New essays on the monastic life in the later middle ages show that far from being in decline, it remained rich and vibrant.In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the history of the numerous houses of monks, canons and nuns which existed in the medieval British Isles, considering them in their wider socio-cultural-economic context; historians are now questioning some of the older assumptions about monastic life in the later Middle Ages, and setting new approaches and new agenda. The present volume reflects these new trends. Its fifteen chapters assess diverseaspects of monastic history, focusing on the wide range of contacts which existed between religious communities and the laity in the later medieval British Isles, covering a range of different religious orders and houses. This period has often been considered to represent a general decline of the regular life; but on the contrary, the essays here demonstrate that there remained a rich monastic culture which, although different from that of earlier centuries, remained vibrant. CONTRIBUTORS: KAREN STOBER, JULIE KERR, EMILIA JAMROZIAK, MARTIN HEALE, COLMAN O CLABAIGH, ANDREW ABRAM, MICHAEL HICKS, JANET BURTON, KIMM PERKINS-CURRAN, JAMES CLARK, GLYN COPPACK, JENS ROHRKASTEN, SHEILA SWEETINBURGH, NICHOLAS ORME, CLAIRE CROSS

IntroductionThe Social Networks of Late Medieval Welsh Monasteries - Karen StoberCistercian Hospitality in the Later Middle Ages - Julie KerrCistercians and Border Conflicts: Some Comparisons between the Experiences of Scotland and Pomerania - Emilia Jamroziak`Not a Thing for a Stranger to Enter Upon': the Selection of Monastic Superiors in Late Medieval and Tudor England - Martin HealePatronage, Prestige and Politics: the Observant Franciscans at Adare - Colmán Ó ClabaighThe Augustinian Priory of Wombridge and its Benefactors in the Later Middle Ages - Andrew AbramThe Rising Price of Piety in the Later Middle Ages - Michael HicksLooking for Medieval Nuns - Janet BurtonQuhat say ye now, my lady priores: How have ye usit your office, can ye ges?: Politics, Power and Realities of the Office of a Prioress in her Community in Late Medieval ScotlandCommunity in Late Medieval Scotland - Kimm CurranMonasteries and Secular Education in Late Medieval England - James G. Clark`Make Straight in the Desert a Highway for our God': the Carthusians and Community in Late Medieval England - Glyn CoppackEarly Franciscan Legislation and Lay Society - The Austin Friars in Late Medieval Canterbury: Negotiating Spaces - Sheila SweetinburghMonasteries in Medieval Cornwall: Mediocrity or Merit? - Nicholas OrmeMonasteries and Society in Sixteenth-Century Yorkshire: the Last Years of Roche Abbey - Claire Cross