Life giving resources. Faithfully delivered.
FREE delivery on orders over £10
Serving over 2 million Christians in the UK
with Bibles, Books and Church Supplies
Our Buy-Now-Pay-Later accounts used
by over 4,000 UK Churches & Schools
Excellent 4.8 out of 5

Trustpilot

You now have 0 of this item in your basket

Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism

The Cluniac Tradition, C.900 1200 [Hardback]

by Boulder) Scott G. Bruce (university Of Colorado

Book Format
Hardback
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
October 2007
Weight
504g

Read full description

Click to expand

Today's Price

£71.29

Save 13%

Free UK Delivery

Available - Usually dispatched within 4 days

Buying for a school or church? Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account

Enter the product quantity

Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism

Today's Price £71.29

Frequently Bought Together

Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism

by Boulder) Scott G. Bruce (university Of Colorado

Hardback

Bede

by Bede Bede +1

Paperback

Add both to basket for £90.23 and save £21.76

Product Description

Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism explores the rationales for religious silence in early medieval abbeys and the use of nonverbal forms of communication among monks when rules of silence forbade them from speaking. After examining the spiritual benefits of personal silence as a form of protection against the perils of sinful discourse in early monastic thought, this work shows how the monks of the Abbey of Cluny (founded in 910 in Burgundy) were the first to employ a silent language of meaning-specific hand signs that allowed them to convey precise information without recourse to spoken words. Scott Bruce discusses the linguistic character of the Cluniac sign language, its central role in the training of novices, the precautions taken to prevent its abuse, and the widespread adoption of this custom in other abbeys throughout Europe, which resulted in the creation of regionally-specific idioms of this silent language.