Table of Contents

List of maps and tables; Acknowledgments; Note on transliteration and citation; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Founders and Benefactors: 1. The resurgence of the monastic life; 2. Groups, communities and solitaries; 3. Monastic founders; 4. Monasticism and society; 5. Piety, patronage and politics; Part II. Protection and Survival: 6. Monasteries and the law; 7. Fortune and misfortune; 8. Territorial expansion and spiritual compromise; 9. The challenge to central authority; 10. The Komnene reaction; Appendix: imperial privileges to monasteries, c. 900-1118; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

This book reassesses the role of monks in Byzantine society.

Reviews

'… excellent … there is no comparable book in English about Byzantine monastic life and its importance in the imperial, social and economic fabric of society.' Donald Nicol, Anglo-Hellenic Review