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Received: Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:01:23 PM EDT
From: The Medieval Review <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: TMR 12.06.24 Dalton et al., eds., Cathedrals, Communities, and
Conflict (Stanford)
Dalton, Paul, Charles Insley and Louise J. Wilkinson, eds.
<i>Cathedrals, Communities and Conflict in the Anglo-Norman World</i>.
Studies in the History of Medieval Religion. Woodbridge: The Boydell
Press, 2011. Pp. 258. $90.00. ISBN 978-1-84383-620-9.
Reviewed by Charlotte A. Stanford
Brigham Young University
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The purpose of this volume is to re-evaluate the ecclesiastical
landscape of the Norman-dominated regions, both Continental and
British, during the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries. The
focus here is the cathedrals of these times and regions, which the
editors argue have received less attention than their monastic
contemporaries. 'Cathedrals' here are interpreted quite broadly, and
indeed the book ranges into the wider realm of ecclesiastical
experience, providing studies of individual episcopal acts, cathedral-
monastery rivalries, relics and saints' cults, political prominence
(or the struggle for it), and buildings themselves. The parameters of
the term "Anglo-Norman" also encompass many concepts: the change in
cathedrals' sites and status after the Conquest, relations with
Continental roots, issues of change and tradition, and the patronage
of religious houses by laity.
Such a broad spectrum is not necessarily a weakness, and indeed in a
volume of essays deriving from conference presentations, is not at all
unexpected. It is a pity, however, that the introduction, which could
have done more to emphasize connecting strands of ideas, is rather
loosely organized. While reference is made within the introduction to
individual essays and their contributions, this is neither systematic
nor emphasized. The unity of the collection suffers as a result,
making the sum less strong than that of its individual parts. The
editors are, however, to be commended for the care in which the essays
have been expanded from conference paper format. The publisher's
employment of extensive footnotes (rather than the less-frequently
consulted, if common, end note format) is very welcome.
Scholarly approaches vary as much, or more, than the wide-ranging book
parameters itself. For the reader's reference, the essays in this
volume will be discussed briefly in order as follows.
First, Ann Williams ("The Dangers of Invention: The Sack of
Canterbury, 1011, and the 'Theft' of Dunstan's Relics") demonstrates
the well-known but still tempting dangers of relying on twelfth
century written documents over earlier if less plentiful records, by
examining the spurious claims of Glastonbury Abbey's monks in 1184
that they held the body of St. Dunstan.
The second essay by Charles Insley ("Remembering Communities Past:
Exeter Cathedral in the Eleventh Century") demonstrates how the issue
of medieval historical error can be examined not as evidence of truth
or falsity, but as a tool in the creation of <i>memoria</i> and
identity, following the path marked by scholars such as Patrick Geary,
Karin Ugé and Amy Remensnyder. Insley argues that the notable
historical errors in the charters and documents produced under
Exeter's Bishop Leofric were not meant to deceive but rather to create
a new sense of institutional identity by claiming King Athelstan as
their community's founder with Leofric as a re-founder.
In the volume's third essay ("Communities, Conflict and Episcopal
Policy in the Diocese of Lichfield, 1050-1150"), C. P. Lewis analyzes
the double move of the Lichfield episcopate from Chester and later to
Coventry, and argues for a reconsideration of the conventional belief
that Normans in England relocated bishoprics from small regions to
larger urban centers.
Reversing previous scholarly views is the essay by Richard Allen ("The
<i>Acta archiepiscoporum Rotomagensium</i> and Urban Ecclesiastical
Rivalry in Eleventh-Century Rouen"). This investigation of the <i>Acta
archiepiscoporum</i> reveals hitherto unnoted details about the abbey
church's gallery feature (or <i>caelata</i>) and its echelon east end,
built to deliberately contrast with Rouen's Romanesque cathedral.
Assigning the date of ca. 1056 to St.-Ouen's (now vanished) east end,
Allen argues for this abbey's role as a source of inspiration on
approximately twenty later churches, including the continental Caen
and the English St. Albans. This is probably the most ground-breaking
of the scholarly contributions to the volume, as it prompts a
rethinking of traditional art historical chronology.
In the fifth essay ("Cathedrals and the Cult of Saints in Eleventh-
and Twelfth Century Wales"), John Reuben Davies sketches how saints'
relics and cathedral dedications helped strengthen the dignity of
Welsh bishoprics of the period. While this essay ranges very broadly
through the sees of St. Davids, Bangor, Llanelwy and Llandaf, it may
form a helpful introduction to these sites that have frequently
received less attention within the wider realm of cathedral
scholarship.
Thomas Roche analyzes episcopal power in the legal realm ("A Bishop
and His Conflicts: Philip of Bayeux [1142-63]"). Though our sources
for Philip are few, Roche demonstrates how the legal documents from
this bishop's reign demonstrate the position of episcopal rights as
well as the multiple facets that this single prelate presented: book
collector, secular lord, patron, settler of conflicts and imposer
(though not always successful) of authority. Through the lens of this
single figure, the essay also shows the increasing ties between Rome
and the northern French church.
Paul Dalton's contribution ("Ecclesiastical Responses to War in King
Stephen's Reign: The Communities of Selby Abbey, Pontefract Priory and
York Cathedral ") explores ways in which religious institutions
attempted to shield themselves during the turbulence of civil war. He
examines the role of miracle stories and argues that they are not
merely later inventions, but shaped as much by contemporary
circumstances as by religious and literary conventions. Dalton also
analyzes the language of charters made between local lords and
ecclesiastical communities, demonstrating how grants given in
reparation for pillaging of monastic and cathedral lands could be
phrased to provide maximum protection for the ecclesiastical grantees,
using weapons of excommunication and spiritual authority to derive
justice for war damage.
In "Secular Cathedrals and the Anglo-Norman Aristocracy," Stephen
Marritt points out that while aristocrats did tend to prefer endowing
monasteries, because of their exclusivity and ability to offer more
individual memorials, secular cathedral patronage was not unimportant
in the twelfth century. This essay considers charter evidence in
particular to demonstrate that magnate interest in cathedrals was
often tied to the appointment of canons, and their possible leverage
with chapter interests and also the bishop. Marritt also demonstrates
that the great power of cathedrals could be a factor, especially in
burial disputes.
Michael Staunton's essay "The <i>Lives</i> of Thomas Becket and the
Church of Canterbury" examines the perspective of early biographies of
the saint, written by outsiders to the monastic community. Though
these earlier writers, in particular William FitzStephen and Herbert
of Bosham, do discuss the saint's efforts in his life to uphold the
rights of Canterbury's property and primacy, Staunton notes that their
perspective differs from most saints' lives, which tend to be written
by a member of that saint's church. The appeal of Thomas' cult beyond
the boundaries of Canterbury shaped the focus of the early
<i>Lives</i>, giving less weight to Canterbury than we might otherwise
expect.
Sheila Sweetinburgh's contribution, "Caught in the Cross-Fire:
Patronage and Institutional Politics in Late Twelfth-Century
Canterbury," examines the phenomenon of conflict through the lens of a
dispute at St. James hospital in 1188, demonstrating how this small
incident illustrates "historical causation on the level of small
groups where most of real life takes place" (187). Sweetinburgh
demonstrates how an attack against the hospital's master and sisters
formed part of a larger conflict between Archbishop Baldwin and his
cathedral monks, using the methodological framework of 'microhistory'
as practiced by Carlo Ginsburg and Natalie Zemon Davis.
Paul Webster's essay "Crown, Cathedral and Conflict: King John and
Canterbury" reconsiders John's reputation as an irreligious tyrant by
analyzing the king's reasons for grievance against the cathedral monks
during the election disputes over Archbishop Langton. Webster notes
that John's pilgrimages early in his reign and his behavior during the
election process would have been congruent with a royal patron's usual
authority, and argues that John's resentment against Canterbury was
based on what he, the king, felt to be reasonable grounds, as the
monks had held a secret election and then lied to him.
Nicholas Vincent, in "The English Monasteries and their French
Possessions," investigates the frequently overlooked phenomenon of
English ecclesiastical houses holding Continental territories. He
acknowledges that this phenomenon is a 'drop in the ocean' compared to
the English estates held by French religious houses after the Conquest
(224), with Canterbury being the only major exception, holding estates
in Lyon and Quincieux for nearly 200 years. From this strongly one-
way flow Vincent argues that we should not see Normandy and England
after 1066 as any kind of "Norman empire" but rather as two
independent entities.
Overall, though the pieces in this collection are rather loosely
gathered within the book's frame, scholars pursuing topics that deal
with religious communities, not only cathedrals, in the Anglo-Norman
period will find much of interest in these well-crafted and carefully
referenced essays.
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