Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury. By Margaret Deanesly. Southampton: Saint Austin, 1997, vii + 167 pp., $22.95.

Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604 or 605) is doubtlessly a significant figure in the Church's history, especially the church in England. Unfortunately, he has often been overlooked by evangelicals. In this small volume, Margaret Deanesly has attempted to introduce to readers an important individual and has given to the Church a helpful introduction. Her study is enlightening and intriguing, making available the story of the founding of the English Church.

Most of what we know about Augustine's work among the Anglo-Saxon people we glean from Bede's The History of the English People. Bede's History, as helpful and encompassing as it is, tells only part-albeit a large part-of the story. Deanesly broadens the picture by drawing from other sources such as the communication between Pope Gregory the Great and Augustine, the communication from Gregory to the rulers Augustine would encounter on his journey to Britain, and other papal records giving insight into the activities of the mission. The author is concise in telling much of the story.

One of the most helpful parts of the book is a survey of the similar educational and monastic backgrounds of both Gregory and Augustine. There is little wonder why the very able pope chose the man he did for this significant mission.

Most disappointing in the book was the author's liberty with chronology. On numerous occasions Deanesly meanders down paths that seem to be so tangentially related to the story-line that one would wish them to have been omitted. While the discussion of the use of slave boys purchased by the church for training in monasteries was interesting, there is some doubt as to its significance to the topic at hand. That said, however, one would acknowledge Deanesly's attempts at contextualizing Augustine's ministry. Directions to locations of significant sites might help the reader locate a particular place but appear out of place in the text.

The volume is quite condensed (only 167 pages). The page count includes two appendixes addressing respectively the "Rule of the Master" and the "Rule of St. Benedict," and the relation of the Roman-basilican office to the Benedictine rule.

As a church historian I am grateful for Deanesly's significant work on Augustine of Canterbury. He is a remarkable figure whose influence on the Church both within England and beyond its borders is immeasurable. One might have wanted the editors to look more closely at the chronology and have asked the author to reconsider the inclusion of modern street names. The publishers are to be thanked for reprinting this work for another generation of scholars. I fear that while the author has amassed a plethora of helpful material, the presentation might cause some difficulty. That said, I am sure most readers will find this volume to be both helpful and enlightening. The discerning reader whose interest in the missionary activity of the Church in the West encompasses more than what happened after 1517 will be rewarded for walking with Augustine on these (somewhat confusing) paths from Italy to Canterbury.

Steven A. McKinion

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Dec 2000
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