Freedom and Protection

This book examines the history of monastic exemption in early medieval France. In this era, the popes in Rome became de facto rulers and proprietors of numerous monasteries, establishing a foothold in the emerging business of monastic freedom and protection. The book explains the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of this relationship. -- .

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This book examines the history of monastic exemption in France. It reveals an institutional story of monastic freedom and protection, deeply rooted in the religious, political, social and legal culture of the early Middle Ages. Traversing many geo-political boundaries and fields of historical specialisation, the book defines the meaning and value of exemption to French monasteries between the sixth and eleventh centuries. It demonstrates how enduring relationships with the apostolic see in Rome ultimately contributed to an emerging identity of papal authority, the growth of early monasticism, Frankish politics and governance, church reform and canon law. -- .