New Medieval Books: Cistercian Horizons

Cistercian Horizons: Collected Essays

Edited by Catarina Fernandes Barreira, Conceição Casanova, Maria Filomena Andrade

Trivent Publishing
ISBN: 978-615-6696-35-9

This open-access book contains 18 articles about the Cistercians, one of medieval Europe’s most important monastic orders. The essays examine how these monks operated and the many manuscripts they left behind.

Excerpt:

In short, this book is not “just another publication” in the realm of Cistercian studies. A book that brings together a series of texts by researchers and scholars who have ardently delved into diverse facets of Cistercian studies over extended periods of time, weaving a coherent trajectory of profound scholarly maturity that resonates through their investigations. It is also a book that presents results obtained when working and investigating with an interdisciplinary approach, and in constant dialogue with several areas of knowledge, various researchers specializing in different areas of knowledge and wide-ranging methodologies, adapted to the characteristics of the sources to be studied.

More important, this book also presents challenges concerning new pathways of research within Cistercian Studies, showing that, after all, not everything is complete, and there is still a lot to do in the next years or even decades, in comparative studies. New documents will continue to appear in archives and libraries. Unfailingly, new material will surface in the annals of archives and libraries, new codices will come to light, new means and techniques of analysing and researching. In short, all are challenges to be taken and embraced in the times to come.

Who is this book for?

This collection of essays will be most useful to those studying medieval monasticism, particularly the Cistercian order itself. More than half of the articles focus on book culture or manuscripts of the Cistercians, which will appeal to those researching that field.

The Editors

Catarina Fernandes Barreira is a Research Fellow at Nova University of Lisbon. Maria da Conceição Casanova is an Assistant Professor at Nova University of Lisbon. Maria Filomena Andrade is the Deputy Director of the “Center for the Study of Religious History” of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

You can get the open-access version of this book from the publisher’s website