Bishops, Authority and Community in Northwestern Europe, c.1050–1150

An important study of episcopal office and clerical identity in a socially and culturally dynamic region of medieval Europe.

John S. Ott (Author)

9781108444637, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 December 2017

392 pages, 4 maps 2 tables
23 x 15 x 2.3 cm, 0.57 kg

'Through uncovering neglected sermons and saints' Lives, Ott helps to explain how competition between these various communities resulted in an explosion of church-building, many (although not all) of which churches are still standing in the various cities to which he gives attention. … Ott opens up a promising new field of inquiry.' Constant J. Mews, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

This important study of episcopal office and clerical identity in a socially and culturally dynamic region of medieval Europe examines the construction and representation of episcopal power and authority in the archdiocese of Reims during the sometimes turbulent century between 1050 and 1150. Drawing on a wide range of diplomatic, hagiographical, epistolary and other narrative sources, John S. Ott considers how bishops conceived of, and projected, their authority collectively and individually. In examining episcopal professional identities and notions of office, he explores how prelates used textual production and their physical landscapes to craft historical narratives and consolidate local and regional memories around ideals that established themselves as not only religious authorities but also cultural arbiters. This study reveals that, far from being reactive and hostile to cultural and religious change, bishops regularly grappled with and sought to affect, positively and to their advantage, new and emerging cultural and religious norms.

1. The bishop and his authority
2. Becoming bishop: clerical culture and episcopal formation in the archdiocese of Reims around 1100
3. Restless flocks: the challenges to episcopal authority
4. Band of brothers: episcopal networks in the archdiocese of Reims
5. Personal histories: the revival of archiepiscopal historiography at Reims in the eleventh century
6. Sanctity and history in a border diocese: the vita of Lietbert of Cambrai (1051–76)
7. Urban space, memory, and episcopal authority: the bishops of Amiens in peace and conflict, 1073–1164
8. Bishops and the word
9. Toil and togetherness in the vineyards of the Lord
10. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]