>Julia Barrow wrote...
>
>There was no Benedictine order as such in the earlier middle ages. It only
>became necessary to define one after the appearance of the Cistercians,
>Carthusians, Augustinians and so forth in the late eleventh and early twelfth
>centuries
>
>Why were such orders introduced into England - were they part of the Norman
>conquest or was it a much larger re organization of the monastic life which
>took place throughout Europe at this time that England was just part of ?
>
>
>Simon Marchini
This is a very large subject but let me inject a few observations into the
mix. First, it is true that in the early medieval period there was no such
thing as a Benedictine "order" because order implies a larger organization
with a common liturgy and single source of leadership, be it abbot of the
mother house (Cluny), general chapter (Cistercians) or, for the mendicant
orders, master general. Benedictine houses were, to use the Greek term,
autocephalous, that is, each house was an independent unit in which the
monks followed the Rule of St. Benedict and were under the absolute
authority of the abbot. Benedictines were important in English
ecclesiastical history because Pope Gregory sent a Benedictine monk, St.
Augustine, to convert the English. But there was another monastic tradition
already in place in the north of England, the Celtic or Irish monks that
fought Augustine's Roman ways so vigorously (e.g. the Synod of Whitby).
Second, although Benedictine monks were influential and numerous houses
were founded by noble and royal benefactors, there were other religious
houses that enjoyed great influence, namely, collegiate and cathedral
chapter of regular and secular canons. The regular canons were
congregations of priests serving the bishop and diocese as pastoral clergy
and, after the reforms of Chordegang of Metz (c. 800), usually followed the
older rule of St. Augustine, hence the term Augustinian or Austin canons
(known in England as the Black canons as opposed to the Benedictine black
monks). The Augustinians of the thirteenth century were mendicant friars
organized by the pope from various heremetical groups in Italy.
I would recommend David Knowle's indispensible books, _The Monastic Orders
in England_ and _The Religious Orders in England_ as well as C.H.
Lawrence's two more recent books, _Medieval Monasticism_ and _The Friars_.
=====================
Dale R. Streeter
Department of History
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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