author
Francis Aidan Gasquet
1846–1929
An English Benedictine monk, historian, and later cardinal, he wrote vividly about medieval English religion and the upheavals of the Reformation. His books aim to reopen old arguments about England's past from a strongly Catholic point of view.
5 Audiobooks
Breaking with the Past; Or, Catholic Principles Abandoned at the Reformation
by Francis Aidan Gasquet
The Eve of the Reformation Studies in the Religious Life and Thought of the English people in the Period Preceding the Rejection of the Roman jurisdiction by Henry VIII
by Francis Aidan Gasquet
The Great Pestilence (A.D. 1348-9), Now Commonly Known as the Black Death
by Francis Aidan Gasquet
English Monastic Life
by Francis Aidan Gasquet
Parish life in mediæval England
by Francis Aidan Gasquet
About the author
Born in London on October 5, 1846, Francis Aidan Gasquet was educated at Downside and entered the Benedictine order as a young man. He went on to become prior of Downside, then built a wider reputation as a scholar of English religious history.
Gasquet is best remembered for his studies of late medieval and Reformation England. He wrote about monasteries, the dissolution, and everyday religious life before the break with Rome, and he also drew attention to the scale of the Black Death in England. His work was influential and readable, though it also sparked debate because he challenged strongly Protestant interpretations of English history.
Later in life he moved into senior church service in Rome. He was made a cardinal in 1914 and became prefect of the Vatican Archives in 1917. He died in Rome on April 5, 1929, leaving behind a body of historical writing that remained widely discussed long after his lifetime.