Stories of the Rose: The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages

Rating:
Summary: A Superbly Researched Study of the Rosary.
Review: I got more than I bargained for in this book. As the public was being isolated more and more by clerical power the rosary offered the common folk a way to participate in the liturgy. The author addresses, especially, the plight of women & how the rosary enabled them to participate in the male dominant religious & government structure of the time. Primarily this is done through the rosary confraternities. Quite a grassroots effort for its day. This particular empowerment is nicely laid out throughout the book, without falling over the Feminist cliff. The book is heavily footnoted but since it is finely targeted to Germany most of the references are in German.

I highly recommend this book for those wanting to get a historical perspective of this powerful prayer & the controversies that always swirled around it.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive history
Review: This is a book about the history of the Rosary, and how its practice changed from the earliest cycles of prayers, to the Rosary we know today. If you are looking for inspirational reading, or a book to help you in your Rosary devotions, I suggest you try Caryll Houselander's "The Essential Rosary" instead.

"Stories of the Rose" discusses various possible ancestors of the modern Rosary, as well as having amptly documented references to early writings about the Rosary. Included in this book is a wide ranging discussion of the reasons why the Rosary gained in poularity at specific times in history.

A well documented book, especially on the politics and religious upheavals that surrounded the development of the Rosary, it is none the less a bit on the dry side, and would have benefitted from a better narrative format. It can be difficult to follow unless you are passingly familiar with Catholic Church history.

Recommended especially for those with an interest in history, or for those re-enactors who might really want to know what form of prayer beads were in use in the 15th century.