The Abbots and Priors of Late Medieval and Reformation England
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:22nd Sep '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The importance of the medieval abbot needs no particular emphasis. The monastic superiors of late medieval England ruled over thousands of monks and canons, who swore to them vows of obedience; they were prominent figures in royal and church government; and collectively they controlled properties worth around double the Crown's annual ordinary income. Moreover, as guardians of regular observance and the primary interface between their monastery and the wider world, abbots and priors were pivotal to the effective functioning and well-being of the monastic order. The Abbots and Priors of Late Medieval and Reformation England provides the first detailed study of English male monastic superiors, exploring their evolving role and reputation between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Individual chapters examine the election and selection of late medieval monastic heads; the internal functions of the superior as the father of the community; the head of house as administrator; abbatial living standards and modes of display; monastic superiors' public role in service of the Church and Crown; their external relations and reputation; the interaction between monastic heads and the government in Henry VIII's England; the Dissolution of the monasteries; and the afterlives of abbots and priors following the suppression of their houses. This study of monastic leadership sheds much valuable light on the religious houses of late medieval and early Tudor England, including their spiritual life, administration, spending priorities, and their multi-faceted relations with the outside world. The Abbots and Priors of Late Medieval and Reformation England also elucidates the crucial part played by monastic superiors in the dramatic events of the 1530s, when many heads surrendered their monasteries into the hands of Henry VIII.
This detailed, well-written and magisterial study of monastic superiors, abbots and priors in late mediaeval and Reformation England transforms our understanding of the subject. It is a significant addition to the literature on mediaeval English monasticism and clarifies many obscure corners. It takes a refreshingly clear look at a neglected subject and shows the ways in which the role, and even the character, of the monastic superior developed and changed in the generations before the Dissolution of the Monasteries. * Dom Aidan Bellenger OSB, Ecclesiastical Law Journal *
This beautifully produced book is a study of the role of heads of male monastic houses in England and Wales between the early fourteenth century and c. 1580, taking account of the evidence for all orders and of all sizes of house, in as far as this is possible... This book fills very successfully a gap in the existing scholarship, for there has not hitherto been such an overview as it provides either for England or the Continent. * Lynda Rollason (Durham University), Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies Vol.6 *
An ample and structured Select Bibliography, along with an Index of People and Places and an Index of Subjects, the former with substantial coverage, complete a very competent and stimulating contribution whose thoroughness merits respect and careful digestion. * Anthony Ward, Revue dhistoire ecclésiastique *
Heale's remarkable book fills a gap in the historiography of the monastic superior in medieval England, condensing a cast body of documentary evidence and case studies of individual abbots into an eminently readable overview. * Euan C. Roger, Parliamentary History. October 2017 No quote 27/10/2017 *
This is a valuable book, contributing a plethora of detailed information * Lucy Beckett, Times Literary Supplement *
The Abbots and Priors of Late Medieval and Reformation England is to be much admired for its broad scope, deep learning, and provocative conclusions. It will inevitably, and deservedly, become the standard work on this subject. * Dr Katherine Harvey, Reviews in History *
This is a distinguished and substantial contribution not only to monastic and religious history, but to the social history of England, in an age when the clergy were as important a part of society as the laity. * Dr Nicholas Orme, Church Times *
Martin Heale has written an excellent book. * Virginia Bainbridge, Sehepunkte *
an excellent, broad survey of the critical roles of abbots and priors in monastic houses during this era of profound change ... Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
Ultimately [...] this is a comprehensive book written with great skill, care and attention. It will be of interest to specialist and lay readers alike, but will be particularly welcomed by students of late medieval religious culture and the Reformation, both undergraduate and postgraduate, who have lacked a comparable volume of this scope and accessibility. * David Harry, The Ricardian *
ISBN: 9780198702535
Dimensions: 240mm x 166mm x 30mm
Weight: 838g
472 pages