The well-known authors of this book, all of them experts on Augustine, have written articles on various aspects of Augustine's life and works. The purpose of this handbook is to convey a general picture of Augustine and to describe the various historical, theological and philosophical approaches to him. The authors deal with the condition of the texts, Augustine's historical surroundings, those areas which had a positive or negative influence on him, fields in which he was active (for example Augustine as a bishop or a liturgist) and also provide a selection of the main works and subjects. The work concludes with a section on the important stations of the reception of Augustine in history.