The Intellectual Influence of English Monasticism between the Tenth and the Twelfth Centuries
Roscoe R. Graham
At the opening of tenth century monasticism was at its lowest ebb in England. King Alfred's attempts to revive regular life had failed; some monasteries were homes married priests, many more ruinous and deserted. When Edgar come into his kingdom, able fulfil vow which he made as a boy restore their former splendour, time ripe for success. The land recovered from ravages war, ‘the three torches’ Church—Dunstan, Athelwold, Oswald—were ready guide him. However, brief but brilliant revival checked by national disaster. From renewed Danish invasions monastic steadily languished.
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society|Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)