The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History

A major new history of medieval monasticism, from the fourth to the sixteenth century From the late Roman Empire onwards, monasteries and convents were a common sight throughout Europe. But who were monasteries for? What kind of people founded and maintained them? And how did monasticism change over the thousand years or so of the Middle Ages? Andrew Jotischky traces the history of monastic life from its origins in the fourth century to the sixteenth. He shows how religious houses sheltered the poor and elderly, cared for the sick, and educated the young. They were centres of intellectual life that owned property and exercised power but also gave rise to new developments in theology, music, and art. This book brings together the Orthodox and western stories, as well as the experiences of women, to show the full picture of medieval monasticism for the first time. It is a fascinating, wide-ranging account that broadens our understanding of life in holy orders as never before.

About the Author :
Andrew Jotischky is professor of medieval history at Royal Holloway, University of London. An expert in medieval religion and culture, he is the author of The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Medieval World, Crusading and the Crusader States, and The Carmelites and Antiquity.

Review :
“A masterfully wide-ranging historical account.”—Francesca Peacock, Daily Telegraph “Learned and judicious. . . . An ambitiously descriptive and analytical survey that maps its subject in all its complexity without obscuring its contours.”—Peter Marshall, Literary Review “A subtle and profound study of an extraordinary social phenomenon that dominated Europe for over a millennium.”—Mathew Lyons, Engelsberg Ideas “[This book] contains plenty of insights that will challenge typical preconceptions about monastic life.”—Collin Garbarino, World “Splendid . . . an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive account. . . . Jotischky is eminently positioned to fulfil this task.”—Colmán Ó Clabaigh, Irish Theological Quarterly Included in Country Life’s “Unputdownable: The Books You Wish You Had Been Given for Christmas” “[Jotischky is a] first-class historian. . . . This is a deeply learned book, and one that is packed with fascinating vignettes on many of the places and personalities that feature in the monastic world of the 4th to the 16th centuries.”—David Robinson, Country Life “Rigorous, often highly engaging, textual history.”—Michael Carter, The Tablet “Jotischky’s deep expertise, his emphasis on giving eastern monastic traditions their due and his careful examination of the nuance between practices will be richly rewarding.”—Daniele Cybulski, BBC History Magazine “Easy to read and rich in stories, but rooted in scholarly rigour, it is suitable for the general reader as well as the academic.”—Mass of Ages “Jotischky’s nuanced insights, especially his attention to eastern traditions, offer a rewarding and authoritative read.”—Danièle Cybulskie, HistoryExtra "In The Monastic World, Jotischky has given us a masterful expository synthesis . . . [his] narrative is truly sweeping, treating eastern and western monasticism equally . . . deeply, historically insightful.”—Lauren Mancia, Journal of Religious History “A fine scholarly guide to the origins, growth and flourishing of the myriad forms of Christian ascetic life that dominated both Western and Eastern Christianity for a millennium and which still form a vital part of the Church’s religious experience.”—Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford “An accessible and compelling exploration of medieval monasticism that asks fundamental questions about the role of monasteries in medieval culture and argues for their relevance to modern societies.”—Janet Burton, author of Medieval Monasticism “Clear and compelling. . . . Deeply learned yet welcoming to general readers, this book presents a holistic picture of medieval ascetic practices from Syria to Ireland in all of their dizzying variety over the course of the medieval millennium.”—Scott G. Bruce, author of Cluny and the Muslims of La Garde-Freinet