1st Edition

Bishops, Saints, and Historians Studies in the Ecclesiastical History of Medieval Britain and Italy

    448 Pages
    by Routledge

    448 Pages
    by Routledge

    Throughout his career, Robert Brentano attempted to understand the nature and 'style' of ecclesiastical institutions in Italy and the British Isles, the specific qualities of saints and the communities that formed around them, and the ways in which seemingly cryptic archival remains of medieval administrative activity, as well as chronicles and lives, could reveal vital details about change and continuity in local and regional religious life and even 'the color of men's souls'. These issues are explored in the essays assembled in Parts I (Bishops) and II (Saints). Part III (Historians) brings together articles that examine the writing of history by both medieval authors and modern historians, and includes Brentano's reflections on his own practice as an historian. The introduction by W. L. North offers a brief biography and introduction to reading Brentano's works, followed by a complete bibliography of his publications.

    Contents: Introduction, W.L. North; Bibliography of the works of Robert J. Brentano, W.L. North. Part 1 Bishops: The Whithorn vacancy of 1293-94; Late medieval changes in the administration of vacant suffragan dioceses: province of York; The bishops' books of Città di Castello; Sealed documents of the medieval archbishops at Amalfi; Vescovi e collocazione socio-culturale del clero parrocchiale; Notarial cartularies and religious personality: Rome, Rieti and Bishop Thomas of Secinaro (1339-1341); Vescovi e vicari generali nel basso medioevo; The local church of Amalfi in the context of Italian ecclesiastical institutions in the 13th and 14th centuries. Part 2 Saints: Francis of Assisi's gloss of Matthew 6:34; Early Franciscans and Italian towns; 'Do not say that this is a man from Assisi'; Catherine of Siena, Margery Kempe, and a caterva virginum; Filippa Mareri, la santa baronessa, la santa del Cicolano; Santa Filippa Mareri nel movimento religioso femminile del secolo XIII; Il movimento religioso femminile a Rieti nel secoli XIII-XIV; Peter of Morrone, space, and the problem of relics; Sulmona society and the miracles of Peter of Morrone; Identities and national formation: does religion integrate or disperse communities?. Part 3 History and Historians: Il sogno di Sant' Anselmo e lo sviluppo della biografia medievale; Samson of Bury revisited; The Jurisdictio Spiritualis: an example of 15th-century English historiography; The sound of Stubbs; Frederic William Maitland (1850-1906); The chronicle of Francesco Venimbeni da Fabriano; Matteo Camera's masterpiece; Italian ecclesiastical history: the Sambin revolution; Bishops and saints; Index.

    Biography

    Robert Brentano was Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. William L North is Assistant Professor of History, Director of European Studies and Director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Carleton College, USA.