Relations between the laity and the religious in medieval Durham reveal much about lay religion of the time. Although religious life in medieval Durham was ruled by its prince bishop and priory, the laity flourished and played a major role in the affairs of the parish, as Margaret Harvey demonstrates. Using a variety of sources, she provides a complete account of its history from the Conquest to the Dissolution of the priory, with a particular emphasis on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. She shows how the laity interacted vigorously with both bishop and priory, and the relations between them, with the priory providing schools, hospitals, chantries and regular sermons, but also acting as a disciplinary force. On a wider level, she also looks at the whole question of lay religion andwhat can be discovered about it. She finishes by an examination of local reactions to the Reformation.

Papers reflecting current research on orthodox religious practice and ecclesiastical organisation from c.1350-c.1500. This book derives from a conference held in 1989. It reflects current research on ecclesiastical organisation and on aspects of religious belief from the Black Death to the English Reformation. On the wider front, there is an account of the diplomatic relations between the Pope and those who ruled for the infant Henry VI. Regional studies focus on Carthusians in Somerset, and the continued attraction of the eremitical life; on the canons of Exeter cathedral and on the foundation of chantries and the endowment of churches. Taken together, these essays show how late medieval religious belief was undermined by a variety of factors, and point up the contrast between the humanity and sensitivity of medieval religion and the nature of the faith which replaced it. Contributors: CLIVE BURGESS, ROBERT W. DUNNING, MICHAEL J. HAREN, MARGARET HARVEY, D.N. LEPINE, COLIN RICHMOND, ROBERT N. SWANSON, BENJAMIN THOMPSON.