Carmel in Britain: Studies on the Early History of the Carmelite Order: Volume III: The Hermits from Mount Carmel (review)

Old-style Carmelite historiography was a notorious minefield of legends and myths that unfortunately led historians either to avoid Carmelite history altogether or to rely on generalized bromides that too often have perdured even to this day. However, the last half of the twentieth century witnessed a new day that has given birth to a genuine renaissance in Carmelite scholarship, pioneered by the Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome, and its polyglot journal Carmelus. Carmel's past, admittedly with much yet to be explored, is no longer a minefield but a treasure trove of events and documents ready for the historian's critical eye.

Father Richard Copsey, former provincial of the British Carmelites and one-time editor of Carmelus, has in recent decades nearly singlehandedly made possible this new day in the history and historiography of the medieval Carmelite Order in England, Wales, and Scotland. Copsey has literally scoured the published and unpublished documents often hidden in sources many of which lie in the most out-of-the-way dusty corners that had not been explored for their Carmelite contents.

The preceding two volumes in this "Carmel in Britain" series are volume 1: People and Places of the Medieval English Carmelite Province and volume 2: Theology and Writings of the Medieval English Carmelite Province. Both of these volumes were published in 1992 during the 750th anniversary of the English-Welsh province; they were edited by Patrick Fitzgerald-Lombard, O.Carm., but they were the initiative of the then provincial, Father Copsey. These two volumes were published in Rome by the Institutum Carmelitanum. Volume 4, now in preparation, will be entitled Thomas Netter: Carmelite, Diplomat and Theologian. Netter was perhaps Carmel's most widely read medieval theologian.

The volume under review contains thirteen articles; four of them were published in Carmelus with five of them in other journals; four of them are published here for the first time. Copsey has revised and enlarged some of the previously published entries. While Copsey is principally interested in the history of the English-Welsh province of Carmelites, he has discovered that the story of this province cannot be understood in isolation but only in the broader context of the medieval Carmelite Order. So at times he has cast his net wider than the British Isles.

Anyone who has occasion to do research on medieval Carmelite history must turn to this volume 3 of Carmel in Britain. The contents are varied. One will find here explorations of early Carmelite historiography, extensive treatments of the Carmelites in Scotland, a long-neglected topic that now has received a full and detailed study. Copsey also offers excellent guidance in the use of the Carmelite notebooks of John Bale (1495–1563). These notebooks are a unique collection of data on medieval English Carmelites and their writings. This onetime Carmelite who never lost his reverence for his Carmelite ancestors had a lifetime interest in Carmel's past. One would indeed be reckless to ignore Copsey's guidance in the use of these notebooks. While they contain much to be found only in them, they also have untold pitfalls for the unwary researcher.

Of particular interest to historians is the final chapter in this book: "The Carmelites in England 1242–1540: Surviving Writings," where English medieval Carmelite authors are arranged in alphabetical order. Entries list manuscripts with their locations, editions, excerpts, and important studies about various works. This list is a researcher's gold mine but for which Copsey welcomes additions and corrections to this catalogue of English Carmelite authors. An extensive and detailed index (pp. 431–512) is a great gift for anyone who turns to this many-faceted volume. I for one will keep this volume close at hand as a reference tool to be...