{"product_id":"monodies-and-on-the-relics-of-saints-9780143106302","title":"Monodies and On the Relics of Saints","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first Western autobiography since Augustine's  \u003ci\u003eConfessions\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eMonodies\u003c\/i\u003e is set against the backdrop of  the First Crusade and offers stunning insights into medieval society.  As Guibert of Nogent intimately recounts his early years, monastic  life, and the bloody uprising at Laon in 1112, we witness a world-and a  mind-populated by royals, heretics, nuns, witches, and devils, and come  to understand just how fervently he was preoccupied with sin,  sexuality, the afterlife, and the dark arts. Exotic, disquieting, and  illuminating, the \u003ci\u003eMonodies\u003c\/i\u003e is a work in which the dreams, fears,  and superstitions of one man illuminate the psychology of an entire  people. It is joined in this volume by \u003ci\u003eOn the Relics of Saints\u003c\/i\u003e,  a theological manifesto that has never appeared in English until now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Clas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The fascination of this elegantly translated volume lies in Guibert's perceptions of his own time, so utterly different from the worldview of a modern Westerner. Jay Rubenstein is a learned, witty, and sympathetic host as he introduces us to one of the twelfth century's most idiosyncratic, confessional, and engaging writers.\" \u003cb\u003e—Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of \u003ci\u003eChristianity\u003c\/i\u003e \u0026amp; \u003ci\u003eThe  Reformation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Marvelous: a revelation. I had not heard of Guibert of Nogent. His \u003ci\u003eMonodies\u003c\/i\u003e is a very dark autobiography and profoundly moving in its visions of sin.\"\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Harold Bloom\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"This magnificent autobiography has all the stuff of a psychological drama, the excitement of a great social upheaval, and the intrigue of a monastic mystery. It is one of those rare books that both delights scholars of the period and makes fascinating reading for the general literate soul.\"\u003ci\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eR. Howard Bloch, Yale University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“This is a valuable addition to medieval literature, and Penguin are to be applauded for adding it to their list of Classics. . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Monodies \u003c\/i\u003ehas been translated before but clumsily, and here at last is a smooth and comprehensible version. . . . [It] provides an intriguing insight into the mind of a medieval monk . . . a complex and troubled man, austere, conservative, at sea with a changing world . . . an isolated and introspective figure who broods continually on his relationship with God. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the Monodies is so interesting.” \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Freeman,\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51862441951575,"sku":"9780143106302","price":16.87,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780143106302.jpg?v=1759917818","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/monodies-and-on-the-relics-of-saints-9780143106302","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}