A Monastic Community in Local Society: The Beauchief Abbey Cartulary

The first full edition of the medieval Beauchief Abbey Cartulary, complete with full historical introduction.

David Hey (Edited by), Lisa Liddy (Edited by), David Luscombe (Edited by)

9781107016460, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 February 2012

316 pages
22.2 x 14.7 x 2.3 cm, 0.52 kg

The Cartulary of Beauchief Abbey, here published for the first time with a full historical introduction and English summaries of all the Latin and French charters, is an invaluable resource for the study of relationships between a small community of regular canons with a large outreach in the English Midlands in the late Middle Ages. Over two hundred charters and a wide range of other sources show in considerable and valuable detail how the canons of Beauchief, although they belonged to a monastic order and led a life of withdrawal from the world, nonetheless engaged successfully with numerous benefactors in contributing, by active management of properties and parishes, to the promotion of religious life in town and country as well as to long-lasting developments in farming and industry. This book underlines the increasing recognition of the historical importance of regular canons in late medieval England.

List of illustrations
Foreword
Introduction
Glossary
Maps
The Beauchief Abbey Cartulary
Appendix 1. The Leake Family Cartulary
Appendix 2. The Royal Confirmation of 1316
Appendix 3. Concordances
Bibliography
Index of persons: persons other than witnesses
Index of persons: witnesses
Index of places.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Medieval history [HBLC1], History [HB]