This work examines a centuries-long intellectual tradition in the early Latin church linking the imagery associated with the opening of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse with programs of ecclesiastical expansion and ascetic reform.

Douglas Lunsden is an Assistant Professor at Benedictine College.

Table of Contents: Preface Acknowledgments 1. External Expansion, Internal Reform: The Sealed Book 2. Establishing a Tradition: Victorinus/Tyconius/Jerome 3. Sixth-Century-Synthesis: Primasius 4. From the Periphery: Bede 5. The Carolingian Mystic: Ambrosius Autpertus 6. The Spanish Bishop: Beatus of Liebana 7. The Monk Militant: Haimo of Auzerre Epilogue: Church Triumphant: The Book Unsealed Bibliography Index