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In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: The Cartulary of the Abbey of Prémontré: A Story of Conflict and Resolution Heather Wacha Introduction Monastic cartularies offer important evidence for the study of an institution’s social and economic history. Compiled of papal bulls, privileges, donations, confirmations, and property transactions, the textual evidence found in cartulary charters can narrate the growth and decline of an abbey’s revenues and rights over the course of decades. It can also recount the stability and fluidity of social relationships with lay patrons, other religious institutions, and dependent houses. In addition to charter content, the process of selecting and organizing charters for cartulary construction provides further insights into a religious institution’s historical context.1 For the cartulary of the Abbey Saint-Jean Baptiste de Prémontré, located in the region of Picardy, France, the textual and codicological evidence together tell a story of how two long-term conflicts and the abbey’s desire to memorialize their resolution resulted in the completion of its cartulary in 1239. At present there exists no critical edition of the Abbey of Prémontré’s cartulary. In 1975, the Centre d’études et de recherches prémontrées (CERP) launched a cartulary edition project based on the original manuscript, Soissons, Bibliothèque municipale (henceforth Bm), MS. 7. By 1988, Françoise Muret had finished the transcriptions of all cartulary acts, found today at the Institut de recherche d’histoire des textes (henceforth IRHT) in Orléans and Paris, yet her substantial work and significant contributions remain unpublished.2 The cartulary’s notice, also held at the IRHT, posits a range of dates for the completion of the abbey’s cartulary between 1239 and 1250, but no follow-up studies have narrowed this window. This article argues that the cartulary was completed no later than 1239 and that this date was not an arbitrary one. The origins of the Abbey of Saint-Jean Baptiste de Prémontré, the founding abbey of the eponymous order, date from 1121, when Norbert of Xantan [End Page 125] (c. 1080–1134) established his houses of religious brothers and sisters at the confluence of three rivers northeast of Paris and west of Laon.3 When Norbert of Xantan left Prémontré in 1126 to become archbishop at Magdeburg, Germany, the abbey continued to flourish under the leadership of Hugh of Fosses (1126–1164), who codified the order’s statutes and liturgy.4 Much of the scholarship addressing the twelfth-and thirteenth-century history of the Abbey of Prémontré has focused on Norbert of Xantan and his spiritual vision for the order as a whole.5 As a result, the abbey’s early history is often portrayed as a time of rapid growth for the order, casting Prémontré as the central force that held the houses and order together.6 Prémontré’s cartulary, however, reveals a moment in the abbey’s history in which tension and conflict were rife, to such a degree that the desire to reinstate a sense of peace and order influenced the process of cartulary construction, as well as the date of completion. While the Abbey of Prémontré is widely accepted and respected as the mother abbey of the Premonstratensian order today, in the thirteenth century challenges from its houses in Germany suggest that this status had yet to be firmly secured. In 1234, Pope Gregory IX drew attention to what had become a general lack of consistent practice across houses within the Premonstratensian order. Within his more global agenda of reform, the pope specifically called for the rewriting of the Premonstratensian statutes, requesting that the abbot-general reconsider the central governing structure of the order, the governing of individual abbeys, and the uniformity of customs and liturgy.7 In essence, the pope sought universal agreement within the order as to who was in charge and what it meant to be a member of the Premonstratensian order. As part of the response to the Pope’s call for reform, Abbot Conrad (1220–1233) and his secretary/librarian, later Abbot Hugh III (1238–1242), initiated Prémontré’s cartulary. Although cartulary construction began in earnest sometime shortly before or around 1234, the settlement of the...

Coverham Abbey near Middleham, North Yorkshire is the site of a former Premonstratensian monastery. As well as a fine late medieval gatehouse, there are some standing remains of the abbey church including parts of the eastern elevation of the chancel, the north transept, the western elevation of the nave, the south transept, and three standing pillars of the arcade of the nave’s south aisle. Later dwellings on the site incorporate substantial masonry from the abbey’s west claustral range. A number of small scale, developer-funded archaeological investigations have been undertaken since 1995 that shed light on the layout and design of the medieval monastery. In particular, the various investigations have revealed the layout of the hitherto unknown east and south claustral ranges, as well as further aspects of the west range. The buried remains of an elaborately carved lavatorium arcade were also found, which is a highly significant example of monastic decorative architecture.

The paper deals with analyses of composition and structure of historic plasters from the convent building of the Želiv Monastery (Czech Republic). Composition and microstructure of plaster samples taken from the historic object have been assessed using both traditional and advanced analytical methods. The following techniques have been used for the assessment of binders and fine aggregates in plasters: optical microscopy of thin sections, mineralogical and petrographic analysis of separated components, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. Presented results show significant differences in character of the studied materials of varying age and demonstrate the effectiveness of the taken analytical approach.

The article presents a sermon about Mary Magdalene by Anglo-Scottish theologian Adam Scot, also known as Adam of Dryburgh or Adam the Carthusian, dedicated to the Canons Regular of Prémontré. The sermon considers how Mary reminds about the singular privilege of those who live in enclosure within God, and of those who come near the Lord himself and cling to him tenaciously. It also looks at what the Gospel say about Mary, about anointing Jesus' feet with a pound of costly perfume.

Whithorn, known as Scotland's Cradle of Christianity, is unique as a centre of worship, administration, and ultimately pilgrimage, dating back to the 5th century.The work carried out at Whithorn Priory by Roy Ritchie in the late 1950s and 1960s is the only modern excavation campaign to focus on the high status burials near the high altar of a major Scottish medieval church. Remains of earlier graves, as well as structures now recognised as parts of the extended medieval cathedral church, were uncovered. Among the uppermost level of graves are those that belong to a number of Whithorn's bishops, some of whom are tentatively named.This volume details the results of historical and scientific analysis of the remains of the bishops - who they were and where they came from, together with the circumstances of their deaths and burial. Many of these graves were richly furnished - including altar plate and the famous Whithorn crozier - and the full assemblage of artefacts from the excavation is published here for the first time. This publication also resolves, once and for all, the nature and date of the earliest graves that were identified at the base of the trench. The story of one of Scotland's most important 'lost excavations' can now be told.