This excellent study gives a comprehensive account of the growth of the monastery of Fulda, the necrologies, the Annals, the lists of monks, the property holdings, the architecture, the cult of saints and the Supplex libellus, a remarkable account of how and why the monks were able to oust their abbot. It digests several shelves of fundamental German research, and is not afraid to modify some conclusions. It will be essential reading for those working on Hrabanus Maurus, on monasticism, and on Carolingian property. Fulda has rightly been called a Carolingian prayer factory, and Janneke Raajimakers is not afraid to discuss prayer obligations and the soul, an entity normally absent from work on the inheritance of Rome. She can use the Fulda cartulary to explore Carolingian social status, she can integrate Hrabanus Maurus the poet and exegete into his monastic and lay communities, and her maps and plans show her command of Landeskunde and her ability to match the unsatisfactory excavations at Fulda with the extensive contemporary texts about the buildings. But this is more than a study of Fulda: it shows how to read miracle collections to learn ‘how to treat the saints’, ‘the ways in which the cloister became ‘a frame of reference’, how patristic texts were deployed in contemporary debate and how a Carolingian artist interpreted allegorical pictures. Cambridge University Press has chosen to index living authors mentioned, but this book should be read from cover to cover: its incisive and witty English offers a lesson to native speakers.