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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1780 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

601–700

The Seventh Century

1 work

c. 610–680s

Greek

The Miracles of Saint Demetrius

John of Thessalonica and an anonymous continuator

The patron of Thessalonica defends his city through plague, famine, and a series of Slav and Avar sieges — appearing on the walls in white, capsizing boats, and turning back siege engines. The narrator was inside for several of them.

Byzantine · Miracle collectionPsalms2 KingsRevelationRead elsewhere

801–900

The Ninth Century

2 works

c. 870–880

Old Church Slavonic

The Life of Constantine

Anonymous

The life of the missionary called Cyril, who devised an alphabet for the Slavs, translated the liturgy, and defended vernacular worship against those who allowed only three sacred languages.

Byzantine · BiographyRead elsewhere

c. 885–890

Old Church Slavonic

The Life of Methodius

Anonymous

The career of Cyril's brother, who continued the Slavonic mission in Moravia, was imprisoned by Frankish bishops, and translated most of the Bible before his death.

Byzantine · BiographyRead elsewhere

901–1000

The Tenth Century

1 work

c. 948–952

Greek

On the Administration of the Empire

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus · 905–959

A private handbook from an emperor to his son on the peoples surrounding the empire — Rus, Pechenegs, Serbs, Croats — and how to manage each of them.

Byzantine · HandbookRead elsewhere