Sword, Miter, and Cloister - by Constance Brittain Bouchard (Paperback)

About the Book

Bouchard provides a fresh perspective on social and ecclesiastical life in the High Middle Ages, drawing on a vast range of primary sources to reveal the surprisingly close relationship between monasteries and the nobility.

Book Synopsis

In Sword, Miter, and Cloister, Constance Brittain Bouchard provides a fresh perspective on social and ecclesiastical life in the High Middle Ages. Drawing on a vast range of primary sources, she reveals the surprisingly close relationship between the nobility and reformed monasteries in Burgundy. By focusing on a region considered to be the heart of aristocratic and monastic Europe during this era, Bouchard is able to develop themes and reach conclusions that can be applied to much of Europe.

Review Quotes

Sword, Miter, and Cloister is an exemplary piece of scholarship. The work is beautifully presented: good maps, index, bibliography. Noteworthy is Bouchard's care to include wives and daughters in the genealogical notes; this makes the work especially useful as a reference for questions of Burgundian genealogy.

About the Author

Constance Brittain Bouchard is Distinguished Professor of Medieval History and Chair of the History Department at the University of Akron. Among her many books are "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted" The Discourse of Opposites in Twelfth-Century Thought and "Strong of Body, Brave and Noble" Chivalry and Society in Medieval France, also from Cornell, and The Cartulary of Montier-en-Der, 666-1129.