Lordship and Faith
The English Gentry and the Parish Church in the Middle Ages
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:12th Jan '17
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Lordship and Faith takes as its subject the many hundreds of parish churches built in England in the Middle Ages by the gentry, the knights and esquires, and the lords of country manors. Nigel Saul uses lordly engagement with the parish church as a way of opening up the piety and sociability of the gentry, focusing on the gentry as founders and builders of churches, worshippers in them, holders of church advowsons, and patrons and sponsors of parish communities. Saul also looks at how the gentry's interest in the parish church sat alongside their patronage of the monks and friars, and their use of private chapels in their manor houses. Lordship and Faith seeks to weave together themes in social, religious, and architectural history, examining in all its richness a subject that has hitherto been considered only in journal articles. Written in an accessible way, this volume makes a significant contribution not only to the history of the English gentry but also to the history of the rural parish church, an institution now in the forefront of medieval historical studies.
[A] masterful account of the relationship between the English gentry and the parish church from the Norman Conquest to the early 16th century... Essential. * CHOICE *
...an exceptionally well-judged, balanced picture of the country's landed families "at home," as neighbors, as patrons, and as parishioners...Saul achieves what to some historians may seem unlikely: an analytical and learned survey of England's gentry at work in the parish that also points toward a vast range of potential pathways for future research in the subject. * Mark Arvanigian, California State University, Fresno, Journal of British Studies *
Clearly, the relationship between a lord and his parish church was symbiotic: each helped define the identity, status and function of the other. Saul's important study valuably helps elucidate that symbiosis and fulfils the aims with which he set out. * Nicholas Paxton, History Today *
Nigel Saul has devoted his career to the study of the English gentry and nobody is better qualified to consider their role within the parish as patrons, as parishioners and as leaders. This well-researched and readable study is a most welcome addition to those interested not only in the parish and the gentry but also in attitudes on benefaction and patronage at a time of growing diversity within the medieval Church. * Christian Steer, The Ricardian *
[A] book which is fundamentally trail-blazing, decidedly stimulating, offers much, and is definitely welcome. It reflects a truly ambitious and challenging project, one which perhaps only Nigel Saul could tackle over such a broad canvas, and with such deft expertise. * Robert Swanson, Reviews in History *
this will be a valuable companion and reference book for anyone seriously interested in medieval English churches.By choosing to approach church buildings through their gentry patrons, Professor Saul has produced a work of true originality, taking us further in our understanding than we have travelled hitherto. * Dr. Nicholas Orme, Church Times *
Clearly, the relationship between a lord and his parish church was symbiotic: each helped define the identity, status and function of the other. Saul's important study valuably helps elucidate that symbiosis and fulfills the aims with which he set out.
ISBN: 9780198706199
Dimensions: 240mm x 161mm x 23mm
Weight: 762g
384 pages