Providing an account of the life of the Westminster Abbey community in the 11th and 12th centuries, this work records the abbey's growth in power and influence following its significant endowment by Edward the Confessor, who adopted it as his burial church. It traces the monastic community's history and development to the end of the reign of King John, and studies its most notable personalities in detail. The author examines the careers of the abbots, and of priors, monks, scribes, craftsmen, lay servants, clerics in the monastic churches, personnel of the royal Court associated with the abbey, visiting legates and other prelates - and the laity who frequented the abbey. She also considers the community's dealings with the growing ecclesiastical bureaucracy, the management of properties such as its parochial churches, its relationship with other religious houses, and its promotion of cults and festivals.