WINNER OF THE SOUTHEASTERN MEDIEVAL ASSOCIATION'S BEST FIRST BOOK AWARD 2009

Abbo of Fleury was a prominent churchman of late tenth-century France—abbot of a major monastery, leader in the revival of learning in France and England, and the subject of a serious work of hagiography. Elizabeth Dachowski’s study presents a coherent picture of this multifaceted man with an emphasis on his political alliances and the political considerations that colored his earliest biographical treatment. Unlike previous studies, Dachowski’s book examines the entire career of Abbo, not just his role as abbot of Fleury. When viewed as a whole, Abbo’s life demonstrates his devotion to the cause of pressing for monastic prerogatives in a climate of political change.

Abbo’s career vividly illustrates how the early Capetian kings and the French monastic communities began the symbiotic relationship that replaced the earlier Carolingian models. Despite a stormy beginning, Abbo had, by the time of his death, developed a mutually beneficial working relationship with the Capetian kings and had used papal prerogatives to give the abbey of Fleury a preeminent place among reformed monasteries of northern France. Thus, the monks of Fleury had strong incentives for portraying the early years of Abbo's abbacy as relatively free from conflict with the monarchy. Previous lives of Abbo have largely followed the view put forward by his first biographer, Aimoinus of Fleury, who wrote the Vita sancti Abbonis within a decade of Abbo’s death. While Aimoinus clearly understood Abbo’s goals and the importance of his accomplishment, he also had several other agendas, including a glossing over of earlier and later conflicts at Fleury and validation of an even closer (and more subservient) relationship with the Capetian monarchs under Abbo’s successor, Gaulzin of Fleury. Abbo’s achievements set the stage for the continuing prosperity and influence of Fleury but at the expense of Fleury’s independence from the monarchy. With Abbo’s death, the monastery’s relationship with the French crown grew even closer, though Fleury continued to maintain its independence from the episcopacy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Dachowski is associate professor of history at Tennessee State University.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

“Elizabeth Dachowski’s First Among Abbots: The Career of Abbo of Fleury is the first book-length study of Abbo to be published in English. . . . One of the great strengths of Dachowski’s book is her commitment to studying Abbo’s career as an organic whole, including his role as an intellectual, administrator, and political figure. She studies Abbo’s writings to consider the relationship between his thought and his actions. Her work persuasively shows the extent to which regional, monastic, royal, and papal politics were intertwined. . . . Dachowski uses Abbo’s fascinating career as a window into the tumultuous French political and ecclesiastical world of the late tenth century. . . . Dachowski’s biography of Abbo is extremely valuable both in reconstructing the career of this fascinating abbot, reformer, and scholar, and in illuminating the intertwining regional, monastic, royal, and papal political struggles of the late tenth century. By reading Aimoinus’s Vita sancti Abbonis “against the grain” and comparing it to works by Abbo and other contemporaries, Dachowski offers a number of original interpretations with important implications for our understanding of this period.” – Adam Davis, H-France Review

“We have an important work for monastic studies, thanks to Elizabeth Dachowski. . . . [T]his is an important book for those of us living Benedictine life today. . . . [T]his book needs to be read seriously because, taken as a whole, this life of Abbo raises the urgent question of what distinguishes a career from a vocation.” – Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, Cistercian Studies Quarterly

“It is not easy to write a biography of a medieval figure, but Elizabeth Dachowski has succeeded, and I congratulate her and the Catholic University of America Press. This is a splendid book. . . . For the monastic reader, this biography is especially relevant and can be read like a detective novel. . . . [T]his book is a pleasure to read. A helpful Chronology at the end provides guidance, and a map of “Abbo’s World” before the Introduction is also useful.” – Brian Patrick McGuire, American Benedictine Review

“Dachowski’s book is based on a great deal of primary research, both printed and manuscript. She writes clearly, and the reader will soon find Abbo as intriguing a figure as she does. . . . [T]his well-done book will do much to make an important and influential figure better known.” – Constance B. Bouchard, Catholic Historical Review