Monastic Realm

This important scholarly work on European civilization traces the development of Romanesque art and architecture at the height of the monastic influence. Covering the period from the formation of the Cluniac order at the beginning of the tenth century up to the middle of the twelfth century when magnificent Cistercian abbeys at Citeaux and Fontenay were constructed, the book offers an excellent documentation of a great spiritual and cultural epoch.

The contributors to life, scholarship, and civilization made by the monastic orders during these centuries was immense, and engendered important works of art all over Europe. Some of the most significant are here extensively documented. There are numerous duotone reproductions of fine quality, and the four-color illustrations skillfully evoke the rich hues and gold embellishments of the paintings, miniatures, and illuminated manuscripts produced by the monks during the period. [From the cover]

No Christian monastic order ever proclaimed arts and letters to be a path to spirituality. Yet the monks of the early Middle Ages created enduring architecture, invented literary forms, transmitted ancient pagan culture and kept alive learning that waves of barbaric invasions nearly extinguished. This paradox is the theme of a rewarding volume whose intimate photographs lead the reader into abbeys and cloisters, where one feels the serenity and scans frescoes and carvings on walls and ceilings. Nearly 80 color plates and over 200 duotones show astonishingly beautiful mosaics, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, enamelwork and related treasures. How the carefully planned architecture mirrored a spiritual process of searching within the self is analyzed in scholarly yet engaging essays. Benedictine monks, less prejudiced and far less sedentary than the peasants, were agents of innovation and culture. The authors probe the present-day relevance of the Benedictine world-view, which emphasizes free will, the possibility of improving society and the need for civility. January
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.