Table of Contents

Preface.

List of Abbreviations.

1. The Emergence of Christian Eremiticism.

2. The Development of Communal Life.

3. Women in Early Monasticism.

4. The Meaning of Asceticism.

5. The Evolution of Monasticism in the West.

6. The Rule of St Benedicts and its Italian Setting.

7. Britain and Ireland.

8. Irish peregrini and European Monasticism.

9. Monasticism and Society in the Seventh Century.

Bibliography.

Index.

About the Author

Marilyn Dunn is a graduate of Edinburgh University and a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Glasgow. She has published work on religious and Byzantine history.

Reviews

‘An indispensable and valuable book.’ Times Literary Supplement

‘... the book succeeds admirably in making technical material accessible to the general reader.’ English Historical Review

‘The goal of this work, very successfully achieved, is a comprehensive view of monastic history ... throughout the book [Dunn] brings the reader quickly to understand a host of scholarly controversies without overburdening her text. Speculum
'... a thorough reading of the major secondary studies of the past generation ... The extensive notes, substantial biliography and detailed index will be of great use.' Ecclesiastical History
"This deserves to be widely recommended... a fascinating and thorough book" Morwenna Ludlow, Mind