The Emergence of Monasticism, From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages, 2003, 288 p. -

This is the first study to cover the formative period of medieval monasticism, from the 4th to to 7th centuries. It offers a new approach of the subject, placing its development against the dynamic of both social and religious change. It offers a radical appraisal of the role of the Benedictine rule and of Benedict of Nursia and gives particular attention to the contribution of women to monastic life.