Isle of the Saints: Monastic Settlement and Christian Community in Early Ireland

by Lisa M. Bitel

Overview

Isle of the Saints recreates the harsh yet richly spiritual world of medieval Irish monks on the Christian frontier of barbarian Europe. Lisa Bitel draws on accounts of saints' lives written between 800 and 1200 to explain, from the monks' own perspective, the social networks that bound them to one another and to their secular neighbors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801424717
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	10/16/1990
Series:	7/2/2003
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.06(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lisa M. Bitel is Professor of History and Religion at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Land of Women, also from Cornell, as well as Landscape with Two Saints and Women in Early Medieval Europe, 400–1100.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Bitel's book is exceptionally well researched and very well written. It sums up a huge amount of work done on Irish monasticism over the past fifty years."

Editorial Reviews

Bitel's book is exceptionally well researched and very well written. It sums up a huge amount of work done on Irish monasticism over the past fifty years.

Commonweal

Presents a richly woven account of the first Irish Christians by combining the hard facts of social analysis drawn from history, anthropology, and archaeology, with the vivid imagery and incidental detail drawn from the saints' lives written centuries later. Emphasizes the economic, social, and political role of the monasteries in 5th to 11th century Irish culture. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Bitel's book is exceptionally well researched and very well written. It sums up a huge amount of work done on Irish monasticism over the past fifty years.

-- "Commonweal"

From the Publisher