The birth and flowering of monastic life and its impact on seekers today This comprehensive study of medieval monasteries offers a fascinating history of everyday monastic life and the literature, society, economy and culture of the Middle Ages. Brooke's sweeping narrative offers a compelling look at monastic life for today's spiritual seekers and is well suited as a travel companion to many European destinations. This meticulously researched book offers: * everyday monastic life in exquisite detail, from the food served to the timing of prayers, to the interdependence between the monasteries and the local populace. *special attention to the 12th-century renaissance, a time of revitalizing ideas, when every village in Western Europe was within a day's pilgrimage of an abbey, monastery, or convent. * an exploration of the extraordinary movement of the human spirit at its peak, through its manuscripts, art, sculpture, and architecture. * the importance of the monastic world, its ideas and ideals, to the rise of Western civilization.