Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668–90), was a monk of Greek origin and extraordinary learning, who shaped the English Church into a structure it retained for a millennium. Yet until recently his early career has been unknown. This book builds on the publication of previously unprinted biblical commentaries from Theodore's Canterbury school, and establishes Theodore's cultural and spiritual background and the formation of his learning. Scholars provide a fresh account of Theodore's career and writings on diverse subjects, revealing a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome.

‘… to distil from the most difficult and often apparently impenetrable sources such a picture of a major historical character, who brought to Britain the cultural heritage of the rest of Christendom, makes the book an outstanding scholarly event.’

Christopher Brooke