Publisher Description

In Byzantium monks did not form a separate caste, apart from society. They formed part of a nexus of social, economic and spiritual relationships that bound together the "powerful" in the middle Byzantine state. Using hagiography, chronicles and, in particular, the newly-available archives of the Athonite monasteries, this book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society and examines the reasons for the flowering of the monastic life in the period from the end of iconoclasm to the beginning of the twelfth century.

Table of Contents

List of maps and tables; Acknowledgments; Note on transliteration and citation; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Founders and Benefactors: 1. The resurgence of the monastic life; 2. Groups, communities and solitaries; 3. Monastic founders; 4. Monasticism and society; 5. Piety, patronage and politics; Part II. Protection and Survival: 6. Monasteries and the law; 7. Fortune and misfortune; 8. Territorial expansion and spiritual compromise; 9. The challenge to central authority; 10. The Komnene reaction; Appendix: imperial privileges to monasteries, c. 900-1118; Bibliography; Index.

Review

'… excellent … there is no comparable book in English about Byzantine monastic life and its importance in the imperial, social and economic fabric of society.' Donald Nicol, Anglo-Hellenic Review

Promotional

This book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society.

Review Quote

"This book is a pioneering work on the life of the monk in the middle Byzantine period." Charles A. Frazee, American Historical Review

Promotional "Headline"

This book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society.

Description for Bookstore

Using hagiography, chronicles and, in particular, the archives of the Athonite monasteries, this book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society and examines the reasons for the flowering of the monastic life in the period from the end of iconoclasm to the beginning of the twelfth century.

Description for Library

Using hagiography, chronicles and, in particular, the archives of the Athonite monasteries, this book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society and examines the reasons for the flowering of the monastic life in the period from the end of iconoclasm to the beginning of the twelfth century.

Details