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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear List members, I have come across what to me is a unique example of what appears to be " lay tonsure". In a ninth-century French monastic Vita, a highly placed royal official decided to enter a monastery. He first obtained permission from the king. The king then accompanied the official to the monastery. There the official first laid his knight's belt on the altar. The king then stepped up and "with the abbot's permission" clipped a few hairs from the official's head, followed by other members of the court who did the same. I've never come across this sort of lay involvement in monastic tonsure before. Has anyone seen other instances of this? Is there some theory behind it (none is suggested in my source). thanks jw ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html