Brendan Smith

Review of F. Beglane, Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland

137 indeed, at times the text takes on the character of a medieval chronicle — especially the story of ‘bad’ abbot Robert Norreis that neatly condenses the lengthy account of eyewitness lawyer Thomas of Marlborough. The chronological approach gives a good indication of the trials and tribulations encountered in the first few centuries of a major Benedictine abbey, as well as demonstrating the difficulties in interpreting medieval accounts of this early period. Despite the complex (but extensively referenced) arguments, the target audience is presumably undergraduate and adult education students, but, sadly, the price is likely to put them off buying it themselves.