages. Church history, woven in with world history, unfolds in mainly Western Europe. It is told with a Catholic bent, and I appreciated the separation of Eastern and Western Catholicism as explained by the author. A great introduction, and gave me a good look at these early years of Christianity.

At the very end of this book, I find out that it is part of a series called Reclaiming Catholic History. I wish I'd been notified of this (or paid better attention) going in. It would have drastically altered my expectations.

The title of this book is The Church and the Dark Ages. Considering the contents, I have two problems with the title alone. First of all, the book should not have been called "The Church" but rather "the Western Catholic church." The Eastern Orthodox church is viewed as those eastern upstarts who consistently refuse to acknowledge the "God given" authority of Rome. The eastern non-orthodox churches, as well as Western splinter groups or reform movements, are completely ignored. And Arian groups or cultures in Western Europe are acknowledged as Arain but considered just as much in need of conversion as pagan groups or cultures. While not explicitly stated (that I noticed), the implication is clear that anyone who is not a part of the RCC or rather, the proto-RCC is not a Christian.

My second complaint is with the use of the term Dark Ages. Unless being used ironically, no self-respecting historian would use that term. For at least the last two hundred years, the term Early Middle Ages has supplanted it. But this book is not really a history. I mean, it is, but it is more a type of history book you might expect to be used as a middle school or high school catechism class. I would guess that this is exactly what the book's intended audience is. Anyone outside that audience might consider it overly simplified, completely one-sided, and ahistorical. It treats hagiographic material (like St Martin's cloak) as historical fact.

In all, if the book is meant to be a Catholic school textbook, then it has hit its audience well. If it is meant to be a church history book for a more general audience, then I would strongly recommend against it. Justo Gonzalez's Story of Christianity is still the gold standard. If one is looking for a recent book that covers largely the same time period, I would recommend The Global Church by Donald FairBairn. If you are catholic or looking for a more intelligent book on church history from a Catholic perspective, you might prefer How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. This one... take a pass.


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I have received a free advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This in no way influenced my rating or the above review.

In this book, Phillip Campbell is on the side of righting history for so long. History has been given to the people.
So if you love Church History and History this book will be for you

It's a good good. It's a very historical one.
I admit that I took longer that I thought to read it. I needed to have patience.
I don't know to explain but I'll try. It's a very dense book. It had a lot information and I wasn't expecting.
But if you're interested to learn more about the Church, it'll help you. So, give it a chance.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for free ARC in exchange of honest review. All thoughs are my own.

A fascinating glimpse into the history of the Catholic Church during the so-called Dark Ages. Part of a series on the history of Catholicism, this book is an easy and enjoyable read. I do wish I’d started from the beginning of the series. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Catholicism or more generally In history, #TheChurchandtheDarkAges4301027 #NetGalley

As one would expect from the nature of the book, this history gives a mostly favorable review of the Catholic church through the Dark Ages. If the reader is looking for an unbiased review, the reader should have considered the source before embarking on the reading.
With that being said, the work is an interesting trek through a period of history often overlooked. The value of the church is highlighted as is the best of the leaders of the church during the period.
The flow is a little hard to follow for those unfamiliar with the history of the Catholic church. As one not familiar with that history, I found the book interesting as a review of the history of the church.
I would recommend this book to those who want to know more about the Catholic church or to those interested in the history of the Dark Ages.

The so called Dark Ages are usually considered a barbaric age but they are fundamental in the construction of the world we are living in.
It's the age of Benedict, Augustinus, Gregorius and Charle Magne. I don't always agree with the author but I appreciated this well researched book as it's well written and compelling.
An interesting book if you want to learn about the seminal ages of Catholic Church in the West.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Church and the Dark Ages ( 430–1027 )
430–1027
St. Benedict, Charlemagne, and the Rise of Christendom
by Phillip Campbell
03 Dec 2021 |
Ave Maria Press
Christian | History | Religion & Spirituality



I am reviewing a copy of The Church and the Dark Ages (430-1027) through Ave Maria Press and Netgalley;



In School we learn about the fall of the Roman Empire and the impact it had on society but The Church and the Dark Ages goes well beyond that, this book shows us how Benedictines were responsible for technical and scientific advancements such as the mechanical clock, human flight, and eyeglasses. We learn too that throughout Europe in the Middle Age, great Evangelization was taking place, and how Christianity elevated the status of women, particularly through mutual consent in the Sacrament of Marriage.
·The Church preserved literacy—and literature—throughout the chaotic centuries of early medieval Europe.




The Church and The Dark Ages speaks of the grown of the Catholic Church in the middle age, and how it exploded to become a super power amongst those in Europe as well as other regions.



I give The Church and the Dark Ages five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

While this isn't solely a book about scientific advancement in the so called Dark Ages that is nonetheless my main take from it. Uninformed atheists and secularists will tell you that the Dark Ages was the period when the Church supressed science and advancement. Books like this help to answer this and show that this was a period when the Church was actually at the forefront of maintaining and developing advancement on many levels. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and AveMaria Press for ARC.

An excellent book about an era in history that is largely ignored, Important historical events are not ignored and the book makes good sense of the political currents of the period while not ignoring the changes and developments in the Church. It's one of the best in the series so far.

"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
-Winston Churchill
This series is an excellent aid to understanding the past and thereby deepening our understanding of the present. It provides a summary of the transitional and transformative era from 430-1027. The author begins with an explanation of the label, 'Dark Ages,' and proceeds to organize a complex era from the fall of the Roman Empire to the flourishing of the High Middle Ages. His organization is superb, fitting together such diverse topics as Gauls and Goths, monasteries and their reform, heresies and their effects, East-West controversies, and Lay Investiture. He explores the conflicts between Secular governments and the Church authority, which will influence and underlie future events. He outlines the development of the sacraments including Penance, Eucharist, and Marriage. He intersperses "Up Close and Personal' sections, which go into some detail about influential characters of the era, some well-known like St. Benedict and St. Gregory the Great, along with lesser-known people like St. Paschasius and St Berno. He also adds "You Be the Judge" evaluations where he asks and explores popular questions like: "Do the bad popes disprove papal infallibility?" His explanations are good, fairly complete with documentation and references, and respectful of student's abilities to question what they read and hear from peers. I found this author more appealing than Anne Carroll's Christ the King Lord of History. I appreciated that he could include both sides of a controversy and not totally dismiss human faults within the Church. His organization and explanations are clear. His bibliography would be a good starting point for further studies on various topics and enable students to read primary sources, but use his book as a 'spine' for organizing their studies. This would work well for homeschool students as well as for private schools.