What emerges are well-authenticated portraits of Martin and Sulpicius with a number of other important figures, such as Jerome and Priscillian, in the background. The setting is as interesting as the protagonists. Stancliffe provides clear perspectives on the nature of literary compostition in the late classical period, the rise of western monasticism, the church's triumph over paganism, and the mentalité of Sulpicius and his contemporaries. This book must now rank as the foremost comprehensive study of St. Martin. It should also have a wider appeal as a model for the general practice of medieval studies.