A thousand fates : the afterlife of medieval monasteries in England & Wales
Taylor, Richard2022
Books
Explores the afterlife of medieval monasticism in England and Wales, a thousand years monasticism in England and Wales came to an abrupt end in the mid-sixteenth century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. At its peak two hundred years earlier, many people chose the contemplative life, while the rich sought salvation through the foundation or embellishment of religious houses. Much of the nation's wealth was locked into these complexes through elaborate rebuilding, gifts of precious objects, property donations and flourishing libraries of rare books. Then in just four years all of the eight hundred plus houses were closed and ten thousand people dispersed with the monastic fortune liquidated and passed to the crown. Today we are left with echoes of a time dominated by an enclosed elite, their homes repurposed or derelict or obliterated.
Main title:
Author:
Taylor, Richard, author
Imprint:
London : Unicorn, 2022.
Collation:
208 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781914414718 (hbk. :)
Dewey class:
726.70942726.70942 TAY
Language:
English
BRN:
2240831
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