The Monastic World

“A masterfully wide-ranging historical account.”—Francesca Peacock, Daily Telegraph “[Jotischky is a] first-class historian. . . This is a deeply learned book, and one that is packed with fascinating vignettes on many of the places and personalities that feature in the monastic world of the 4th to the 16th centuries.”—David Robinson, Country Life “A fine scholarly guide to the origins, growth and flourishing of the myriad forms of Christian ascetic life that dominated both Western and Eastern Christianity for a millennium and which still form a vital part of the Church’s religious experience.”—Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford “An accessible and compelling exploration of medieval monasticism that asks fundamental questions about the role of monasteries in medieval culture and argues for their relevance to modern societies.”—Janet Burton, author of Medieval Monasticism “Clear and compelling…Deeply learned yet welcoming to general readers, this book presents a holistic picture of medieval ascetic practices from Syria to Ireland in all of their dizzying variety over the course of the medieval millennium.”—Scott G. Bruce, author of Cluny and the Muslims of La Garde-Freinet