The Letters of Peter Damian, 121-150

This volume, the fifth in the series of volumes containing the 180 letters written by the 11th-century monk Peter Damian, contains careful and annotated translations of Damian’s Letters 121-150. Written during the years 1062-66, the letters deal with a wide variety of subjects and provide a contemporary account of many of the controversies of the gripping period in the history of church and state. Included here are several letters addressed to kinsmen. Letter 123 is Damian’s rather lengthy exhortation to his nephew Damianus encouraging him to seek a pure and virtuous monastic life. Letter 132, written to his nephew Marinus, contains a comprehensive discussion on the virtues proper to the monastic life. And Letter 126 to Alberic of Monte Cassino, presents a good example of Damian’s principles of biblical exegesis.