Local Priests in the Latin West, 900-1050

Alice Hicklin is a postdoctoral research associate at King's College London. Her current research focuses on the social and economic world of northern French poet-composers, viewed through the documentary culture of northern France in c. 1150–1250. Steffen Patzold is Professor of History at the University of Tübingen. His books include Episcopus (2008) and Presbyter (2020). He is a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. Bastiaan Waagmeester is a postdoctoral researcher at the Freie Universität Berlin. His current research focuses on medieval written culture. His monograph Pastoral Works: Priests, Books, and Compilatory Practices in the Carolingian Period is forthcoming. Charles West is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh. His books include Reframing the Feudal Revolution (2013) and The Fall of a Carolingian Kingdom (2023). He is Co-ordinating Editor of the journal Early Medieval Europe.

• Introduction; 1. What is a local priest?; 2. Property; 3. Families; 4. Collective action; 5. Accounting to the Bishop; Conclusion; Appendices; Bibliography; Indices.

'This fascinating investigation of an understudied group, local priests, will be essential reading for all those interested in central medieval social and religious transformations. Revealing the complex changes in the lives of these men through the lenses of property, kinship and episcopal authority, this study casts new light on the standard accounts of reform by putting those who served the majority of the population at the centre of the story.' Sarah Hamilton, University of Exeter