nated to preside over the whole of the community and to administer the sacramentsThe position of the bishop quickly became politically important to the Church's survival." The reason for this is that in this chapter the role of Christianity as a political catalyst, although a weak one, is starting to appear. References made to condemned teachings (ex. Monophysite) and contrasting views on religion with respect to doctrines give the reader a well balanced background as to the religious friction at that time. At the end of the first chapter alone, there is a list of sixteen references all categorized to assist the reader with that topic. This format is used throughout each chapter and is a very useful tool. By thoroughly presenting Christianity in this way, Price has set the stage for the emergence of liberal arts, vernacular breakthroughs and scholasticism, which are all to be discussed in the next section of this review.With a clear understanding of the role of Christianity in the Middle Ages, Price then takes the reader into topics as stated above: the liberal arts, vernacular breakthroughs, and scholasticism. With many references from such scholars as Bede, Boethius, Augustine of Hippo, Plato and Aristotle, the reasoning behind certain decisions, both religiously and education-wise can be seen quite well in the second half of the book. Price adds with, respect to scholasticism, the thoughts of Panofsky and his take on Gothic architecture as a matter of universals versus particulars. This could be of particular interest to the reader, as it gave a new meaning to scholasticism and presented an alternate point of view to the one which had been discussed thoroughly in prior pages. As the reader nears the end of the book, Price takes them into the domains of abstract thought, conclusions on thought in the Middle Ages all fully supported, in a well structured easy-to-understand way. A short conclusion chapter brings everything else...
