Book Review: The Benedictines in the Middle Ages

[...]this structure works well, providing a sense of how the Benedictines developed over time while also allowing fuller discussion of important recurring themes in the order's history. Clark rejects any notion of late medieval decline, and argues for the renewed vigour of monastic life in the years around 1500 - manifested by buoyant recruitment, liturgical efflorescence and engagement with new intellectual trends. There also remains the question of whether a focus on a single 'order' is the most fruitful way to explore the history of early medieval monasticism (when, as Clark shows, monastic observances and identities were extremely fluid) or the later Middle Ages (when there was arguably relatively little difference between orders).