Martin Heale's The Abbots and Priors of Late Medieval and Reformation England is a superb piece of historical work, which surveys an important era in England's religious and social history. In particular, it is clear that Heale paid careful attention to the variety of monastic orders and communities in England in the late medieval period. As Heale rightly notes (5), the sheer breadth of material surrounding late medieval monasticism in general, and superiors in particular, provides the historian a difficult task; but Heale does it with great care and nuance, appreciating monasticism's important role in pre-Reformation England and the impact of dissolution after the Reformation.
Heale's book fills an important gap in monastic literature; the historiography of late medieval superiors is scant. Heale cites several chapters and journal articles that are important in chronicling the history of superiors, including D. D. Knowles's “Essays in Monastic History 1066–1213: Abbatial Elections” (Downside Review 49, no. 2 [1931]: 252–278) and the more recent work of H. R. Loyn, “Abbots of English Monastaries in the Period Following the Norman Conquest” (in England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, ed. D. Bates and A. Curry [London: Continuum International, 1994], 95–103), but these are limited and do not offer the breadth of a survey. This is where Heale's contribution is so important. In addition, it gives more context to the debates surrounding the pre-Reformation English Church and monasticism's role in precipitating the Reformation. The goal of the text, according to Heale, is to “set out a general survey of the heads of religious houses in late medieval and Reformation England and Wales” (8) and, in this regard, it is a success.
Heale's sources are vast and his many years of research shine in the footnotes and bibliography. Not only does he scour the printed primary and secondary sources concerning monasticism in medieval and Reformation England, but he also unearths important manuscript sources. These sources are critical in providing a broader view of superiors in England and it is clear that Heale was intent on contributing to the social and magisterial history of medieval superiors. Because superiors served the crown, the episcopate, and their communities, it is crucial that a survey of this type interact with many of these groups, something that Heale does very well.
The book is divided into chapters that highlight the myriad of roles played by superiors in late medieval England and Wales. It begins by chronicling the selection and election of superiors (chap. 1) before moving on to the various parts superiors played in their communities (chap. 2). There are chapters on superiors as administrators (chap. 3), their living standards (chap. 4), their public lives (chap. 5), and their reputations (chap. 6). It then transitions to the tumultuous Tudor period and the dissolution of the monastic life in England (chaps. 7 and 8). Finally, Heale offers an epilogue detailing the “afterlives” of the monastic superiors when their livelihoods had been stripped from them. What Heale takes very seriously is that the life of a superior was complex and multi-faceted, and this comes through throughout the book. For instance, in chapter six the book dives into the convoluted world of the superior in English society, paying special attention to the abbot or prior's reputation. Due to the many tasks placed upon the abbot or prior (religious, secular, administrative, and so on), a careful balance was needed in order to maintain their “godliness” in the eyes of their community. It is no secret that abbots and priors became a common symbol of the profane life in the minds of many medieval Catholics and Reformation evangelicals, a reputation that persists in popular culture today. But Heale's measured approach provides the scholar with another view. He argues that the perception of abbots and priors as being “widely unpopular” is, largely, true, but is based upon ecclesiastical pressure concerning what a superior “ought” to do (268). In other words, Heale illustrates that there was a considerable demand on monastic superiors to live up to their title, which often involved opulence and “worldliness” in medieval popular opinion. This division in ideology between the religious and public spheres produced many accounts of monastic abuses in late medieval England that, according to Heale, are not entirely fair to the traditions of superiors. Indeed, Heale's focus on the “evolution” of medieval superiors gives ample testimony to the ease of dissolution under Henry VIII. As monastic superiors separated themselves from their communities in order to meet the demands of their offices, it became easy for the Tudor monarchy to tear down an already weak edifice. What Heale does well is that he makes this disruption seem natural, due to the evolution of the role of monastic superiors throughout the late medieval period. In essence, he provides a strong historical account of dissolution that relies on primary documents throughout England and Wales. These are but two examples of many that illustrate Heale's approach to monastic superiors and the way in which his research nuances previous works.
If there is a complaint with Heale's book, it is that, at times, it loses the forest for the trees. There are so many examples given of various superiors throughout England and Wales that the narrative sometimes gets lost until it returns in the chapter's conclusion. This is but a small criticism, though, as in the majority of the cases, Heale's argument comes through with clarity.
Altogether, Heale's book is an important addition to the history of medieval monasticism and somewhat of a trailblazer in the aggregation of superior life in late medieval and Reformation England. It is a well-researched and comprehensive overview of monastic superiors that is necessary reading for scholars interested in examining the evolution and contexts of English monasticism in the late medieval Church.
