In this exhaustive and superbly researched monograph, Steven Schoenig shows how the history of a seemingly humble liturgical garment can be used to document the evolution of the papal-monarchic ecclesiology of medieval western Christendom. The pallium was a simple scarf-like vestment made from a cheap material (wool), with no inherent financial value. But from the pontificate of Gregory the Great (590–604) onwards it was transformed into a powerful, symbolically constructed artefact that enhanced the prestige of its recipient, while promoting the hegemony of the papacy over the far-flung archiepiscopal sees of Europe. As Schoenig argues, it was more the fact that the pallium was granted by a pope than its being worn by the recipient that helped to establish a durable ecclesiology of papal government in the Latin Church.

Schoenig defines the chronological parameters of his lengthy study (p. 15) as being roughly from the time of the Carolingian reform of the Frankish Church to the end of the Investiture Controversy (741–1119). The book is subdivided into three parts: ‘Weaving the Pattern (741–882)’; ‘A Well-Worn Garment (882–1046)’; and ‘The Reformer's Badge (1046–1119)’. Schoenig's work concludes with two lengthy epilogues, where he provides a detailed history and analysis of pallium legislation in major canonical collections (primarily Gratian's Decretum and Greogory ix’s Liber Extra), as well as the glosses of important decretists in the classical age of canon law. It is not clear why these sections are called ‘epilogues', rather than being presented as stand-alone chapters. They are deeply researched, lucidly written and compelling in their analysis.

The pallium's use is first attested in the late patristic era, when, aside from the pope, the vestment was intermittently worn by both bishops and metropolitans (archbishops). Schoenig begins his study with what he identifies as the ‘first extant papal grant’ of the pallium in 513, when Pope Symmachus granted its use to Caesarius of Arles. Schoenig's stated objective is to show how, from that point, this vestment evolved from ‘an afterthought to a crux, from gift to requirement, from honorary adornment to official badge, from sign of friendship to means of control’ (pp. 1–2). This simple woollen garment was transformed by Gregory the Great into a powerful symbol of communion with the successor of Peter in his establishment of the English hierarchy in Canterbury and York; Gregory's papal Register records at least fourteen pallium grants during his pontificate (p. 10). The fact that the pallium was a ‘contact relic’ with the tomb of St Peter (it was ceremonially laid on his tomb before being given to its new recipient) gave it tremendous spiritual power and prestige. As Schoenig notes, ‘As a sacred object from the tomb of Peter, the pallium was a treasured relic in an age of fervent Petrine devotion, and also a tangible link to Peter's successor, the pope, who alone could provide it’ (p. 177). By granting the pallium and requiring an oath of fidelity, the popes in effect used a woollen garment as a symbol of archiepiscopal confirmation and fealty to the bishop of Rome, a pattern that would be followed down to the end of the Middle Ages. At the peak of the era of the Investiture Controversy, the reforming popes achieved in practice what previous popes had articulated in theory: ‘The larger the role the vestment assumed in ecclesiastical relationships and the exercise of power, the richer the significance imposed on this simple band of wool’ (p. 364). As Schoenig concludes, ‘By the high Middle Ages the pope had become, in effect, the bishop of the entire church, in which subordinate prelates were tied to him with bonds of wool’ (p. 396).

There is much to commend in Schoenig's work. His study is firmly grounded in a rich archive of canonical texts, papal registers, Ordines romani and pontificals. Schoenig moves with ease across a wide range of documentary sources that demonstrate his expert grasp of complex materials, be they canonical texts or allegorical liturgical expositions. A great strength of his analysis is an abundance of primary source quotations from sometimes cryptic or obtuse Latin texts that are rendered in clear and accessible English translations. Here Schoenig has provided a great service to students of medieval liturgy who might be new to the field or who lack facility with the original Latin language. Since he takes his study into the classical age of canon law, he might have considered more references to the canonist-bishops of that period who composed lengthy, widely read liturgical commentaries that also treat the pallium: Sicardus of Cremona and William Durandus of Mende. Schoenig also notes that his study is both chronological and thematic. This approach might well be justified but it does contribute to the substantial length of this book and also leads to some degree of redundancy. Still, because of the impeccable scholarship and exhaustive treatment of the history and symbolism of the pallium, Schoneig's work will long be considered the definitive source for this subject.