Since its earliest days, the Christian Church sought to draw up rules by which its members could live together in religious communities. Whilst those of Augustine (c.400 AD) and Benedict (c.530 AD) provided detailed guidance for monastic life, it took another two centuries for equivalent rules for secular clergy to become accepted on a wide scale. The earliest surviving set of comprehensive rules for canons are those written in the mid-eighth century by St Chrodegang (c.712-766), Bishop of Metz. Writing initially for secular clergy at Metz Cathedral, this work shows how Chrodegang's rule borrowed much from the Benedictine tradition, dealing with many of the same concerns such as the housing, feeding and disciplining of members of the community and the daily routine of the divine offices. At a time when there was no consensus on how clergy should live - whether they should marry or were eligible to own property - Chrodegang's rule provided clear guidance on such issues, and inspired reformers across Europe to consider how clergy lived and interacted with wider society. Although his work was superseded within a generation by the Rule of Aachen, Chrodegang succeeded in setting the agenda for subsequent rules for canons and as such his rule deserves to be given more weight by Church historians than has hitherto been the case. Providing the Latin texts and English translations of the three surviving versions of Chrodegang's rule, (Regula Originalis Chrodegangi, Institutio Canonicorum, Regula Longior Canonicorum) this volume provides an invaluable resource to scholars of medieval Christian communities. Substantial introductions to each text provide historical context and bibliographic details, allowing them to be understood in a much fuller way than has hitherto been possible.

Since its earliest days, the Christian Church sought to draw up rules by which its members could live together in religious communities. Whilst those of Augustine (c.400 AD) and Benedict (c.530 AD) provided detailed guidance for monastic life, it took another two centuries for equivalent rules for secular clergy to become accepted on a wide scale. The earliest surviving set of comprehensive rules for canons are those written in the mid-eighth century by St Chrodegang (c.712-766), Bishop of Metz. Writing initially for secular clergy at Metz Cathedral, this work shows how Chrodegang's rule borrowed much from the Benedictine tradition, dealing with many of the same concerns such as the housing, feeding and disciplining of members of the community and the daily routine of the divine offices. At a time when there was no consensus on how clergy should live - whether they should marry or were eligible to own property - Chrodegang's rule provided clear guidance on such issues, and inspired reformers across Europe to consider how clergy lived and interacted with wider society. Although his work was superseded within a generation by the Rule of Aachen, Chrodegang succeeded in setting the agenda for subsequent rules for canons and as such his rule deserves to be given more weight by Church historians than has hitherto been the case. Providing the Latin texts and English translations of the three surviving versions of Chrodegang's rule, (Regula Originalis Chrodegangi, Institutio Canonicorum, Regula Longior Canonicorum) this volume provides an invaluable resource to scholars of medieval Christian communities. Substantial introductions to each text provide historical context and bibliographic details, allowing them to be understood in a much fuller way than has hitherto been possible.

Vita Communis - 'the common life' - is the term used for community life among priests and other clerics, as opposed to monks and friars. While monasticism is familiar, few are aware that pastoral ('secular') priests have lived in communities for most of the Church's history. Many people have suggested that they could do so again, and that this might help with some of the problems facing solitary priests in the modern world. By exploring what was done in the past, we can suggest what might work in the future, learning from the successes as well as the failures of previous priestly communities. The story of secular canons in the Western Church, as opposed to those who were canons in religious orders, has often been told in terms of their contribution to architecture, literature, and the apostolate. Here, however, the author, building on his earlier work devoted to the medieval rules governing the secular common life, has provided a narrative of the essential shape of the canonical life from its origins down to the present time, and this for a general readership. He thus demonstrates the persistent desire of many secular clergy to live in community. At a time when priests are fewer and more isolated, this work will provide useful models for developing structures of mutual support for the secular clergy of our time. Abbot Geoffrey Scott