This course examines the development of western Christian reflection from the early church through the Middle Ages. Attention will be given to the Council of Nicaea, Augustine, Celtic monasticism, Pope Gregory, the secrets of the “Dark Ages,” Anselm, the Crusades, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, the Scholastics, late medieval mysticism and the early Renaissance. Key texts will be read and considered in light of their surrounding social and intellectual milieus.