This book provides a profoundly political approach to the subject of early twelfth-century ecclesiastical reform in the French royal demesne. Julian Fürher begins by demonstrating the various arguments used at the time for and against the reform of existing houses of canons or the introduction of new orders, most notably those of Prémontré and St Victor. He then devotes a section to the sources for the reign of Louis vi, with particular reference to the charters recently edited by Jean Dufour. This familiarises the reader with the different stages of Louis's reign, with the difference between the heartland and the periphery of the demesne, and with the important clerics who gave the king advice on ecclesiastical matters. The third section offers brief histories of the individual houses of canons established or reformed in the course of the reign. Führer draws particular attention to the attempts made by various patrons to secure for these houses some form of revenue from the chapters of the local cathedrals, attempts which often met with resistance from the cathedral canons. In summing up, Führer remarks that Louis himself had no fixed sentiments about reform. When he chose to patronise canons regular, it was either because he was influenced by advisers who strongly supported them or because events made such patronage expedient, as after the murder of the prior of St Victor in 1133. The fourth section contrasts this conclusion with Louis's patronage of the more important of the new and existing monastic houses on the demesne, where the king's motives for liberality were often more consistent and more obviously self-interested. The fifth section is devoted to the reforming work of the individual bishops within Louis's sphere of influence. One theme that emerges clearly from the book is the significance of the Garlande family and its connections on the fortunes of regular canons on the demesne. Stephen de Garlande, the king's seneschal and chancellor, was also archdeacon of Notre Dame, dean of Ste Geneviève and dean of Orléans. In these capacities he felt antipathy towards the claims of the canons regular, whom he, along with his protégé Peter Abelard, regarded as drawing no support from the true traditions of the Church. While the Garlande faction, which included the archbishop of Sens, Henri de Sanglier, was in the ascendant, Louis did little to help the canons regular, preferring Cluniac houses and the newly-established convent of Fontevraud. The fall of Stephen in 1127, which Führer sees as a crisis in the reign, might well have brought about a profound change. But, within six months, Louis had quarrelled also with the bishop of Paris, Stephen de Senlis, the most ardent supporter of the canons regular. It was not until after the murder of Prior Thomas (almost certainly by men supported by Stephen de Garlande) in 1133 that Louis emerged as the champion of St Victor, in which capacity he was lauded by his son, Louis vii. Führer's Louis vi is a very different monarch from the one who appears in the pages of Suger's Life.