Product Description

In these studies of monks and nuns who have attained holiness, or fame, or both, through following the Rule of St. Benedict, one of the most important influences in the making of Europe, the emphasis is firmly upon the people themselves. Spanning the period from the sixth to the twentieth century famous monastic figures are included as well as some perhaps lesser known.

Unity of inspiration and diversity of accomplishment  mark the lives of these different, and sometimes difficult individuals. Their collective influence has been compared with leaven, working quietly but with immense energy in a society sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile.

In this book, written by monks, nuns, and laypeople who share an interest in the spiritual and external achievements of Benedict’s disciples through the ages, readers will find much to inspire.

David Hugh Farmer was Reader in History at the University of Reading, and is a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society. He has edited two volumes on Bede for Penguin Classics, the Life of St. Hugh of Lincoln and the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, now in its third edition. He is retired and lives in Whitchurch-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.