Olivier Delouis and Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert, eds. La vie quotidienne des moines en Orient et en Occident. Volume 1: Etat des sources. Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 2015.

From Institut français d'archéologie orientale

Christian monasticism emerged in Egypt at the close of the 3rd century and spread rapidly to the whole Eastern Mediterranean area and beyond. The choice of a monastic life was more than a spiritual decision; it implied acceptance of a way of life that conformed to more or less formal rules.

Originating from a colloquium that was organized in Athens in 2009 within the framework of a collective program, Everyday Life in Eastern and Western Monasticisms (4th-10th century AD), this book brings twenty articles illustrating an interdisciplinary approach to an important question: the state of the sources available for the study of various aspects of monks’ daily life.

Both archaeological and written evidence—normative, literary and documentary—is presented according to six geographic zones, from northern Mesopotamia to Ireland. This approach yields a better understanding of the dissemination of monasticism, an essential and yet varied form of Christian life, which had a lasting impact on the societies in late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.