Ebook: The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the Early Twelfth Century

"Westliche Kirche vom 10. bis zum frühen 12. Jahrhundert". Translated by Timothy Reuter.

First published 1993. Reprinted 2000. Transferred to digital printing 2004.

This comprehensive survey of the history of the Church in Western Europe, considers the Church both as a set of institutions and as a spiritual body. The first half concentrates on the structures of religious belief and practice in the period 900–1050; the second half concentrates on the revolutionary changes associated with the rise of the papacy to an ascended level of ruler-ship. It shows how far one can talk of a 'reform movement', and how the idea and ideal of papal monarchy became both the prisoner and the leader of those who sought for a renewal of Christian life.

Tellenbach's survey is the work of a scholar who has been working in the field for over 60 years. It is characterised by the freshness and maturity of its judgments, which cut through many fashionable theories. No other work on this topic offers comparable range, depth and authority.

The translation is a complete rendering of the German original, which appeared in 1988. The bibliography and footnotes have been reworked to conform to English practice, typographical and other small errors have been silently corrected where noted, and the author has taken the opportunity to add two or three paragraphs in chapters 6 and 7, and to cite additional literature in a few footnotes.