This historian's most famous work was criticized for beginning too late, and thus giving too much credit to external factors, by Arnold J. Toynbee.
Although he wasn't French, this thinker's first major work was a defence of the érudits against the philosophes, and was titled Essay on the Study of Literature. The last chapter of this thinker's most famous work contrasts the "sacrilege" of Paul III's nephews with the "liberality" of Benedict XIV, who consecrated the Colosseum. This historian's most famous work was criticized for beginning too late, and thus giving too much credit to external factors, by Arnold J. Toynbee. That work by this historian was challenged by Henri (*) Pirenne's most famous thesis. This historian calculated that the number of early martyrs was far lower than the Church claimed, and argued that paganism was in fact quite tolerant. That work by this historian was one of the first to draw mainly on primary sources, and argues that its title event was the result of a decline in civic virtue due to the rise of Christianity. For 10 points, name this English historian who wrote Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Although he wasn't French, this thinker's first major work was a defence of the érudits against the philosophes, and was titled Essay on the Study of Literature.
Edward Gibbon