Abstract

Despite more than a century of historical research on Latin patristic and medieval theology, one period still lags behind: the theologians between Augustine and Charlemagne — Boethius and Bede being exceptions — are an unstudied group. There are a few monographs on individuals and themes, but no more. The period is, in the eyes of many, a «dark age». This neglect is all the more surprising when we consider that when the «revival» of Latin learning took place it was based not so much on the great works of the Fathers being re-read after centuries of neglect, as it was the outcome of the work who in previous generations had handed on and given particular slants to that illustrious legacy. This attitude of ignoring «the interval» has a long history going back to later medieval authors. From the early scholastic period there has been a tendency to by-pass this period as one which produced little of lasting value. Seen in this light the early writers could at best be presented as engaged in a «holding action» between the Fathers and the later period. Yet, these early writers produced the first European, in contrast to Classical, theology, and their works, for all their defects, were successful in the Christianisation of the new peoples within the frontiers of the old western Roman Empire. This paper seeks to highlight some characteristics of their works which may provide a window into their intellectual world.