Community: Society and the Church in Medieval France
Constance B. Bouchard
In the last five or ten years, relationship between secular society and church has become one of most exciting topics in medieval history. Older, unexamined assumptions have been quietly jettisoned, especially idea that those who fought prayed were distinct, even antagonistic categories. Previous scholars sometimes seemed to believe a influenced by laymen any way was necessarily corrupt, conversely churches tried control (in particular nobility), manipulating their marriages. But more recently emphasis instead put on constantly shifting multiply-defined community monks lay aristocracy. The majority this recent work relations done American using French sources. some cases these turned such evidence as liturgy saints' lives, which, though long available, also overlooked sources for social historical analysis. other cases, gone back material everyone thought we already understood asked new questions, thus illuminating past unexpected ways. authors books here under
French Historical Studies