Monastic Reform as Process: Realities and Representations in Medieval Flanders, 900–1100
Steven Vanderputten
The history of monastic institutions in the Middle Ages may at first appear remarkably uniform and predictable. Medieval commentators and modern scholars have observed how monasteries of the tenth to early twelfth centuries experienced long periods of stasis alternating with bursts of rapid development known as reforms. Charismatic leaders by sheer force of will, and by assiduously recruiting the support of the ecclesiastical and lay elites, pushed monasticism forward toward reform, remediating the inevitable decline of discipline and government in these institutions. A lack of concrete information on what happened at individual monasteries is not regarded as a significant problem, as long as there is the possibility to reconstruct the reformers' ''program.'' While this general picture makes for a compelling narrative, it doesn't necessarily hold up when one looks closely at the history of specific institutions.
In Monastic Reform as Process, Steven Vanderputten puts the history of monastic reform to the test by examining the evidence from seven monasteries in Flanders, one of the wealthiest principalities of northwestern Europe, between 900 and 1100. He finds that the reform of a monastery should be studied not as an "exogenous shock" but as an intentional blending of reformist ideals with existing structures and traditions. He also shows that reformist government was cumulative in nature, and many of the individual achievements and initiatives of reformist abbots were only possible because they built upon previous achievements. Rather than looking at reforms as "flashpoint events," we need to view them as processes worthy of study in their own right. Deeply researched and carefully argued, Monastic Reform as Process will be essential reading for scholars working on the history of monasteries more broadly as well as those studying the phenomenon of reform throughout history.
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Reviews for Monastic Reform as Process: Realities and Representations in Medieval Flanders, 900–1100
Walter Simons
In sum, Vanderputten's book is persuasive in part because its argumentation reflects the method of the reformers: built up bit by bit with careful attention to different contexts. It might be objected that Vanderputten casts his net too wide: if almost any activity that strengthened a monastery could count as reform, then of course it can be found repeatedly over time. But defining reform programmatically would beg the question, and Vanderputten's insistence that it came in many forms, depending on different contexts, avoids a priori classifications drawn from later reforming chronicles and instead provides a compelling overall framework for explaining change. The book will be invaluable for anyone working on the period and for historians of the twelfth century who want to avoid being blinded by the flashpoints described in reforming narratives.
Speculum
Rather than tackling a large field of study, Steven Vanderputten limits his focus to Benedictine monasteries in the county of Flanders.. The content here is integrated into a collective viewpoint that allows the reader to reflect on the nature and scope of monastic reforms of the High Middle Ages. As the author says, Rather than looking at reforms as 'flashpoint events', we need to view them as processes worthy of study in their own right.'.
Revue Bénédictine
"This excellent and clearly written book serves to highlight the ways in which a knowledgeable scholar of regional politics can dislodge overly simplisticyet entrenched narratives through deep contextualization. Vanderputten demonstrates the unreliability of discourses of 'reform' so convincinglythat the reader will be unable to use the word casually again.... This work will be essential not only to researchers of central medieval Flemish history or the history of monastic reformbut also those interested more broadly in the processes of medieval institutional changeparticularly if they are seeking a model for how to situate the initiatives of individuals within larger regional histories." —Kate Craig
Comitatus
This is an important book, a sustained discussion about the nature and meaning of monastic reform in one time and place that should encourage other, similar studies.... I hope Vanderputten's study finds readership not only among those interested in Flanders or monasticism in the central Middle Ages or even ecclesiastical reform more generally. For this is a book about how institutions change, the opportunities available to those who want to change them, and the limits they face in the attempt. It is history as process.
The Medieval Review
Vanderputten's Monastic Reform as Process reflects where medieval history must go in the twenty-firstcentury. It is rich in archival research, harnessing emergent digital databases to organize an impressiverange of sources effectively which lay beyond the grasp of previous generations of scholars. Yet theauthor directs his inquiries towards key historical questions which traditional scholarship has raised, butcould not answer. The book is an excellent study of monastic reform in medieval Flanders, whichaddresses issues medievalists care about. Its historiographical corrective should appeal to a widerhistorical audience. It also represents a significant step forward as an approach to medieval history,conditioned by the new realities of historical study in the twenty-first century.
H-France Review
Vanderputten's book is persuasive in part because its argumentation reflects the method of the reformers: built up bit by bit with careful attention to different contexts.... [Monastic Reform as Process] will be invaluable for anyone working on the period and for historians of the twelfth century who want to avoid being blinded by the flashpoints described in reforming narratives.
Speculum
His broader arguments are almost surely correct and might be considered hypothetical templates for reexamining other charismatic reformers, such as Odilo of Cluny and William of Dijon.
American Historical Review
Vanderputten elegantly argues that early-11th-century monastic reform can be understood only within an explicit long-term context of the slow, cumulative development of individual monasteries, and that this reform saw each monastery as a world unto itself, with a reforming abbot using his community's traditions to gradually transform the community into the ideal monastery. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
Choice
Overall, and especially for its effective interpretation of the motives that led medieval monastic authors to choose their subject matter and story-lines, this is a book that will repay reading and re-reading.
Journal of Ecclesiastical History