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The World of Medieval Monasticism: Its History and Forms of Life (Cistercian Studies Series)
This book surveys the full panorama of ten centuries of Christian monastic life. It moves from the deserts of Egypt and the Frankish monasteries of early medieval Europe to the religious ruptures of the eleventh and twelfth centuries and the reforms of the later Middle Ages. Throughout that story the book balances a rich sense of detail with a broader synthetic view. It presents the history of religious life and its orders as a complex braid woven from multiple individual and community, spirit and institution, rule and custom, church and world. The result is a synthesis that places religious life at the center of European history and presents its institutions as key catalysts of Europe’s move toward modernity.
464 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 13, 2019
This book is a comprehensive, technical yet readable, survey of 1000 years of monastic history, arranged broadly chronologically. Melville introduces and assesses the different forms of religious from the late antique Desert Fathers and Mothers to the varied communities of mendicants and hermits of the later Middle Ages.
As the book progresses, the focus becomes increasingly on the structural systems of the orders, from the first limping towards an order by Cluny, to the first real order of the Cistercians, to the complex systems created by the Dominicans. This aspect of the story is not always highlighted well, but Melville brings it out and discusses why certain types of structure proved more successful as well as considering how institutions evolved over the centuries.
The primary goal of all of these forms of religious life was a total commitment to Christ and a full abandonment to living by the Gospel, whether we are thinking of a hermit alone in the wilderness, a Benedictine with his brothers in a dormitory, a Franciscan preaching in a market, or a Dominican teaching in a university.
How they represented challenges and opportunities to those in positions of power -- secular nobles, bishops, popes -- is also a part of this story, and Melville carefully brings this to the fore, helping dismantle along the way some ideas that 'secular interference' was necessarily detrimental to the achievement of a community's original goal. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.
Moreover, Melville refers to the primary and secondary literature throughout. Since this is translated out of German, the secondary lit is often German, so that will not be helpful to the non-German-reading reader, but the primary sources are also often referred both to the Latin and to an available English translation.
My own disappoints are small and do not detract from the qualilty of the book -- eastern monasticism disappears in the High Middle Ages. Some of my favourite figures -- Richard Rolle and Julian of Norwich, for example, do not appear. But the focus of the book is mostly western, as one has come to expect, and not every interesting person from the history of monasticism could expect to be covered.
If you want to get your mind around the history of monasticism and situate the various strands, this book is for you. And if you are a Christian, you will find your own commitment to Christ and the ways you live that commitment challenged along the way -- and that's a good thing at any time.
As the book progresses, the focus becomes increasingly on the structural systems of the orders, from the first limping towards an order by Cluny, to the first real order of the Cistercians, to the complex systems created by the Dominicans. This aspect of the story is not always highlighted well, but Melville brings it out and discusses why certain types of structure proved more successful as well as considering how institutions evolved over the centuries.
The primary goal of all of these forms of religious life was a total commitment to Christ and a full abandonment to living by the Gospel, whether we are thinking of a hermit alone in the wilderness, a Benedictine with his brothers in a dormitory, a Franciscan preaching in a market, or a Dominican teaching in a university.
How they represented challenges and opportunities to those in positions of power -- secular nobles, bishops, popes -- is also a part of this story, and Melville carefully brings this to the fore, helping dismantle along the way some ideas that 'secular interference' was necessarily detrimental to the achievement of a community's original goal. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.
Moreover, Melville refers to the primary and secondary literature throughout. Since this is translated out of German, the secondary lit is often German, so that will not be helpful to the non-German-reading reader, but the primary sources are also often referred both to the Latin and to an available English translation.
My own disappoints are small and do not detract from the qualilty of the book -- eastern monasticism disappears in the High Middle Ages. Some of my favourite figures -- Richard Rolle and Julian of Norwich, for example, do not appear. But the focus of the book is mostly western, as one has come to expect, and not every interesting person from the history of monasticism could expect to be covered.
If you want to get your mind around the history of monasticism and situate the various strands, this book is for you. And if you are a Christian, you will find your own commitment to Christ and the ways you live that commitment challenged along the way -- and that's a good thing at any time.
June 12, 2020
I need to get a hard copy for easier reference! I'll be reading out of the bibliography for years.
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August 4, 2017271.009 M531 2016
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews