Stories of the Rose

by Anne Winston-Allen

For centuries, the rosary has been one of the most popular expressions of religious devotion among Roman Catholics, but its origins remain obscure. Stories of the Rose presents a compelling and readable history of the rosary in its formative years. It explores the many spiritual, literary, and artistic dimensions of the rosary and explains how and why it became so popular on the eve of the Protestant Reformation.

Genres: Spirituality, Catholic, Religion

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Tommy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on the history of rosaries and devotional but has an extremely limited audience as the text is rather academic. I enjoyed it but like I don’t even know who on earth I’d reccomd this too

[Jane Lebak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I learned so much, and I love how Winston-Allen pulls together the rosary's history from its disparate beginnings into the rosary we know today. She frames it in terms of the culture, the ecclesiastical excesses of the day, and how the people were ready for something new. It was in many ways filling a niche that the Protestant Reformation would fill in later years, putting spirituality back into the hands of the lay population and giving everyone equal access to grace. The rosary almost sounds subversive when she explains the history, and I really liked that perspective. Recommended!

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It gives the rosary so much more context and really deepened my love and admiration for this special devotion. The garden connection, the variety of rosary making techniques, and the way the rosary was influenced by art and influenced art in turn, there is so much here to enjoy!

[Ruth Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

这本书意外好看！作者怀着一颗熊熊燃烧的八卦少女之心追溯了玫瑰经的发迹史，有些地方简直让我一脸痴汉笑。从玫瑰经的演变形态看中古时期的智性和灵性生活，还能顺带了解文本商业化的过程。图像（image）和念诵（orality）与文本（text）互文，彼此启发保护，却也限制了人们的想象力氛围。这个作者和Dr. Ed 都提到了Eamon Duffy（a hardcore catholic)，我还得找他的书来看看。

[Jakob · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good book. I love when the author peppers in stories from the medieval Times to catch a glimpse of what they were thinking and how they use the rosary to sway opinions. This book definitely benefits from a reread because there is a lot of figures thrown at you overall I had a good time.