David Barry OSB made solemn profession at the Abbey of the Holy Trinity, New Norcia, Western Australia in 1960. He has studied at Sant'Anselmo, Rome, and Saint Benet's Hall, Oxford, as well as at Murdoch University. In addition to doing parish work, teaching, working in monastic formation, and giving spiritual direction and retreats in Australia, he has also taught in China and done archival research in Europe on his monastery's founders.

. . . a very well-presented, accessible and reliable version of a text which still resonates today, nearly 1,200 years after it was written.Parergon

• Table of ContentsIntroduction: Smaragdus and His Work   1Terrence KardongThe Expositio and Monastic Reform at Cîteaux   9Daniel M. LaCorteThe Relevance of Smaragdus to Modern Monasticism   25Jean LeclercqTranslator’s Preface and Acknowledgments   35Abbreviations of Works Cited   37Authors and Works Cited   38The Commentary of Abbot Smaragdus on the Rule of Saint BenedictMetrical Preface   43Introduction   47Book One: Prologue to the Rule   49Chapters of the Rule   111Chapter One through Chapter Three   115Book Two: Chapter Four through Chapter Seven   163Book Three: Chapter Eight through Chapter Seventy-three   311Scripture Index   539Index of Authors and Works   554