Caldey Island
Caldey Island, Wales: Printed by the Community, [1931]. Octavo (8 1/8 inches tall), staple-bound in original paper boards decorated in red and green, uncut. Boards clean, light bumping to upper corners, sporadic foxing to interiors. A near-fine copy. Item #1725
"THE 'ISLE OF SAINTS' AS IT HAS BEEN CALLED, FRAGRANT WITH FLOWERS AND THE MEMORY OF HOLY LIVES"
Charming guide to the natural and spiritual beauty of Caldey Island—printed and illustrated by the island's Cistercian monks for the benefit of pilgrims to "The Isle of Saints." Illustrated throughout by the monks with a map (to the verso of the title page), several photographs, and a series of humble yet deeply affecting woodcuts imbued with the contemplative spirituality of one of Britain's most Holy Islands. Scarce.
In 1906, the monastic revival in the Church of England crested with the establishment of a new Anglican Benedictine community on Caldey. In March 1913, on "the feast of St. Aelred of Rievaulx, took place what became known as 'The Caldey Conversions,' i.e., the reconciliation of Abbot Aelred and twenty out of thirty-three members of his community with the Roman Church" (Peter F. Anson). The Benedictines were replaced by Cistercian monks from Chimay Abbey in Belgium.
Printed shortly after the 1929 transfer of the remaining Benedictine monks of Caldey to Prinknash Priory in Gloucester, the guide is divided into several short sections: Isle of Caldey - Natural History - Prehistoric Remains - Monastic History - Abbey Church - St. David's Church - Old Priory - View from the Lighthouse - Cistercian Life: "The monk is hidden from the eyes of men, but through his prayer God's Grace descends upon the world just as the sun's heat and light saturate the earth's surface. That is the Contemplative Life." A brief Notice prefaces the text with an admonition: "Visitors are not permitted to speak to the monks, nor take photographs of them, and are requested to refrain from leaving paper about." Approbations. Anson. Building Up the Waste Places: The Revival of Monastic Life on Medieval Lines in the Post-Reformation Church of England.
Price: $150.00