The Formation of a Medieval Church: Ecclesiastical Change in Verona, 950–1150

by Maureen Miller

In this provocative account, Maureen Miller challenges traditional explanations of the process that changed the nature of religious institutions―and religious life itself―in the diocese of Verona during the early and central Middle Ages. Building on substantial archival research, she shows how demographic expansion, economic development, and political change helped transform religious ideals and ecclesiastical institutions into a recognizably "medieval" church.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1993

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and interesting read about religious change in Verona between 950-1150. The typical argument for religious change usually centers on a later period (c. 1150-1250 or so), and usually focuses either on the Church as an institution or the Church as a popular response among the laity to that institution. Maureeen Miller doesn't really think any of that quite works, so she pushes back her dates a bit and tries to look at the diocese of Verona both through its institutions (the bishop, the monasteries, and the parish churches) as well as through its harder-to-document influences.

She basically argues that economic and demographic growth in the 10th and early 11th centuries spurred a growth of churches and required an associated increase in priests to minister them. Reform came out of this local context, not out of Rome. And while this growth led to the spread of new forms of religious life, like secular canons, it didn't necessarily mean the end of older forms. Instead, it was a time of religious pluralism, with lay donors giving to older Benedictine institutions as well as new secular canons, reformed monasteries, or hospitals for the poor. The period was also characterized by a shift from fragmented power to a more solidified hierarchy under the bishop, even after he was forced to get increasingly mired in local politics after the Holy Roman Emperor was no longer his direct backer after 1122.

I think the book is a little bit too reliant on rooting everything in demographic and economic growth, which isn't entirely convincing as a complete answer to why such a wholesale period of change occurred when it did. Politics only makes cameos despite having a seemingly large influence on ecclesiastical life during the period, and larger spiritual currents are mostly brushed over. But on the whole it's not a big problem and the work is interesting and a nice look at how local forces shaped ecclesiastical development. It's also really engagingly written.