The Latin Church in Norman Italy

G. A. Loud has produced an extremely valuable contribution to the history of Norman Italy and Christianity in the high Middle Ages. It is an especially important book because it discusses a topic that has never before been given such a thorough and in-depth treatment.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the pre-Norman era, when the southern Italian Church lacked organization and coherence, and weak episcopates and the absence of parish structures meant that the region was dominated by private churches. Chronologically the chapter begins with the sixth-century crisis, when many bishoprics in southern Italy disappeared and organized monasticism went into decline, then moves to the monastic revival of the seventh and eighth centuries, ending with the reign of Otto I, who patronized imperial monasteries and created new archbishoprics in southern Italy, which was the first step toward a more organized ecclesiastical structure.

Chapter 2 examines the impact of the Norman conquest on the southern Italian church, demonstrating how it was both a victim of Norman predation as well as a beneficiary of Norman patronage and protection. Loud does an admirable job of showing the complex relationship between the new Norman rulers and the ecclesiastical foundations in the region, focusing most of his efforts on demonstrating the ways in which the Norman conquest both aided and transformed the religious landscape.

Chapter 3 examines the relationship between the papacy and the new Norman rulers, which was an alliance he sees as beneficial for both sides. For the Normans, the popes provided legitimacy, while the papacy received military assistance and revenues, as well as the ability to help in the reform of the southern Italian Church. Loud provides detailed accounts of the actions and attitudes of the different popes and rulers, demonstrating well the complexity of the Norman-papal relationship, as well as its uniqueness.

Chapter 4 focuses on the relationship between the papacy and churchmen in southern Italy and how together they created a more organized and rational ecclesiastical system. These two chapters demonstrate well the mutually beneficial relationship among Normans, popes, and local churchmen, and how the alliance between popes and Normans allowed the southern Italian Church to develop in a stable environment.

Chapter 5 focuses on the role of the Sicilian kings as protectors and patrons of the southern Italian Church. They gave donations, reconfirmed privileges, built new ecclesiastical foundations, and provided peace and security for the Church so it could prosper. As a result, most churchmen viewed the kings and royal justice in a positive light. Thus Loud sees the Norman kings as conventionally pious and refutes the idea that the Church's reliance on royal revenues meant that it was subservient to royal interests. Chapter 6 looks at the military role of ecclesiastical foundations, whose clergy were required to help defend the kingdom, especially in frontier regions. These two chapters demonstrate well the symbiotic relationship between the kings and churchmen in the Regno.

Chapter 7 examines the spiritual life of the secular clergy and their relationship with the laity, emphasizing the local role of bishops who administered small dioceses and participated minimally in royal politics or government. In the twelfth century a number of changes occurred to the secular church, including the appearance of parish churches and archpriests in some dioceses, the development of urban confraternities, the gradual separation of the property of the cathedral chapter from that of the bishop, and the slow disappearance of proprietary houses. During this time, the bishops' role changed, as they moved from merely carrying out passive sacramental duties to leading the clergy and religious houses in their dioceses with real authority.

Chapter 8 discusses monastic reform, in particular the spread of the Benedictine rule and the emergence of large abbeys with numerous properties and dependent cells, obtained both through donation and purchase. Although eremitic forms of monasticism, characteristic of pre-Norman era, survived, they were largely domesticated within the Benedictine tradition by the end of the twelfth century, while new religious orders from northern Europe, such as the Cistercians, did not appear until the 1190s.

The final chapter of the book discusses the relationship among Latins, Greeks, and non-Christians. There was no attempt to Latinize the church, and Greek clerics and practices continued to be found in the region through the Norman era and beyond. The only new requirement was that Greek clerics place themselves and their religious houses into the newly established ecclesiastical hierarchy in the region, subject to the pope. Similarly, the Norman rulers of the twelfth century tolerated Muslim and Jewish populations, who were important components of both the government and the economy up through the end of the twelfth century. According to Loud, the Norman rulers took a pragmatic approach to the diversity of religions in their kingdom, allowing the practice of other religions to guarantee the continued prosperity of their kingdom.

Loud has written a well-researched and highly detailed study of the transformations brought to the southern Italian Church after the Norman conquest. It contains a wealth of information on the people and institutions that made up the Norman Church, reflecting Loud's intimate knowledge of the archives and sources. It also provides useful points of comparison between the Church in Norman Italy and other parts of Latin Christendom. It is a book that will be useful for scholars of Norman Italy as well as anyone interested in the history of the Church in the Middle Ages.