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Monasticism. Kevin J. Benoy. Monasticism. The word comes from the Greek word monos , meaning alone. The earliest monks were men who left their homes to be alone in remote places. Origins.
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Monasticism Kevin J. Benoy
Monasticism • The word comes from the Greek word monos, meaning alone. • The earliest monks were men who left their homes to be alone in remote places.
Origins • In the late Roman period. Many religious-minded people abandoned “civilization” to go into the wilderness or deserts to be closer to God. • This deliberate abandonment of worldly temptations is known as asceticism.
Irish monastic oratory Origins • As individuals and as small groups, these monks often sought out remote locations. • They did this to be away from the temptations of the world and away from marauding German tribes.
Origins • Individuals were called hermits; they lived in a place called a hermitage.. • However, not all monks wanted to live alone.
St. Catherine, Early monastery in the Sinai Peninsula Origins • Many chose to live with others in religious communities called monasteries..
Origins • These early monks turned away from “normal life”: • They prayed often. • They became chaste. • They fasted. • They gave up their worldly goods.
Origins • Saint Anthony the Great was the first to organize a monastery. • Soon there were many monasteries in Egypt.
Origins • However, it was St. Benedict of Nursia who brought monastic life to the West. • He established his monastery in Italy, at Monte Cassino.
Origins • Benedict’s sister, Scholastica, founded convents for women which gave women the opportunity of a monastic life. • Women who lived in convents were called nuns.
Spreading the Faith • Monks helped make the medieval world more orderly • Risking their lives, they set out to convert the barbarians to Christianity.
Spreading the Faith • Famous monks who took Christianity to the pagans included Cyril and Methodius in the East and Saint Patrick in the West.
Rule of St. Benedict • Saint Benedict contributed a book of rules that was accepted as the way western monks should live to the present day. • It provided a life of “pax, ora et labora” (peace, prayer and work).
Rule of St. Benedict • The rule saw monastic life as a family. • The abott was seen as the father. • The monks were brothers. • Each day was divided into units of: • Group prayer • Private prayer • Sleep • Ritual reading • Manual labour
The Horarium • Services took place throughout the day and at night. • Between these services there were times to sleep, eat and work.
The Church & Cloister • At the heart of every monastery lay both a church for communal prayer, and a cloister for individual meditation and prayer.
A Monk’s Life • Monks vowed to observe: • Poverty – they would own nothing. • Obedience – they would follow the directions of their abbott. • Out of obedience also came a commitment to Chastity – avoiding sex.
Gloucester Cathedral Cloister A Life of Prayer • Monks spent a good part of their life in prayer – both public and private. • Public prayer involved going to church 8 times a day– in addition to their work routine. • Private prayer happened during work or in the few quiet moments a monk might enjoy.
A Life of Quiet Meditation • At meals, monks ate silently, while listening to readings from the Rule of St. Benedict.
A Life of Work • Monks worked at a wide range of activities: • They farmed the land.
Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, Stourbridge, England A Life of Work • They cared for the sick.
A recreated 12th century herb garden in Cheshire, England A Life of Work • They cultivated herbs for medicinal use.
Hospital of St. Cross, Winchester, England. Where the poor came to be fed in the Hundred Men’s Hall. A Life of Work • They cared for the needy.
A Life of Work • They preserved knowledge by copying books. • Some say they saved civilization itself in Western Europe by preserving what little learning remained from the classical world.
A Life of Work • They taught. • Young clergymen were taught at their schools. • The first universities were run by monks.
A Life of Work • Some even fought. • The Knights Templar were an order of fighting monks, dedicated to conquering and holding the Holy Land for Christianity.
Experimentation • Because a monastery could rely on its fellow monasteries for support, it was possible to experiment. • New farming techniques, equipment and products were the result and knowledge was shared with others.
Experimentation • Monks produced large quantities of wine, for sacramental and other uses. • A Monk, Dom Perignon, is credited with inventing Champagne.
Crop Rotation • The three-field system probably originated on a monastic farm • Land would be divided into thirds. One third would have one crop, another third a second, and the last third would be fallow. Over three years the crops and fallow land rotated.
The Medieval Heavy Plow • The combination of education, farming knowledge and shared risk helped to spark medieval invention. • Nailed horseshoes and horse-collars made it possible to replace slow oxen with plough horses, capable of much more work.
Monastic Expansion • Monasteries were very successful. • As more people joined them, they established new abbeys that were connected to others of the same order. • This allowed a sharing of resources and of skills and information.
Canterbury Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral Architecture • Medieval monastic orders, like the Benedictines, Augustinians, Cluniacs and Cistercians generated great wealth which they used to build impressive buildings to the glory of their God.
Cluny III – Central church of the Cluniacs Monastic Wealth • Two orders came to dominate the Christian West – the Cluniacs and the Cistercians.
Cluniacs • The Cluniacs built beautiful abbeys and decorated them with gorgeous stained glass and magnificent ornaments. • A Cluniac, Abbott Suger, invented the Gothic form in architecture.
Cistercians at prayer Cistercians • The Cistercians resented the Cluniac’s show of wealth and built grand, but unadorned abbeys. • They dominated the wool trade.
Other Monastic Orders • New monastic orders assumed new roles. In Britain alone, there were 11 groups operating. • Augustinians • Benedictines • Carmelites • Carthusians • Cistercians • Cluniacs • Dominicans • Franciscans • Gilbertines • Premonstratensians • Tironensians • All follow the Rule of St. Benedict.
Conclusions • Monasticism was a vital feature of medieval life. • Monks preserved and extended knowledge. • They provided what little social welfare was available. • They created wealth and helped make the height of medieval civilization possible.
