Part 1 Our written information: from recording the exceptional to recording the usual: is our knowledge of the Middle Ages representative; is our knowledge of medieval monasticism representative?; can proportions be measured? Part 2 The global vision of the created world: the fulfilment of God's will; the ineluctable decay of the Creation; fundamental pessimism and presumed monastic creativity. Part 3 The sources of material wealth: the rural setting; craft and commerce - the abbey, the market and the town. Part 4 The monks' attitude towards people: monks, nobility and common people; rural people; urban people; the works of mercy; the impact on the demographic situation. Part 5 Value systems, Christian and monastic: Christian values and ethics; reciprocity, a social function. Part 6 The intellectual contribution: the legacy of antiquity; an everlasting renaissance; writing, reading, teaching and thinking - monks as the keepers of collective memory; allegory and rationalism; as times changed, education changed; tolerance and incomprehension. Part 7 Religion, religious life and the Church: mission, conversion and the crusades; charisma, rule and institution. Part 8 Artistic expression: art for them or art for us?; space and image; "art for art's sake" or functional art?; a deeper sense. Part 9 Monastic life: heaven and hell on earth - individuals living together; a pyramid of self-negation - the individual and the community; spirit and flesh - the battle of the individual; the easy way or the difficult way - comparison with the world outside.
