Latin and Greek Monasticism in the Crusader States

Description

Monasticism was the dominant form of religious life both in the medieval West and in the Byzantine world. Latin and Greek Monasticism in the Crusader States explores the parallel histories of monasticism in western and Byzantine traditions in the Near East in the period c.1050-1300. Bernard Hamilton and Andrew Jotischky follow the parallel histories of new Latin foundations alongside the survival and revival of Greek Orthodox monastic life under Crusader rule. Examining the involvement of monasteries in the newly founded Crusader States, the institutional organization of monasteries, the role of monastic life in shaping expressions of piety, and the literary and cultural products of monasteries, this meticulously researched survey will facilitate a new understanding of indigenous religious institutions and culture in the Crusader states.

Bernard Hamilton (1932-2019) was Professor of Crusading History at the University of Nottingham. His numerous publications include The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (2000), Religion in the Medieval West (2003) and The Christian World of the Middle Ages (2013). Andrew Jotischky is Professor of Medieval History at Royal Holloway University of London. He is the author of Crusading and the Crusader States (2nd Edition, 2017), The Carmelites and Antiquity: Mendicants and their Pasts in the Middle Ages (2002), The Perfection of Solitude: Hermits and Months in the Crusader States (1995) as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals.

'A remarkable achievement! Andrew Jotischky and the late Bernard Hamilton break new ground in this comprehensive and thoroughly researched study of Latin and Greek monasticism. An important contribution to the history of both the Latin and East and the wider world of medieval monastic endeavours.' Peter Edbury, University of Cardiff 'A staggering achievement and a must read for any scholar or student interested in the monastic tradition, comparative religious practice, and spiritual life and patronage in the Crusader States. The combined erudition of Hamilton and Jotischky offers a magnificent analysis of Greek and Latin monastic life steeped in detail and encyclopedic in its range.' Anne E. Lester, Johns Hopkins University 'In a bravura sustained performance of meticulous detailed scholarship, the authors provide a wonderfully encyclopaedic panorama of the inspirations, organisation, personalities and cultures that sustained Latin and Greek monasticism in and around the Crusader States. Alongside a limpid synthesis of existing learning, by placing the two Christian traditions side by side, it offers fresh insights into the practical realities of religious lives, exposing both the diversity and often unexpected ecumenism of shared beliefs within a multi-faith, polyglot cosmopolitan religious world. It will be a benchmark and reference point for scholars and students alike, a fitting envoi from its co-author, the late Bernard Hamilton.' Christopher Tyerman, Hertford College, University of Oxford '... this a very significant piece of research. It is the first major study on this topic and it draws together an astonishing array of material - textual, material, artistic and archaeological - and it is to be hoped that it will stimulate further work in this field.' Nicholas Morton, Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean