A Thousand Fates

The Afterlife of Medieval Monasteries in England Wales. A Thousand Fates explores the afterlife of medieval monasticism in England and Wales, a thousand years monasticism in England and Wales came to an abrupt end in the mid-sixteenth century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. At its peak two hundred years earlier, many people chose the contemplative life, while the rich sought salvation through the foundation or embellishment of religious houses. Much of the nations wealth was locked into these complexes through elaborate rebuilding, gifts of precious objects, property donations and flourishing libraries of rare books. Then in just