Paganism and Christianity in Late Antique North Africa

Abstract

This chapter provides a definition of Paganism and Christianity as they are used in the book. It discusses the continuity of the Pagan symbols and traditions (including games and celebrations) as they evolved after the Edict of Milan by Constantine until the Byzantine conquest of North Africa. It offers an account of the different facets of Late Antique Christianity in North Africa, with a discussion on the Donatist movements and the Circumcelliones; the data are almost exclusively textual and this makes it impossible to address the issues related to these movements in depth in the book. It concludes with a summary of the contexts of the book.