Review of Ishbel Barnes, Arbroath Abbey in Scottish Historical Review

Citation

Turpie T (2024) Review of Ishbel Barnes, Arbroath Abbey in Scottish Historical Review. Edinburgh University Press, pp. 454-455. https://www.euppublishing.com/loi/shr

Abstract
First paragraph: Arbroath Abbey was founded by William I (r.1165–1214) in 1178 and remainedone of Scotland’s most significant ecclesiastical institutions throughout themiddle ages. It is of course best known for its association with the letter sentin the name of the barons of Scotland to Pope John XXII in 1320, known tous now as the Declaration of Arbroath. While Ishbel Barnes’s timely study doesprovide context for the production of that document at Arbroath, that is notits main focus. The aim of the book is to look beyond that famous associationto provide an in-depth 400-year history of a monastic institution that Barnesclaims, with justification, was the richest abbey in medieval Scotland. It is thatwealth that in some ways dominates the book, as it generated the rich anddiverse range of sources that Barnes uses with skill to tease out the history ofthe institution, and the important political, social, and economic role played byits abbots and monks across Angus and beyond. Meticulously researched, this isa book based firmly on those surviving primary sources, as might be expectedfrom an author who spent her professional career in the National Archives (nowRecords) of Scotland. It is the careful explanation of these sources that is themost interesting and useful aspect of the book, providing a model for readerson how to approach the study of medieval monasticism in Scotland