Saint Benedict and the Sixth Century

Benedict of Nursia (480-543) was the founder of numerous monastic communities in Italy and is remembered primarily for the monastic code by which the monks lived: “The Rule of St Benedict”. Those interested in church and monastic life in the sixth century and beyond will find John Chapman’s detailed study of Saint Benedict helpful.

My thanks to Book Aid for making this public domain work available for digitisation.

Dom John Chapman [1865-1933], Saint Benedict and the Sixth Century. London: Sheed & Ward, 1929. Hbk. pp.239. [Click to visit the download page for this title]

Contents

• Preface

1. The Contemporary Celebrity of St. Benedict
2. For Whom Was the Rule Written?
3. Dionysius Exiguus and the Holy Rule
4. The Laws of Justinian and the Holy Rule
5. St. Caesarius and the Holy Rule
6. Cassiodorus and the Holy Rule
7. Ferrandus and Ferreolus, Two Critics
8. The Date of St. Benedict
9. Lands, Serfs and Slaves
10. The Social Condition of Monks
11. Why the Holy Rule was Written
12. Conuersatio Morum

• Index