The Evolution of the Monastic Ideal From the Earliest Times Down to the Coming of the Friars; a Second Chapter in the History of Christian Renunciation

by Herbert B. Workman

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

396 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 2006

About the author

Herbert Brook Workman

Reviews

[Michael Joosten]

Workman's turn-of-the-century prose is lucid and personable in ways modern academic writing typically shirks from, but this book is still, at its heart, a scholarly tome. A believer, albeit a Methodist and not a monk, Workman has the advantage over a more dispassionate writer, though his work is thoroughly footnoted, betraying a breadth of familiarity with the original sources and the scholarship on them (even if it is a century old now) that is fully credentialed and laid at the reader's disposal.

[J.]

This is an obscure, older book but is one of my favorite books of all time. This is a thorough look at the history of monastic movements that is an important read for anyone interested in the history of Christianity and Western civilization. Know the past and you will have more insight to navigate our cultural present.

[Pat Loughery]

The Evolution of the Monastic Ideal by Herbert Workman (1962)