medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Ms B M Cook <[log in to unmask]>
> As I understand it, If any [Cistercian] monastery is unable to elect an
abbot from among their number, the monks are obliged to put the matter in the
hands of their Mother House:
> Charter of Charity, Chapter 8
> "If any monastery of our Order be without an abbot, the abbot of its
mother-house shall take the charge of it until the election of a new abbot. "
"
i was reading around in Odo Rigaud's Regestrum the other day and came across
his mentioning an abbey (i can't remember whether it was Benedictine or of
canons regular --but it wasn't Cistercian) which couldn't decide on it's
abbot, so Archbishop Odo installed one of his own choice (at the request of
the house).
his candidate was a member of the community, but he made it clear that the
fellow was only an "interim" abbot.
seems like going to an immediate superior in the event of a deadlocked
election would be a logical thing to do --and maybe even one called for in
canon law?-- but since the C.'s were largely exempt from episcopal authority,
any given abbey's immediate superior would be, i suppose, the Mother House.
Brenda, are you quoting from a published translation of the C of C, or is that
your own?
*is* there an English translation available?
> Can anyone tell me how a Cistercian abbot might have been elected in the
12th Century?
> Was it a simple show of hands in Chapter ?
> Was it a simple majority or did an election need a 2/3 majority ?
> Could the Lay Brothers vote ?
this isn't covered in the C of C?
surely it's in Bennie's Rule, isn't it?
> I am assuming that the abbot of the Mother House could himself elect the
abbot for the daughter house, ie impose his candidate - a monk from the mother
house itself or from one of the filiations - upon the defaulting daughter
house.
how is a hung election a "default"?
i should think (without being encumbered by any actual knowledge of the
matter) that factionalism in the inherently Hothouse environments of these
institutions would have been a rather common occurrence --which, in a certain
percentage of extreme cases, would have manifested itself in hung elections.
one of the remarkable things to me in Odo's account was that he chose someone
as interim abbot who was from the institution itself (at least that's my dim
memory of the situation), which might have been a rather Dicey proposition,
since it could well have intensified whatever (already serious) factionalism
there was within the house.
c
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