The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent
When thinking about a medieval monastery the first thing that comes to mind is the origin of the word monastery which comes from the Greek monos, meaning alone. Monasticism in itself is a way of life that is devoted to God in seclusion. A large part of monasticism is isolation, not only from the neighbors but from family. When taking the vows to be a monk one not only completely devotes ones life to God but all friends, family and earthly possessions are left behind. Taking the vows of monasticism takes brutal dedication and severe strength. What pushed Guibert of Nogent into monasticism is that his mother withdrew from the world after his father’s death. During that time he was left alone and
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When monasteries first started to appear during the third and fourth centuries it was far more somber and focused towards the hermit form of life. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries monasteries became more community focused and more socially drawn. Guibert chose monastic life because how communal it had been reformed during the Middle Ages. During his run as abbot Guibert became involved inn all aspects of his community surrounding his monastery. On his affairs, he says, “We see him involved in ecclesiastical affairs, attending courts of the bishop of Laon and larger councils, and at one time traveling to Langres to see the pope" Living in monastery no longer meant that he would live life alone and without peers. As an abbot he was able to gain so superiority which Guibert sought. Additionally, he states that he had always wanted to be an abbot: “…A person well-fitted for worldly success with moderately good birth, both my own heart and some of my associates evilly suggested to me that it would be proper for me to advance in this world by promotion to some office.” He was giving the opportunity to become a member of the community because of the smaller amount of communal restrictions put on monks. This was unheard of during the begging of monasticism where there was strict isolation. A hermit would never even consider traveling or taking part in any community council. Guibert was very keen on being involved in the community surrounding his
One writer states that because of unawareness and uncaring of the nobility, peasants are now robbing them and burning houses down because they want wealth and since the peasants eaten all that was in the monasteries and drank up all that was available, they begin to attack the nobility (doc 11).
Many monasteries still believed in Catholic ways and Henry didn’t want that, he wanted the Church to be Protestant. Source B tells us that even some Protestant people were convinced the monasteries still had Catholic ways, it says, “To convinced Protestants, the monasteries were a clear reminder of the survival of catholic ideals. One of their main functions was to pray for the souls of the dead- an act that was thought unnecessary by Protestants” This suggests that Protestants thought they were praying unnecessarily. Henry VIII also wanted to change the religion in the monasteries because some of the monks and nuns were behaving so badly it was embarrassing to henry VII. This is backed up by the evidence of Source G, an extract from the Act of the Dissolution of the Lesser [smaller] Monasteries, where it reports “Manifest sin, vicious, carnel and abominable living is daily used ad committed among the little and small abbeys, priories and other religious hoses of monks, canons and nuns, and causes great (embarrassment) to the King’s highness and the realm.”
St. Aquinas started off his life in a wealthy family, but was always expected to go into a monastery. His first
main religions at the time. They did so by living in monasteries, in the monasteries help the less
Luxury played an immense role in medieval Catholicism by taking the focus from God and placing it on the acquisition of riches and glory, which is shown by these sources: The Apology by Bernard of Clairvaux, The Book of Suger by The Abbot Suger and Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in the Middle Ages. These sources demonstrate the exorbitant manner that the churches and monasteries were being built in during that time. This not only drew attention away from the real reason for these buildings, but also was a form of idolatry for these monks, despite the honest intentions of some of them, including the Abbot Suger. Each source lends different insight into the corruption of the church during this medieval period.
The monastic lifestyle that Launcelot and his knights adopt after their conversion is one that Margery Kempe might approve of -- doing penance, singing mass, fasting, and remaining abstinent. (MdA, 525) But Launcelot's change of heart is not motivated by the emotions that move Kempe, nor is his attitude towards God the same as can be found in The Book of Margery Kempe and The Wakefield Mystery Plays.
This paper will discuss the monastery’s role in the medieval European life. The medieval monasteries played many roles in the community including providing medication, education, food (they offered food to the poor), preserved earlier works of the Greeks in form of writing and writing, offered hospitality to the pilgrims (Lawrence, 2014).
Monasticism is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches. Monasticism had many contributions of books and manuscripts. One of the earliest surviving Gospels from this period is the “Book of Durrow” (Stokstad & Cothren W., 2014).
Friars, on the other hand, belonged to no particular monastic house, but to a general
Land that had previously been inaccessible became available through the dissolution of monasteries. The land acquired from closing the monasteries “created a group of landowners” and this could be used to secure loyalty from the nobles. As power and social status was largely denoted by land ownership, this was bound to mark a profound transformation in social relations. Much of the property was bought by members of nobility, to strengthen their position, or by the lesser gentry, as a way of establishing prestige . Arguably, the acquisition of land at this time led to the rise of a middle class, the gentry.The dissolution of the monasteries was one of the defining monuments of King Henry VIII’s reign. The strength and number of the monasteries
Unfortunately it does not give an explanation for why the monks (as Richard was not allowed to go alone) went to another monastery following a different Rule (1). Richard then talks about the differences in the two societies and gives his thoughts on them. He points out a rule that he considers a mystery stating that “in each ... cell there is ... one door ... through which you may not go out, except in such a way that one foot always stays short of the threshold and inside the cell” (1). He might be taking this a bit literally. It could simply mean that they are not allowed to fully leave at certain times, or that they are not allowed to leave without another monk present (since most of them lived
The Rules of Saint Benedict were for the first time monks. The significant of the Rule of Saint Benedict is for a person to regard the scriptures as sacred and to spend time with God in not only reading the scripture but studying the scriptures in a manner of hiding them in the heart as well as obeying the Word of God. The Rule of Saint Benedict also taught discipline in the way of shutting out distractions and the sound of the world to hear from God and meditate on understanding the scriptures. Sometimes the monks stilled away to the mountains, and other times they went to the monastery.
Benedict expects the monks to be humble, hardworking, and obedient. All these characteristics seem to describe how Benedict was portrayed by St. Gregory in The Life of St. Benedict. Benedict expects the monks to not have any of their own property, and take only what they need. Everyone is expected to do what they are capable of to keep the community running. Benedict knew that people would have different abilities and strengths.
The first Catholic religious houses in Britain were built around 400AD by Irish monks spreading Christianity – however the monasteries of today began with Benedictine Rule being introduced in 539AD. The vision of this movement was “a community of people living and working in prayer and isolation from the outside world”.
en’s monastic communities of her time; the abbess of a medieval abbey had power over not only the lives of her sisters in community but also over the lives of all the army and serfs who protected and supported the monastery with their labor. St. Clare did not want any semblance of “power over” those present in her communities, she wanted only Gospel love.”