The prior of a community of Augustinian canons near Amiens from ca. 1132 until his death ca. 1173-74, Hugh of Fouilloy produced six known treatises on the monastic life: De avibus, De claustro animae, De medicina animae, De nuptiis, De rota verae et falsae religionis, and De pastoribus et ovibus. These enjoyed wide diffusion, with De avibus and De claustro animae being the most popular according to the large number of surviving manuscripts. In particular, Hugh’s works were popular among the Cistercians, which indicates that they are significant documents for the history of the twelfth-century monastic reforms.
Awareness of Hugh of Fouilloy has increased significantly among medievalists due to recent work by scholars such as Willene B. Clark, Mary Carruthers, Christiania Whitehead, Baudouin Van den Abeele, Franco Negri, and Rémy Cordonnier. The intention of this collection of essays is to provide a foundation for future work on Hugh. While not a “companion,” the volume will provide up-to-date information on Hugh’s life and his works, as well as including a current list of manuscripts. It will also contain a number of essays that will demonstrate his importance as a teacher and writer and that will establish the state of research on Hugh and his works.
Anyone interested in contributing to the collection should submit an abstract of 500 words accompanied by a 100-150-word author’s biography by October 1, 2012 to either Mary Agnes Edsall (maedsall2@gmail.com) or Rémy Cordonnier (artuslemerle@gmail.com).
