Augustine of Hippo (354-430) wrote his Confessions around 397-401 AD — a prayer-form autobiography tracing his life from infancy through conversion. The earliest surviving manuscripts date to the 5th-6th centuries, copied in monasteries across the post-Roman west. The work is the first Western autobiography and shaped the Western church's introspective theology forever after.
Why this matters
A direct window into the inner life of the most influential theologian of the Latin church. Augustine's analyses of memory, time, sin, grace, and human longing structured Western Christian thought for 1,500 years.
Scripture references
Romans 7:14-25Romans 13:13-14Psalm 51
Location
Hippo Regius