Medieval monasticism

"Hugh Lawrence traces the Western monastic tradition from its fourth-century origins in the deserts of Egypt and Syria, through the many and varied forms of religious life it assumed during the Middle Ages. As well as reconstructing the internal life, experience and aims of the medieval cloister, he also explores the many-sided relationships between the monasteries and the secular world around them." "In this Third Edition Professor Lawrence has added to or elaborated on a number of important themes such as the impact of the friars on the religious experience of their time, the controversy between the Benedictines and the champions of the Cistercian movement of the twelfth century, and even new details of monastic lodgers and of monastic food."-- Book jacket.