Further: "In reality, therefore, the Benedictines had an enormous impact on the world they renounced. Their schools produced most of the literate Europeans who kept the art of writing al;ive during the early Middle Ages. They serced as a cultural bridge, transcribing and preserving the writings of Latin antiquity in a society that was largely nonliterate."
p.69 And on the Northumbrian Rennaisance: "The encounter between Celtic and Roman Christianity in Seventh-century Northumbria produced a notable cultural awakening known as the 'Northumbrian Rennaisance.' The two traditions influenced and energized one another to such an eztent that the evolving civilization of the CHristian West reached a pinnacle in this remote land. Boldly executed illuminate manuscropts in a curvilinear style both Celtic and Germanic in inspiration, a new script, a vigorous vernacular epic poetry, and impressive architecture -- all contributed to the luster of Northumbrian culture in the late 600s and early 700s. The Northumbrian Rennaisance centered on the great monasteries founded by Irish and continental missionaries at Lindisfarne, Wearmouth, Jarrow, and elsewhere.... "By Bede's death in 735, the Northumbrian kings hsd lost their poltical hegemony, and Northumbrian culture was beginning to fade. But the tradition of learning was carried from England back to the Continent during the eighth century by a group of Anglo-saxon Benedictine missionaries." p.73 >From _Medieval Europe : A Short History_ by C. Warren Hollister. Damon. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
