The Kievan Caves Monastery was for centuries the most important Ukrainian monastic establishment. It was the outstanding center of literary production, and its monks served throughout the territory of Rus' as bishops and monastic superiors. The most detailed source for the monastery early history is its "Paterik," a thirteenth-century compilation containing stories reaching back to the monastery's foundation in the mideleventh century. Muriel Heppell now makes available the first complete English translation of the Paterik. With an introduction, map, and several appendices, Muriel Heppell discusses the work's Byzantine background and also sets it in its historical context.

The "Harvard Library of Early Ukrainian Literature" is one portion of the Harvard Project in Commemoration of the Millennium of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine sponsored by the Ukrainian Research Institute of Harvard University. The "Library" encompasses literary activity in Rus'-Ukraine from its beginning in the mid-eleventh century through the end of the eighteenth century. Included are ecclesiastical and secular works written in a variety of languages, such as Church Slavonic, Old Rus', Ruthenian (Middle Ukrainian), Polish, and Latin. This linguistic diversity reflects the cultural pluralism of Ukrainian intellectual life in the medieval and early-modern periods. The "Library" consists of three parts: "Texts," which publishes original works, in facsimile whenever appropriate; "English Translations"; and "Ukrainian Translations." Each volume begins with an introductory essay by a specialist. The two translation series also include maps, appendices, and indices. A cumulative index to the entire "Library" is planned.

Property Rights in the Late Medieval Discussion on Franciscan Poverty contributes to our understanding of the history of the concept of individual natural rights by tracing the controversies surrounding the Franciscan ideal of absolute poverty from the 1250s to the 1320s. Virpi Makinen, Th.D., analyzes the complex legal, moral, and theological arguments for and against the Franciscan ideal of giving up all rights over property - an ideal that the Franciscans argued was in perfect imitation of Christ and the Apostles. Makinen pays particular attention to the concepts of rights, especially to the distinctions between dominion (dominium), right (ius) and factual use (usus facti). She discusses the arguments made by both the defenders of the Franciscan claim of apostolic poverty (Bonaventure and Bonagratia of Bergamo) and the attackers, most of whom were secular clerics (such as William of Saint-Amour, Gerard of Abbeville, Henry of Ghent, and Godfrey of Fontaines). Makinen then analyzes the support the Order received from the papacy, and how this support was undermined by Pope John XXII's vehement attack on the Franciscans in the 1320s. The book shows how the debate concerning Franciscan poverty gave rise to a new language of rights, which paved the way to the idea of individual natural rights.

"Oneness" considers the role small-group monastic life plays within the life of the contemporary church. Using a focus on the life, practice and history of the Shepherds Law community as a starting point, the book broadens the discussion to consider the how such communities negotiate the boundary between the solitary life and life within their community. Contributions include: Sarah Foot on Northumbria's long tradition Peta Dunstan on Monasticism in the 19th century Andrew Louth on the Skete George Guiver on the monastic sacrament in life, liturgy, saints and buildings Dom Xavier Perrin on Gregorian chant and monastic life Christopher Irvine and Ralph Pattison on the buildings of Shepherds Law in their context With an afterword by Rowan Williams

Founded in 910 by Duke William of Aquitaine, the abbey of Cluny rose to prominence in the eleventh century as the most influential and opulent center for monastic devotion in medieval Europe. While the twelfth century brought challenges, both internal and external, the Cluniacs showed remarkable adaptability in the changing religious climate of the high Middle Ages. Written by international experts representing a range of academic disciplines, the contributions to this volume examine the rich textual and material sources for Cluny's history, offering not only a thorough introduction to the distinctive character of Cluniac monasticism in the Middle Ages, but also the lineaments of a detailed research agenda for the next generation of historians. Contributors are: Isabelle Rose, Steven Vanderputten, Marc Saurette, Denyse Riche, Susan Boynton, Anne Baud, Sebastien Barret, Robert Berkhofer III, Isabelle Cochelin, Michael Hanchen, Gert Melville, Eliana Magnani, Constance B. Bouchard, Benjamin Pohl, and Scott G. Bruce.

Argument by the Norris Professor of Divinity at Cambridge that the spelling of the Syriac version of the Gospels should not be taken as authority for the original Aramaic names.

At the height of the middle ages, there were hundreds of abbeys and priories throughout England. The ruins of some of those that were destroyed at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries are today seen as iconic medieval buildings - such as Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, designated a World Heritage site, or Tintern Abbey on the river Wye, immortalised by Wordsworth. These monasteries - particularly those of the Benedictine and Cistercian orders - were not simply powerhouses of prayer, but major local landowners who improved agriculture, replanned villages and founded new towns. For this reason, Glyn Coppack's far-ranging study not only looks at the churches and the immediate monastic buildings, but at the full range of ancillary buildings.

Demons--whether in embodied form or as inward temptation--make vivid appearances in early Christian monastic literature. In this finely written study of demonology and Christian spirituality in fourth- and fifth-century Egypt, David Brakke examines how the conception of the monk as a holy and virtuous being was shaped by the combative encounter with demons.

Brakke studies the "making of the monk" from two perspectives. First, he describes the social and religious identities that monastic authors imagined for the demon-fighting monk: the new martyr who fights against the pagan gods, the gnostic who believes he knows both the tricks of the demons and the secrets of God, and the prophet who discerns the hidden presence of Satan even among good Christians. Then he employs recent theoretical ideas about gender and racial stereotyping to interpret accounts of demon encounters, especially those in which demons appear as the Other--as Ethiopians, as women, or as pagan gods.

Drawing on biographies of exceptional monks, collections of monastic sayings and stories, letters from ascetic teachers to their disciples, sermons, and community rules, Brakke crafts a compelling picture of the embattled religious celibate. "Demons and the Making of the Monk" is an insightful and innovative exploration of the development of Christian monasticism.