Journal of the History of Ideas

Rosenblatt questions whether Pocock’s Barbarism and Religion, though enormously learned and rich, in fact accomplishes Pocock’s stated aims. In other words, does the context presented help to explain the intended meaning and significance of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall? She asks whether Pocock’s methodology, indebted to the Cambridge School, is consistent and serviceable and challenges his claim that Gibbon should be seen as a member of the “Protestant Enlightenment.”