Scottish Abbeys and Social Life

This still valuable 1933 work depicts the social and economic role played by the religious orders in medieval Scottish life.

G. G. Coulton (Author)

9781108010627, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 August 2010

322 pages, 21 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.41 kg

First published in 1933 as part of the Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought series, Coulton's Scottish Abbeys and Social Life was an expanded version of his Rhind Lectures given to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1931. Although a rigorous academic, who stressed the importance of using primary sources, Coulton was skilled at making medieval history accessible to a wider audience. He played an important role in encouraging interest in the study of social and economic, rather than political and military, history of the Middle Ages among younger scholars. In the present work, he used his wide reading of the evidence to examine how monasticism developed in Scotland, from the early Celtic period to the Reformation. Much of the material reveals a complex relationship between the monks of the various orders and the world in which they lived, and teaches the reader about the Church and Scottish society.

Preface
1. Celtic monachism
2. The monastic rules
3. Monastic revenues
4. How endowments came (1)
5. How endowments came (2)
6. Monks and parishes (1)
7. Monks and parishes (2)
8. Charity (1)
9. Charity (2)
10. Monk and peasant (1)
11. Monk and peasant (2)
12. Monastic housekeeping
13. Church and scriptorium
14. The monastic chronicler
15. Schools
16. Art and learning
17. Professions and business
18. Visitation (1)
19. Visitation (2)
20. A voice from the cloister
21. Conclusion
Appendices
List of authorities
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC]