East and West
Pope Leo IX stared down from the ramparts with horror. On the battlefield before him lay an army of corpses. Once vigorous men of war, they had marched under the papal banner at his command to this forsaken place in southern Italy, a town named Civitate.
This post is the first in reviewing this second book from what is intended to be a four-part history of Christendom – from Pentecost to our day. Strickland begins with a brief review of the events immediately prior to the Great Schism of 1054. And he begins with this battle, taking place in the prior year.