Review of the hardback: 'As its title implies, this book deals with a rather broad issue on several levels and as such might appear at first blush to be somewhat overreaching. However, as a result of his superb research, impeccable organization and disciplined writing style, Marios Costambeys, a Lecturer in History at the University of Liverpool, has been able to synthesize enormous amounts of data into a coherent and insightful study that remains faithfully within the parameters of its main thesis.' The Medieval Review

• 1. Introduction; 2. Patronage and Lombard rulers; 3. Authority, rulership and the abbey; 4. The Farfa monks and abbots: identities and affiliations; 5. Sabine lands and landowners; 6. Elite families in the Sabina; 7. Farfa and Italian politics in the Lombard era; 8. Farfa, Italian politics and the Carolingians.

Review of the hardback: 'As its title implies, this book deals with a rather broad issue on several levels and as such might appear at first blush to be somewhat overreaching. However, as a result of his superb research, impeccable organization and disciplined writing style, Marios Costambeys, a Lecturer in History at the University of Liverpool, has been able to synthesize enormous amounts of data into a coherent and insightful study that remains faithfully within the parameters of its main thesis.' The Medieval Review

• 1. Introduction; 2. Patronage and Lombard rulers; 3. Authority, rulership and the abbey; 4. The Farfa monks and abbots: identities and affiliations; 5. Sabine lands and landowners; 6. Elite families in the Sabina; 7. Farfa and Italian politics in the Lombard era; 8. Farfa, Italian politics and the Carolingians.