Beyond the Monastery Walls
Lay Men and Women in Early Medieval Legal Formularies

Explores the lives of the early medieval laity beyond the interactions with churches and monasteries that dominate most of our sources.

Warren C. Brown (Author)

9781108790048, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 February 2025

400 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.576 kg

'Brown takes his readers on an enjoyable trip through Western Francia that they will not soon forget. In the process, he also takes them along in his own research process and keeps them compelled to keep reading, making this monograph a delight for seasoned scholars and students alike. … Brown's excursion Beyond The Monastery Walls is a trip well worth taking. It unlocks the potential of formularies in a way that really showcases his originality as a historian, and as we pass through the gate we are met with just the right mix of erudition and accessibility that makes us want to read and keep reading, and which shows the value of taking another close look at seemingly old material. That is the sort of thing, after all, that keeps our sources - and the people they represent - truly alive.' Rutger Kramer, Irish Theological Quarterly

Our understanding of life in the early Middle Ages is dominated by Christian churches and monasteries. It is their records and libraries which have survived the centuries, to tell us how the clerics, monks, and nuns who lived and worked within their walls experienced the world around them. We thus see the lay inhabitants of that wider world mostly when they are interacting with the clergy. However, a few sources let us explore lay life in this period more broadly. Beyond the Monastery Walls exploits perhaps the richest of these: manuscript books containing formulas, or models, for documents that do not otherwise survive. Through these books, Warren C. Brown explores the concerns and behavior of lay men and women in this period on their own terms, and casts fresh light on a part of the medieval world that is usually hidden from view. In the process, he shows how early medievalists are winning fresh information from our sources by looking at them in new ways.

Part I. The Gate: 1. Introduction
2. The manuscript
3. Language, anachronism, and the laity
Part II. The Laity: 4. Laypeople and documents
5. Laypeople and property
6. Family
7. Conflict and justice
8. Power, personal relationships, and letters
9. Freedom and unfreedom
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]