A way of life lost with change of religion

Los Angeles, April 06: Henry broke from the Roman Catholic Church after two popes refused to let him divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, and established the Church of England. The English Reformation led to the closing of the monasteries in England, which had been a prominent part of English life for hundreds of years.

The more than 650 monasteries in the country provided not only for the spiritual life of nearby residents, they contributed economically as well — they employed people, rented land, offered shelter to travelers and sanctuary to the oppressed. For Henry, the monasteries represented not just another step in reform, but a source of much-needed funds as well. "The Last Divine Office" is more than another look at the closing of the monasteries, however. Moorhouse dose a remarkable job of painting a picture of life in those communities as it has been for almost 500 years. The opening paragraphs describing the final singing of the divine office by the Benedictine monks at the cathedral of Durham in northern England, detail the lost way of life. The images of the black-robed Benedictines moving through the gathering shadows of the cathedral "candle flames guttering and swaying upon its altars and along its quire," closing out their long day as they had since 1083. They also show the cathedral in that time of dark and shadow and give a fascinating look at its history and the remarkable St. Cuthbert, who drew pilgrims from all over England to Durham. But on New Year`s Eve 1539, the monks sang their last divine office. The next morning the monastery was turned over to Henry`s officers. Moorhouse`s look at lives of the monks at Durham, and what happened to the men and women who inhabited the English monasteries after the dissolution, is absorbing, and full of insight into the times. If there is a flaw in the book, it is that it sometimes slips into the scholarly tone of a research paper. Fortunately, that is heavily outweighed by prose that draw the reader back to that time. Bureau Report