How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life

by Danièle Cybulskie, Anna Lobanova (Illustrator)

Overview

How medieval monastic practices—with their emphasis on a healthy soul, mind, and body—can inspire us to live fuller lives today

We know that they prayed, sang, and wore long robes, but what was it really like to be a monk? Though monastic living may seem unimaginable to us moderns, it has relevance for today. This book illuminates the day-to-day of medieval European monasticism, showing how you can apply the principles of monastic living, like finding balance and peace, to your life.   

With wit and insight, medievalist and podcaster Danièle Cybulskie dives into the history of monasticism in each chapter and then reveals applications for today, such as the benefits of healthy eating, streamlining routines, gardening, and helping others. She shares how monks authentically embraced their spiritual calling, and were also down to earth: they wrote complaints about being cold in the manuscripts they copied, made beer and wine, and even kept bees. 

How to Live Like a Monk features original illustrations by Anna Lobanova, as well as more than eighty color reproductions from medieval manuscripts. It is for anyone interested in the Middle Ages and those seeking inspiration for how to live a full life, even when we’re confined to the cloister of our homes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789214133
Publisher:	Abbeville Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/23/2021
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	588,635
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Danièle Cybulskie is the author of How to Live Like a Monk (Abbeville), Life in Medieval Europe, and The Five-Minute Medievalist. She is the creator and host of The Medieval Podcast and ExtraMedieval, and is a contributor to Medievalists.net.

Table of Contents

Ad Regulam 7

I Cend Your Plancs, and Your Soul 31

II Embrace Minimalism 48

III Look Inward 74

IV Look Outward 104

V Everything in Modern, Including Moderacion 131

Ad Meliora 148

Acknowledgments 150

Notes 152

Glossary 163

Recommended Reading 168

Index 171

Editorial Reviews

08/30/2021

In this beautifully illustrated self-help guide, Cybulskie (Life in Medieval Europe), host of The Medieval Podcast, reimagines monastic practices to help readers live with greater peace, simplicity, and purpose. Written for those who want to live like monks and not as monks, Cybulskie shows, first, what monastic life was like in the Middle Ages, before connecting medieval monasticism to modern movements such as minimalism and mindfulness. Through rich, color images and lucid language, Cybulskie introduces famous monastic figures and curious facts about monastic life—like the difference between a monk and a friar, or the ideal layout of a monastery (with “church and cloister in the center and buildings for guests, storage, and schooling surrounding them”). Inviting readers to craft a “rule for life” inspired by cloistered living—while also staying in tune with one’s personal values—Cybulskie encourages readers to take up monks’ examples by embracing simple practices like sharing experiences and knowledge, creating art aimed at lifting souls, or avoiding burnout by easing into commitments. While those looking for an in-depth exploration of medieval monastic life won’t find it, Cybulskie’s light touch and accessible tone makes medieval monastic rules accessible to any reader. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"This entertaining and enlightening book almost made me want to become a monk. Almost. . ."

Dan Jones

"This compact, beautifully illustrated volume contains a world of practical wisdom, wrapped up in amusing anecdotes and revealing quotations from medieval sources. It wears its learning lightly, but readers will find many surprising facts about the Middle Ages, as well as seeing their own lifestyle in a fresh light."

Seb Falk

"Filled to the brim with wise and practical advice, How to Live Like a Monk is a wonderful reminder that most of what we need to live a full and fulfilling life is already within us."

Tal Ben-Shahar

"This is a brilliant concept, beautifully delivered. . . told with great knowledge, with a view to passing on lessons learnt many hundreds of years ago, but still so relevant today. ­This highly original work is the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life."

Charles Spencer

"This is a profoundly lovely book. Here is the life of a medieval monk, vividly described . . . with clarity, wit, and a humane wisdom that . . . offers food for thought about the modern world."

Helen Castor

"This is a brilliant concept, beautifully delivered. . . told with great knowledge, with a view to passing on lessons learnt many hundreds of years ago, but still so relevant today. ­This highly original work is the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life."

—Charles Spencer, historian and best-selling author of Killers of the King and The White Ship

"This entertaining and enlightening book almost made me want to become a monk. Almost. . ."

—Dan Jones, New York Times best-selling author and presenter of Netflix’s Secrets of Great British Castles

"This is a profoundly lovely book. Here is the life of a medieval monk, vividly described . . . with clarity, wit, and a humane wisdom that . . . offers food for thought about the modern world."

—Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves and Joan of Arc

"

"Filled to the brim with wise and practical advice, How to Live Like a Monk is a wonderful reminder that most of what we need to live a full and fulfilling life is already within us."

—Tal Ben-Shahar, New York Times bestselling author of Happier and Choose the Life You Want"

"This compact, beautifully illustrated volume contains a world of practical wisdom, wrapped up in amusing anecdotes and revealing quotations from medieval sources. It wears its learning lightly, but readers will find many surprising facts about the Middle Ages, as well as seeing their own lifestyle in a fresh light."
—Seb Falk, author of The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science"

"Cybulskie relates how people today can. . . find peace, simplicity, and purpose in their lives. . . Though modern-day readers might not want to fully embrace the monastic life, they can benefit from such practices as meditation, making peace with their pasts, and practicing gratitude."
—Library Journal"

From the Publisher

11/05/2021

Cybulski (Life in Medieval Europe) relates how people today can use some of the beliefs and principles of monastic living to find peace, simplicity, and purpose in their lives. The book details, with multiple color illustrations, the daily lives of 14th—16th-century monks to show how their tending of gardens, embracing minimalism, and building community led to lives full of meaning. Though modern-day readers might not want to fully embrace the monastic life, they can benefit from such practices as meditation, making peace with their pasts, and practicing gratitude. VERDICT Such advice is not new, but seen through a different lens it becomes more interesting and inviting.

Library Journal