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Monasticism Kevin J. Benoy
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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.
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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.
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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. Irish monastic oratory
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Origins Individuals were called hermits; they lived in a place called a hermitage.. However, not all monks wanted to live alone.
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St. Catherine, Early monastery in the Sinai Peninsula
Origins St. Catherine, Early monastery in the Sinai Peninsula Many chose to live with others in religious communities called monasteries..
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Origins These early monks turned away from “normal life”:
They prayed often. They became chaste. They fasted. They gave up their worldly goods.
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Origins Saint Anthony the Great was the first to organize a monastery.
Soon there were many monasteries in Egypt.
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Origins However, it was St. Benedict of Nursia who brought monastic life to the West. He established his monastery in Italy, at Monte Cassino.
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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.
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Spreading the Faith Monks helped make the medieval world more orderly
Risking their lives, they set out to convert the barbarians to Christianity.
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Spreading the Faith Famous monks who took Christianity to the pagans included Cyril and Methodius in the East and Saint Patrick in the West.
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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).
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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
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The Horarium Services took place throughout the day and at night.
Between these services there were times to sleep, eat and work.
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The Church & Cloister At the heart of every monastery lay both a church for communal prayer, and a cloister for individual meditation and prayer.
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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.
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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. Gloucester Cathedral Cloister
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A Life of Quiet Meditation
At meals, monks ate silently, while listening to readings from the Rule of St. Benedict.
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A Life of Work Monks worked at a wide range of activities:
They farmed the land.
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Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, Stourbridge, England
A Life of Work Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, Stourbridge, England They cared for the sick.
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A recreated 12th century herb garden in Cheshire, England
A Life of Work A recreated 12th century herb garden in Cheshire, England They cultivated herbs for medicinal use.
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A Life of Work They cared for the needy.
Hospital of St. Cross, Winchester, England. Where the poor came to be fed in the Hundred Men’s Hall. They cared for the needy.
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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.
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A Life of Work They taught.
Young clergymen were taught at their schools. The first universities were run by monks.
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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.
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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.
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Experimentation Monks produced large quantities of wine, for sacramental and other uses. A Monk, Dom Perignon, is credited with inventing Champagne.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Canterbury 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. Gloucester Cathedral
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Cluny III – Central church of the Cluniacs
Monastic Wealth Cluny III – Central church of the Cluniacs Two orders came to dominate the Christian West – the Cluniacs and the Cistercians.
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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.
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Cistercians Cistercians at prayer The Cistercians resented the Cluniac’s show of wealth and built grand, but unadorned abbeys. They dominated the wool trade.
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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.
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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.
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