Historians of monasticism in medieval southern Italy have long been able to utilise a wealth of rich material associated with a number of leading monastic congregations: Montecassino, Cava and Montevergine are but three of these. Hilken's excellent study of the monastery of Santa Maria del Gualdo Mazzocca demonstrates that any understanding of the history of monasticism in the region can equally be deepened through the careful and considered analysis of a combination of sources relating to a smaller, but none the less important, monastic house. The author provides not only an edition of the monastery's necrology, but builds around this a thoughtful study of the chapter book within which it is found (complete with analysis of the martyrology, capitular lessons and other disciplinary material located therein). In addition, Hilken provides a comprehensive history of the monastery, drawing on a range of charter and other sources, and furnishes three valuable appendices (including a record of the monastery's holdings and a comparison with other monastic martyrologies). Throughout, the author is able repeatedly to draw attention to the interrelationships evident in this variety of material and their sig-nificance. The result of this holistic approach is the recreation of a vibrant monastic history. Hilken's analysis of the necrology uncovers a rich, living document with a direct relationship to the monastery's own development and the way collective memory evolved. It further confirms the, perhaps hitherto undervalued, significance of this type of material which survives in southern Italy (such as, among others, the necrologies of Montecassino and Montevergine, the Liber confratrum of S. Matteo of Salerno, and the Obituarium of S. Spirito of Benevento). In making this material on Santa Maria del Gualdo Mazzocca available and comprehensible to the historian, fruitful comparisons and contrasts are far more possible between this monastery and others in the region. Santa Maria del Gualdo Mazzocca, founded in the mid-twelfth century by a hermit who would later attain sanctity, gradually transformed into a more traditional, conventual Benedictine community with a range of dependencies and landed property. Evident similarities can be found in the origins and development of the monastic houses at Montevergine and Pulsano. Yet perhaps the greatest achievement of this work, the product of the author's impressive scholarship, is to allow access into the minutiae of the medieval monastic daily routine, the thought processes that influenced the community's mindset, and the way self identity was defined and redefined.