Christian Monasticism

by David Knowles

This book has hardback covers.Ex-library,With usual stamps and markings,In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy.No dust jacket.

Genres: Church History, History, Christianity

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1969

About the author

Fr. David Knowles, OSB, FRHistS was born Michael Clive Knowles and was given the name 'David' when he joined the Order of Benedict in 1923. He was a historian and professor at University of Cambridge from 1947 to 1968 and served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1957 to 1961.

*Note: there is more than one author named 'David Knowles,' however this particular individual is the most widely published.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, solid overview of monastic history, with some useful insight into the spirit and essence of monasticism. Not a perfect read by any means. The shortness of it saved it, since it was (at times) rather dull; the author would often refer to one group by two or more different names without letting the reader know that they were one and the same, which caused confusion; the focus was entirely on male monasticism. Still, it gave a solid foundation, and as a result, some of the other essays I've poked at have been making more sense. A good place to start if you know nothing, which was pretty much me.

[Neil Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dated, and (as the title suggests) focused for the most part on traditional monastic expressions to the exclusion of friars and canons (whose history is bound up with that of their cloistered cousins), but otherwise a wonderful read and a very concise and satisfying review of Christian Monasticism.

[David Campton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has largely set on my shelves unread from the time my uncle gave it to me whilst studying in theological college a quarter of a century ago and was written more than 20 years before that. As such it only begins to explore the implications of what was then the recent pronouncements of Vatican II, does not cover ther revival of the church in post Soviet Union countries and naturally omits any analysis of the "new monasticism" that has arisen during those intervening years, and was actually the reason for me turning to this book in the first place, in order to get my facts straight re earlier monastic movements. In that this book is only of limited use in that the author focuses largely on the western Benedictine traditions (and his tracing of that complicated family tree is somewhat sketchy). He ignores completely Nestorian and Thomist traditions, pays little attention to the Eastern Orthodox tradition and only makes passing reference to the Celtic tradition which in many ways re-invigorated the monastic and wider church traditions of western Europe in the wake of the collapse of Imperial Rome. The latter could be because the author sees the missionary perigrinations of the Celtic monks a departure from his definition of monasticism, which is the cloistered, contemplative life of classical Benedictinism. This allows him to make a clear distinction to the friars and other orders, allowing for a more compact history, but denies the influence of monastic traditions on wider church life including the recent "new monasticism" (which I suspect that the author would not see as truly monastic on the whole). There is clearly a gap in the market for a more comprehensive and contemporary history free from some of the myths/casual shorthand of recent books on Celtic Spirituality and New Monasticism. But saying all that a second reading for research purposes has allowed me to note the number of interesting insights the author has that are worth noting when reflecting on monasticism, be it western or eastern, classical or "new" not least the foundational sense of a monastic community as a new spiritual family.

[Kevin Priest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough but not tiring read that beautifully, masterfully chronicles the history of the monks. I definitely enjoyed it and would suggest it to others with a vested interest in Church history.

[Scott Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classicist read.