To Christopher Crocket
Thank you for your illuminating reply. I will follow up your documentary
leads and let you know what I find.
Ron Hornsby
Dear Ron Hornsby,
It has been for some time now my goal in life to actually lay eyes and hands
on Martene's "Ms. History of Marmoutier" before I pass on to even greater
rewards.
Frequently cited as above, it is my understanding that the thing has indeed
been published, as vols. xxiv-xxv of the _Memoires de la Soc. Archeologique
du
Touraine_ (1874-5)
Apparently, at the time of the revolution the muniments room(s) at
Marmoutier
were something of a wonder to behold: great "bibliotheques" stuffed with
charters (presumably all neatly arranged by province and priory--there were
*hundreds* of MM priories, rivaling Cluny in number). In addition, there
were,
apparently, a number of cartulary compilations for various regions/dioceses.
Alas, I can't recall where I read a description of the state of the pre-1789
MM documents, but it is my understanding that the post- revolutionary
governement(s) decided to ship the documents to
the appropriate, newly gestating, Archives departementales, where they
suffered very mixed fates indeed. E.g., those for the Eure-et-Loir (dio.
Chartres) seem to have in large part survived.
What happened to the English ones, I know not. Perhaps they went to Paris,
though old parchment made excellent cannon wadding, I'm told, and might have
been returned to the English in that form during the Napoleonic Wars.
Have a look at Henri Stein's _Bibliographie des Cartulaires de la France_
(c.
1900). He has a rather extensive appendix devoted to MM priories and their
documents and copies, and would, I'm sure, have a section on the English
houses.
In addition to Martene, there were a number of volumes of early modern
copies
of charters by various Maurist sublimators (Lord, those guys did
go through the paper); many of these are in the B.N. and might be had on
nearly-legible microfilm.
In central France the growth and power of MM seems to have been connected
with
the house of the counts of Blois (/Chartres), from about the 1020's, resting
on its laurels from the first third of the 12th c. (at least that's my
worm's-eye view).
What the political ramifications of MM (vs., say, Cluniac or, later,
Cistercian) ownership of a priory was, I couldn't hazard a guess.
Re your Latin question,
>Could the words "unam mansuram" be a reference to a home farm?
sounds as good an explanation as any, to my tin ear, and better than your
other conjectures.
But then, I'm of the opinion that *no* one can actually read 12th c.
charters.
Best from here,
Christopher
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