The rise of the medieval church was extraordinary, said Harry Mount in The Spectator: “as early as 1200 there were 9,500 churches in England – all built since 597”. Many are still there – and “must be the highlight of our architectural history” – but it’s hard to imagine what they were like in their heyday.
“Step forward Nicholas Orme, emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter.” In this “useful, eye-opening book”, he explains in impressive detail what churches (and church-going) were like in the Middle Ages.
At times, the world Orme evokes is familiar, said Duncan Morrison in The Daily Telegraph – with children clattering about at the back and adults nodding off during sermons. Elsewhere, its alienness is striking: parishioners are told to stop licking relics; a knight punches a vicar for “upbraiding him for bringing his hunting hawk to Mass”; and the women of Leicester throw stones at a deranged misogynist preacher.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A “vast intricate mosaic resting atop a mountain of research”, Orme’s book is “often funny, often moving, and always fascinating”.
Yale 496pp £20; The Week Bookshop £15.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO PartyThe Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Baldwin: A Love Story' and 'The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces'Feature A loving James Baldwin biography and the drug crimes of two special ops veterans
-
Rigatoni with 'no-vodka sauce' recipeThe Week Recommends Comfort food meets a clever alcohol-free twist on a classic
