Order and Town, Order and its Patrons, Monastica Historia, Vol. 4

The volume entitled Orden und Stadt, Orden und ihre Wohltäter was published as the fourth volume of the Monastica Historia series. It brings together 21 studies by prominent scholars of the history of religious institutions in Central Europe from the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The publication of the volume was preceded by a conference of the same name held in Telč in September 2018, the theme of which was the relations between the order and its patrons, especially in the towns and cities of the early modern period. The widely discussed topic was also reflected in the content (and volume) of the published book: some studies deal with foundation or patronage in a broader context, others focus on detailed cases. The articles reveal the various types of patronage in the settings of different orders – Jesuits, Dominicans, Augustinians, Cistercians, Barnabites, or Brothers of Charity; among the women's orders, the Poor Clares are represented. The extent of the research carried out, which the book makes accessible through appropriate methodological approaches, makes it a valuable contribution to research on early modern monasticism in Central Europe.