This volume focuses on aspects of Carthusian history and culture
of the later Middle Ages, a period of growth and vitality within
the order. There is a primary but not exclusive focus on the
English Province, which to date has received at best unbalanced
attention. While the fundamental ambitions and ideals of
Carthusianism formulated, articulated, and lived by the disciples
of St Bruno between the late eleventh and the thirteenth centuries
changed very little, the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries
witnessed developments stimulated by and often commensurate with
the progress of external culture. In such areas as devotional
practice, literature, art and architecture, patronage, and
monastic-lay relations generally, the houses of the order grew
increasingly sophisticated: in some cultural spheres Carthusians
were in the vanguard. The late Middle Ages thus offer rich
opportunities for assessment of how a religious organization
defined and justified by essentially reactionary conventions
responded to constant forinsec evolution.
The volume’s approach is multi-disciplinary, involving
both senior and younger Carthusian scholars in investigation of the
main facets of Carthusian life for which significant data survives.
This permits a thorough analysis of the order’s character,
one that reflects concern with synoptic understanding of medieval
Carthusianism rather than partial assessment through a specifically
devotional, literary, or more narrowly historical approach. Subject
areas covered include the historical growth of individual
Charterhouses, patronage of Carthusians by secular agents,
Carthusian architecture and manuscript decoration, devotional
practice, and textual culture.
"This is a very well-designed collection, and one which opens up new avenues of research not only for Carthusian specialists, but is also an important voice in the wider debates on late medieval contemplative monasticism and its relationship with the lay world, its influence on contemporary spirituality and the ideas of reform, change and renewal."
(E. Jamroziak, in English Historical Review 519, April 2011, p. 416)