To Govern Is to Serve

Jacques Dalarun is Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and a Corresponding Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. Among his books are The Misadventure of Francis of Assisi and Robert of Arbrissel.Sean L. Field is Professor of History at the University of Vermont, a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, and the author of several books, including Courting Sanctity.

• PrefacePart One: The Servant Served1. A Shocking Story2. Sisters3. Assisi4. Ritual5. Body6. Inversions7. ParadoxPart Two: Unworthiness in Power1. Benedictine Beginnings2. Frontevraud3. The Paraclete4. Grandmont I: Facts5. Grandmont II: Conjectures6. Preachers7. Lesser Brothers I: Writings by and about Francis8. Lesser Brothers II: Chronicles9. Lesser Brothers III: About Face10. ExperimentsPart Three: Maternal Government1. Treasure Trove2. Pastorate3. A Note4. Mother5. Word by Word6. Resumption7. BondsAfterword

A rich and stimulating essay.(Annales: Histoire, Sciences Sociales) Jacques Dalarun delivers a reflection, personal and subtly argued, on the exercise of authority in certain medieval religious communities, a point of view which leads to an analysis of power relations in society. The style is fluid, the thought is sharp, and the dialectic quite formidable in its rigorous chain of thinking.(Journal of Medieval and Humanistic Studies)