medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Werner,
>There is no evidence in the *printed* charters of Paris that Abelard was a
canon at all, or that he held an "officium" at ND.
of course (if my expericence with the Chartres charters is in any way
typical), only a small fraction of the canons of a cathedral will appear by
name in the (surviving) charters
the ones that do appear there, typically, are there for a reason :
--they are involved, somehow (as principals, kinsmen, neighbors), in the
business which generated a particular charter;
--or they happen to be present (perhaps for other business) at whatever court
is conducting the business which is recorded by the charter;
--or, occasionally, they are there, in the chapter, when some unusually
comprehensive business is being conducted, and their presence, among many
others, is noted for that reason.
(among the latter kinds of cases, at Chartres, i can recall two charters which
give us an unusually long list of the canonici : one on the occasion of Bishop
Ivo's having wrested from the Count the latter's "malas consuetudines" to
thoroughly pillage the Bishop's house upon the death of the Bishop; and
another when a papal bull was read to the whole chapter --or at least all of
the chapter who happened to be in town on that particular day. both charters
have unusually long witness lists, but neither one contains over about 20
canons --where were the other 40??)
i would suppose that the situation at Paris (or Sens) was not much different.
in addition, A.'s appearance in charters from other Parisian houses would
depend upon roughly the same causal criteria --and here his being a
"foreigner" without (presumably) family members in the area would be a further
factor limiting his appearances, i should think (lots of charters involve,
essentially, "family" business, though we cannot always figure out the
"hidden" agendas and relationships from their bald and formulaic texts).
>On the other hand, there are many *indices*, that he did NOT....Abelard
wasn't rich,
another factor limiting occasions for his charter appearances.
poor folk without property don't have much call to appear in charters.
>The "pretty small club" of ND maintained some 51 prebends,
i meant : "small" versus Chartres' 65 or so.
also a "small club" in the sense that the cathedral chapter at this period
represented, by its membership (as i see it), the interests of a great
many/most of the "aristocratic" families --and extended families/kin
groupings/"feudal" alliances-- of the diocese.
it was, as such, a reflection of those families and their alliances, all
constantly shifting, fighting for power, etc.
as a "foreigner", A. would not be a part of that world (though he would have
been part of a very similar, parallel universe in Brittany, had he stayed
*there*).
>45 full vote, 6 half vote, so it should have been much more comfortable "to
get a job" there than in a mini-chapter like Angers (30 canons).
yes, the simple number of "dead men's shoes" which were available at any given
time would have been greater in a smaller chapter (where the same "local
aristocracy" factors would have been at work, of course).
still and all, if we think in terms of the chapter representing *the whole
diocese* --and not at all just the "city"-- such a number as 51 becomes
"smaller."
not to speak of the "special" cases, like finding places for the ("foreign")
Bishops' nephews, the King's favorites (and, beginning a century later, the
Pope's), etc.
in addition, the "institional" prebends held, ex officio, by the abbots and
abbesses of local houses would have represented "morte main" canonries which
*never* would have come up for transfer to an individual, no matter how famous
he was or what kind of influence he might have had.
The diocese of Paris was, of course, quite small, in relationship to that of
Chartres, which was one of the largest in France (if not *the* largest),
extending from Melun and Poissy in the North to beyond the Loire, before the
diocese of Blois was carved out of it in 1697, in the South, with no less
than *seven* archdeaconries (Blois, Vendome, Chateaudun, Chartres, Dreux,
Epernon, Poissy) :
http://www.ariadne.org/centrechartraine/maps/1697map.html --most all of the
diocese of Paris is on that map, too, as a sort of appendage --or a little
pimple-- on that of Chartres.
>But in reality, Paris was very attractive then, and it was a severe problem
to get one of the higher canonries, which were mostly occupied by feudal
families ("canon's heritage": from senior canon to nephew canon).
yes.
a "pretty small club" again.
>>this distinction between "minor" and "major" canons is not on which
i've come across before --it does not seem to appear in the Chartres documents
of the 11th-13th centuries, unless i overlooked such a reference.
>It's a contemporary "papal" bull, describing the classes of the
*prebendaries* of ND: "Illud sane quod apud quosdam clericorum fieri
audivimus, ut videlicet majores prebendarii a minoribus hominia suscipiant, et
huic prohibendum precipimus..." Paschalis II. to the chapter of Notre-Dame
i must pay more attention to the papal charters for Chartres.
>in Lasteyrie, CG Paris, p. 156.
well, it just so happens i have a copy of this rather scarce work :
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=106516914
>See also: Guérard, [Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Paris], Préface XCIX.
but not of this even more scarce one, alas.
>Until 1097, Saint-Christophe, as church of the "hospitale pauperum",
did this later develop into the "hotel dieu," or was that a seperate
institution?
>Fulbert was probably installed at Saint-Christophe in about 1097 by bishop
William of Montfort, brother of lovely Bertrada, shortly before he gave his
episcopal right in Saint-Christophe to the chapter of ND.
yes, i see : the position (whatever it was) was in the gift of the Bishop.
and, therefore, Fulbert would have been firmly in the camp of those opposed to
the (somewhat later) "reform" movement.
(i note, btw, that you too like to put "reform" in quotes --the situation was
*so* much more complicated than simple "reform.")
>Fulbert lived in a canon house outside the cloister, next to
Saint-Christophe. He was the only canon in Paris then, who gave his
anniversary gift (statio quatuor ferculorum)
i don't know this term.
"the quarterly food allotment given to a canon," or something like that ?
>to the "hospitale pauperum" vis-à-vis Notre-Dame, which was linked with
Saint-Christophe.
>The "statio quatuor ferculorum" was usually placed in front of the house of a
dead canon.
? now i'm confused.
>In all his writings, A. never said: "In claustro Beatae Marie..."
not conclusive, but suggestive.
>BTW, the cloister of Notre-Dame was very restricted for a attractive woman
like Heloise (facie not infima).
buttressing your thought that Fulbert's house was outside the cloister
proper.
>Stephan [of Garland] was archdeacon of Brie, not of Paris like William of
Champeaux. There were three archeacons at Notre-Dame, the archdeacons of Brie,
Josas and Paris.
http://www.ariadne.org/centrechartraine/maps/1697map.html
>Stephan resided some meters apart from Notre-Dame, in a double house or
"palace" the northwestern part of the cloister, next to Saint-Aignan.
we should say, for the benefit of those who don't know what we're talking
about, that this "chapel of St. Aignan" (or a good part of it) survives, as
the oldest above-ground (well, it's mostly above ground) ecclesiastical
structure on the Ile-de-la-Cité.
i believe that it is quite small --just a hundred square meters or so-- and
now forms part of a private residence. there was an article published on it
(finally) sometime in the last 10 years or so, but i forget where it was
published.
>I was not able to check all the references about Saint-Aignan. The date of
foundation is uncertain.
early on, there is just that single mention in the cathedral cartulary, isn't
there ?
>At least, it seems quite plausible that this chapel was integrated in the
cloister's wall and could be entered from both sides (cloister and city
district),
now *that* is an interesting observation. i had thought that it would have
been farther away from the cloister --but i've never seen a good, detailed,
reliable map.
>so it *may* have been the wedding chapel of A and H.
?
!!
>Another important episode concerning the story of Abelard (and Saint Bernard)
may have taken place in Saint-Aignan, tto, but this is part of
an upcoming work and it's too early to talk about it.
keep us (me) posted.
>But it was Saint-Victor, which collected most of the Parisian prebends or
canonries, e. g. from ND itself, from Sainte-Geneviève or Saint-Marcel.
and, at least, the annates of the "royal monasteries."
>>Lacking any *specific* documentary evidence, it just seems to me to be
very, very improbable that he [Abelard] held a stall in the choir.
>A romantic illusion, indeed!!!
"Great Minds run in the Same Ruts" !
best from here,
christopher
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