Regulars and the Secular Realm: The Benedictines of the Congregation of Saint-Maur during the 18th Century and the French Revolution

In the late eighteenth century, the French Republic evicted religious orders from their monasteries and forced them back into secular life. Regulars and the Secular Realm is a detailed account of the monks’ plight, chronicling the injustices perpetrated by government officials as well as the general antagonism towards the Catholic Church. As Mary Kathryn Robinson reveals, this fraught period of history offered a promise of “liberty for all”—except Catholics. This vivid recounting of Benedictines and the French Revolution will interest scholars and history buffs alike.