Scottish Monasteries in the Late Middle Ages: Monastic Life in the Sixteenth Century

Using documentary sources Abbot Mark Dilworth paints a picture of monastic life in Scotland prior to the Reformation. He describes how 16th century monasteries developed their own systems and powerful structures unique to Scotland, and traces the origins of these back to the 11th century. He shows how two-thirds of Scottish monasteries were linked to the great French houses and examines how the Continental influence affected the development of an individual monastic way of life particular to Scotland. In a chapter on the secular wealth and power of monasteries, he describes how influential Scottish families vied for abbacies with the result that many non-monks became powerful abbots. War and unrest, the impact of taxation, powers of jurisdiction, monastic literacy, and the role played by monks in the "social services" of Scotland are all discussed in this book.