Western monasticism ante litteram
Subtitle: the space of monastic observance in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages
By: Hendrik Dey & Elizabeth Fentress, eds
Series: Disciplina Monastica -- 7; Disciplina monastica -- 7.
Publisher: Brepols
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Turnhout
Language: eng
Number of pages: 387
ISBN-13: 9782503540917
Subjects: Monasticism and religious orders; History; Congresses; Monasteries
Description: "Space has always played a crucial part in defining the place that monks and nuns occupy in the world. Even during the first centuries of the monastic phenomenon, when the possible varieties of monastic practice were nearly infinite, there was a common thread in the need to differentiate the monk from the rest: whatever else they were supposed to be, monks were beings apart, unique, in some sense separate from the mainstream. The physical contours of monastic topographies, natural and constructed, are thus fundamental to an understanding of how early monks went about defining the parameters of their everyday lives, their modes of religious observance, and their interactions with the larger world around them. The group of eminent historians and archaeologists present at the American Academy in Rome in March, 2007 for the conference 'Western monasticism ante litteram'"--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.