The Monastic Order in Yorkshire, 1069-1215

by Janet Burton

Overview

The monastic life was of central importance in the Middle Ages. In one sense, monasteries were cut off from the world; in another, they forged vital links with it. This is a study of the regional growth of monasticism between 1069 and 1215, in what was the largest county in England. It studies those who entered monastic communities, and the impact of the growth of monasticism on the aristocracy (who founded and patronized monasteries) and the local community, on the landscape and economy of the county, and on regional identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521552295
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/28/1999
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series , #40
Pages:	378
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; List of abbreviations; Table of monastic foundations in Yorkshire, by order, congregation or type; Maps; Introduction; Part I. The Dynamics of Expansion: 1. From hermitage to abbey: the black monks in Yorkshire; 2. Alien monks and Cluniac priories; 3. The regular canons; 4. The surest road to heaven: the coming of the Cistercians; 5. Religious women; Part II. The Life Within and the World Outside: 6. The monastic world; 7. Founders, patrons and benefactors; 8. Monasteries and the landscape; 9. Financing the monastery: the management of economic resources; 10. Cultural influences and identities; Conclusion; Select bibliography; Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"...it has proved to be one of those useful, of not invaluable, works which,...is taken down regularly for a reference to be checked or a half-formed memory made more substantial. And most useful of all, because of its easy prose style it can be given to students to read." The Catholic Historical Review

"Burton has brought to the history of monasticism the careful scholarship of a well-trained professional historian. This is a fine study that makes the case for looking beyond boundaries of religious orders to study all religious men and women within a single region. It is the great strength of this work that its evidentiary base is so well presented that one can push its interpretations." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"...one of the more comprehensive studies of early medieval English monasticism available." Marilyn Oliva, American Historical Review

"meticulously produced...entirely convincing...a scholarly and impressive book which deserves to be widely used." Medieval Review

"Burton's monastic world is, by contrast, essentially, though no exclusively, rooted in the rural landscape and inextricably linked to the patrons and benefactors who dominated it. Its mapping here is a model of clarity and scholarship." Journal of Religion

Editorial Reviews

"...it has proved to be one of those useful, of not invaluable, works which,...is taken down regularly for a reference to be checked or a half-formed memory made more substantial. And most useful of all, because of its easy prose style it can be given to students to read." The Catholic Historical Review

"Burton has brought to the history of monasticism the careful scholarship of a well-trained professional historian. This is a fine study that makes the case for looking beyond boundaries of religious orders to study all religious men and women within a single region. It is the great strength of this work that its evidentiary base is so well presented that one can push its interpretations." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"...one of the more comprehensive studies of early medieval English monasticism available." Marilyn Oliva, American Historical Review

"meticulously produced...entirely convincing...a scholarly and impressive book which deserves to be widely used." Medieval Review

"Burton's monastic world is, by contrast, essentially, though no exclusively, rooted in the rural landscape and inextricably linked to the patrons and benefactors who dominated it. Its mapping here is a model of clarity and scholarship." Journal of Religion

From the Publisher