https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/monasticism-origin-rules-and-impact/69159
In Europe,
Origin of Monasticism:
Monasticism was a special feature of Medieval life and education in Europe. It was first introduced
during the Medieval Ages – 500 A. D. – 1500 A. D. – the time between the fall of the Roman Empire
and the Renaissance.
The term “monasticism”, in its most general application, indicates the organisation of those who have
taken special vows of a religious life, and life according to rules controlling conduct in most minute
details.
For this reason they are generally termed the regular clergy, as opposed to the secular clergy, who do
not live under special rules and who pass their lives in close association with the lives of the people.
Monastic schools were the most important and numerous educational institutions during the middle
Ages in Western Europe. The term “monastic education” indicates a great variety of activities under a
great number of order.
Ideals of Monasticism:
There are three fundamental ideals or virtues of monasticism:
1. The primary idea of monasticism is asceticism. In its original significance, asceticism was the training
or discipline of the athlete in preparation for the physical contests. In its figurative use it indicates the
subjection or the disciplining of all bodily desires and human affections in order that the mind and soul
may be devoted to the interests of the higher life.
The highest ethical thought of asceticism was that of rising to spiritual excellence and insight through
the elimination of all natural and material wants. An individual must be an ascetic in all his thoughts and
actions. Life on this earth is not a complete one. Its fulfillment depends beyond death. This life on earth
is a preparation for heavenly life.
It is the duty of man not to enjoy earthly pleasures. He must prepare himself for the blissful life in
heaven. He should renounce all earthly happiness and pleasures. An ascetic must try to annihilate all
the demands of the flesh. He should exercise physical hardship. He must annihilate all his passions and
appetites. Renunciation of all worldly pleasures is the first qualification of an ascetic. He must not have
any greed for material property.
2. Poverty was another important feature attached to monasticism. The living of an ascetic depends on
alms collected through begging.
3. Celibacy or chastity was the third qualification of a monk. A monk must be a bachelor or a celibate.
He must not have a family including wife and children.
Another important feature of monasticism was obedience and loyalty to the order of the monks and-its
superior authority. No self-assertion was allowed. Obedience to the creeds and dogmas of the Christian
religion was a must.
Monasticism thus had three social bearings:
(a) Absence of the institution of family and home;
(b) Absence of private property;
(c) Renunciation of earthly pleasures.
The ascetic ideas found support in Christ’s commands to take no thought for the morrow and to devote
one’s self to the service of spreading the gospel of Love. The particular occasion of the rise of
monasticism in the East, particularly in Egypt, was the intimate relation of Christianity to other Oriental
religions. The particular occasion for its spread in the Western Europe was the development of the
secular character of the church and the worldly life of its communicants after the general inclusion of the
Roman population within the formal limits of Christianity.
The first prominence was given to monasticism by St. Anthony (251-356 A.D.). Some great persons,
disgruntled with life, took shelter in the deserts and began to lead a life of contemplation. They
renounced all human wants and pleasures. People went to the deserts to visit these persons. Some of
them were attracted and they also became hermits.
In the East it was an individual affair. Gradually it came to Western Europe as an institution.
the hermits set up an association or brotherhood. This, in course of time, became an institution within
the church. Thus monasticism in Europe became a social affair.
Monastic Rules:
At first each of the various-monastic groups formulated its own rules. St. Benedict (480- 547 A. D.) set
up (529 A.D.) set up a monastery and it became very famous. He drew up a set of rules for his own
community. These were 73 in number. Through the influence of the Popes these rules were soon
adopted quite generally by the monastic communities in Western Europe.
The rules thus became very popular and were generally accepted by other monasteries. These rules
intended to regulate the lives of the monasteries. Some rules were meant for the administration of the
monasteries and some were applied for regulation of status and moral conduct of monks. Some rules
are meant to regulate the lives of the monks outside the monasteries because they had to go outside for
the purpose of alms.
The rules gradually (10th, 11th and 12th centuries) became rigid. A monk should not possess any
property of his own. He was not even allowed to lead a family life. All sorts of earthly pleasures and
human desires should be renounced. No individuality was allowed. Absolute obedience to the Order of
the monks and to its superior authority was strictly enforced.
Any violation of these rules was met with punishment and ex-communication. The distinctive feature of
the Benedictine rule was insistence upon manual labour of some kind This was an important aspect of
the rule from an educational point of view. At least seven hours a day must be given by a monk to some
kind of manual work.
Greek education neglected manual labour. According to Plato, manual labour should be the work of the
lower classes. The sense of dignity of labour was also abandoned by the Romans. Before the Christian
era manual labour was never held in high esteem. For the first time the monasteries gave emphasis on
manual labour, particularly cultivation.
The monks introduced new processes for the craftsmen in wood, metal, leather and cloth. They
stimulated and fostered trade among the mercantile class. They offered asylums to the poor, the
orphans, the destitute, the sick, the injured and the distressed. They drained swamps and improved
public health and public life in every way.
The Benedictine rules also provided that two hours of each day should be provided to reading. Reading
and writing were regarded as part of manual labour. This devotion to manual labour yielded good
results in and outside the monastery. Thus many of the evils that had come into monastic life as a result
of idleness were eradicated.
The Benedictine Rule is the first recognition of the value of manual labour in education. From this
provision came most of the social benefits of monasticism in the West, for monasticism was an
education in the broadest social sense of the term. The provision for reading and writing had great
educational value.
Ideals of Monastic Life and Education:
Asceticism was the greatest ideal of discipline. The ideals of monastic life were almost uniform and
universal. In all places and in all ages its dominant ideal was that of asceticism. A monk of virtue must
employ every means to avoid worldly pleasures and natural human desires.
The different forms of discipline were chiefly intended to spiritual growth and moral betterment. These
are of supreme educational value even today. The ideals of monasticism were usually summed up in
the three ideals of chastity, poverty and obedience, or, more technically, conversion, stability and
obedience.
Social Significance of these Ideals:
The monastic ideals had their positive as well as negative social significance. These negated the three
great institutional aspects of social life — the family, the industrial society and the state. These ideals
represented a type of disciplinary education which emphasised and developed those moral virtues that
found expression largely through the church and religion.
On the other hand, monasticism became an educational force of very great importance to society as a
whole. Each one of-these monastic ideals introduced new factors into social development. For example,
the habit of obedience presented as great a contrast as can be imagined to strong individualism. The
ideals-and habits of the monks influenced the values and organisation of the society in different ways.
Impact of Monasticism on Education:
Though primarily monasticism was not a scheme of education it influenced education in numerous
ways. Moral development of people was its principal objective. In the 16th and 17th centuries education
became one of its controlling aims. From the 7th to the 13th centuries, there was practically no other
education but that offered by the monks.
Education was not a mass affair in the Middle Ages. Most of the people outside the church were
illiterate. So some arrangement should be made for the education of the common people within the
monastery. Young boys were taken to the monasteries as “novices”. An arrangement was made for
their education. The church schools were thus set up.
In the early years of the Middle Ages these church schools were the only schools. For the sake of
education of the “novices”, the monks had to read and preserve books and manuscripts. St. Benedict
provided two to five hours reading every day. Every monastery had a sort of library and a room for
manuscripts. There was a separate writing room in each monastery, which came to be known as
“Scriptorium”. The work of the copyist was not merely mechanical, it was intellectual as well.
The monasteries were depositories of literature and learning. Some monasteries had big libraries and
gave special attention to the collection of books through regular system of exchange of books. The
printing press was not yet invented — the 1st printed book (Gutenberg Bible) came out in 1456. Hence
there was the need of multiplying the manuscripts. This could be done only by copying the original
scripts.
Thus “the monasteries were the sole schools for teaching; they offered the only professional training;
they were the only universities of research; they alone served as publishing houses for the multiplication
of books; they were the only libraries for the preservation of learning; they produced the only scholars;
they were the sole educational institutions of the Medieval Age.” In each of these lines their activities
were meagre; but the conscious social demands of the times for education were still more meagre.
The monks had their dwelling rooms, public meeting rooms, kitchen, study rooms etc. Domestic animals
were also reared in the monasteries. There were also workshops for wood, metal, leather work. There
were also places of public instruction. The monks were not obliged to any authority outside the
monastery. They had no state functions or obligations. They set up extra-state organisations of their
own.
The monks produced practically all the literature of the time. They wrote chronicles, lives of saints and
scholastic discussions. The literary heritage of monasticism was the development of the “Seven Liberal
Arts” which included all learning of the time. The content of the “Seven Liberal Arts” was very wide and
it included a wide range of subjects such as geometry, geography, astronomy, physics, grammar,
rhetoric, literature, history, etc.
Defects and Limitations of Monasticism:
1. Family life was entirely neglected in monasticism. Human values, sentiments and feelings were not
recognised. The monks annihilated human desires through penance. Therefore, the monastic system of
education was not satisfactory. Education imparted in the monasteries was artificial and archaic. It was
not creative. It was negative in character.
2. The state, the greatest human organisation, was neglected. The monks had no obligations towards
the state. They were only obliged to the “Order” and non else.
3. Monasticism also neglected the economic life of the people. Monastic education was chiefly religious
in character. It neglected other aspects of education, particularly the vocational aspect.
4. Forceful and artificial suppression of human desires led to maladjustment and other forms of
abnormal behaviour. Corruption entered into monasteries in course of time. This was the main cause of
the downfall of the monasteries.
5. In monasteries, study was not an end in itself, but simply a disciplinary means or an occupation for
idle moments. Interest in religious literature alone was tolerated Study of secular literature was not
allowed. The desire for secular study was regarded as a positive sin. Such study was a gratification of
human desires and, as such, it was distinctly hostile to the idea of asceticism. Schooling in the
monasteries was chiefly of a religious character for many centuries.
6. Education provided in the monasteries was very narrow and meagre. There was no opportunity for
the education of boys not destined for monastic life. Monastic education thus had no mass appeal,
There was little scope of education outside the monastery. But gradually the monasteries came to
provide an education for youth not intended for monastic life.
Such pupils were called externs in distinction to the interns, or those destined to take the monastic
vows. During the Medieval Age every monastery was a school, and all education was either in the
monasteries or under the direction of the monks. There was no demand for schools outside the church.
https://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/monasticoverview.htm
Overview of Medieval Monasticism
Let a man consider that God is always looking at him from heaven, that his actions are everywhere
visible to the divine eyes and are constantly being reported to God by the Angels. . In order that he may
be careful about his wrongful thoughts, therefore, let the faithful brother say constantly in his heart,
"Then shall I be spotless before Him, if I have kept myself from my iniquity."
--from The Rule of St. Benedict
Introduction
Christian monasticism is a structured, ascetic pursuit of the Christian life. It involves a return to God
through attention to the classic spiritual disciplines of silence, chastity, prayer, fasting, confession, good
works, obedience, and vigils. The monastic experience--from monas (Gk. "alone")--is an inward and
solitary one, though it may be practiced in community. The nature of the monastic pursuit is one that
involves ora et labora (Lt. "prayer and work"), a submission of every aspect of one's life to a practiced
awareness of God's presence.
Most monks and nuns were not priests, relying on the local parish to administer the sacraments;
however, often isolated communities could seek to have one or more members ordained if needed.
Likewise, bishops have often been chosen from monastic leadership.
Christian monasticism, while primarily concerned with the individual pursuit of the "spiritual life," that is
an ascetic pursuit of God, has also arguably been responsible for:
the survival of education and culture during the period following the fall of the Western Roman Empire;
the perpetuation of important Greco-Roman and early Christian manuscripts in monastery scriptoriums;
the development of important early medicines in rudimentary pharmacies;
the beginnings of Western capitalism with early advances in agricultural production, manufacturing,
corporation law, and labor division;
important advances in art, music, and cooking;
social stability in Western and Eastern Europe, often serving as an outlet for the second sons and
daughters of wealthy aristocratic families;
and for important reform movements within Christendom.
The history of Christian monasticism, especially in Western Christianity, has been one of a cycle of
reformation, stability, growing laxness and wealth, followed by new reformation, and so on.
Early Monasticism
I. Possible Predecessors
Nazirites (Numbers 6:1-21): Nazirites were of two types: those who were dedicated from birth to be a
Nazirite (e.g. Samson and possibly John the Baptist) and those who undertake the vow for a limited
time (Paul may have done this, cf. Acts 18:18). The Nazirite’s spiritual disciplines included not drinking
wine or eating grapes, not cutting their hair until the end of the vow, extra strict rules for ritual
defilement, and certain sacrificial dedications.
Qumran Community: Jewish ascetical communities located in Qumran ( Dead Sea ). They are primarily
remembered because of The Manual of Discipline and The Damascus Document. They were led by an
examiner, practiced communal ownership, keep strict rituals and an office of prayer, and practiced
expulsion for violations of Torah.
Essenes: Described by Josepheus, the Essenes were mystical Jewish sects in the late 2nd century BC
through the 1st century AD. Often associated with the Qumran community, they practiced a number of
ascetical practices, including communal ownership, ritual bathing, isolation, special oaths, and food
practices. They also seriously studied Jewish mystical and apocalyptical writings of the period.
Therapeutae: Early Jewish aesthetic hermits and communities described by Philo of Alexandria in the
1st century AD who lived in Egypt . They practiced solitude, ritual cleansing, prayer, fasting, etc. Philo
saw them as examples of the contemplative existence. Apparently, their community was deeply
involved in Jewish allegorical and mystical readings of the Old Testament and Apocryphal works, such
as Enoch.
II. Medieval legends
Joseph of Arimathea: Medieval legends believed that Joseph of Arimathea founded the first monastic
community in Glastonbury somewhere between 37 to 63 AD. The Grail legend is often associated with
this. No real evidence exists for these claims, though Christian influence was relatively early in the
British Isles .
Daughters of Philip (Acts 21:7-9): The four unmarried daughters of Philip the Evangelist were
considered by medieval monks as early ascetics.
III. Models
Jewish (Old Testament) Prophets: Elijah and Elisha are often cited as early examples of the monastic
ideal
John the Baptist: Called John the Forerunner in Eastern Christianity, John’s particular rigorous lifestyle
and prophetic commitment to “decrease as he increases” were seen as modeling the monastic life.
Mary: Mary’s simple obedience, radical submission to God’s will, humility and silence, as well as her
chastity were all qualities seen as aspects of the ascetic life. Almost all medievals believed Mary to be a
perpetual virgin, and this understanding became part of the prizing of virginity as a higher, more
heavenly life and as a living martyrdom and espousal to Christ.
Paul: Paul’s celibacy and tentmaking were prized as monastic.
Jesus: Jesus’ celibacy and prayer life were seen as the highest of models.
IV. Early Types
Eremetics: Hermits living alone, either living off what others brought them or by a simple means of
subsistence existence, such as ropemaking. Paulus the Hermit (c. 230-342) was the first Christian
monk known by name to history. Eventually, many adopted a modified eremitic existence, living as
hermits but near each other for occasional gatherings and support. Marcarius first encouraged this form
of living, nicknamed “the larvae.”
Cenobitics: cenobium (Lt. “community): A gathered community of monks living together and following a
common rule. Pachomius of Egypt (292-346) it is traditionally believed gathered the first community of
monks, though this may have been one simply one of several loose associations.
V. The Desert Fathers
Some of the earliest, if not the earliest Christian monastics, the desert monks of Egypt lived in both
eremitic and cenobitic fashion.
Icon of St. Anthony
It is often claimed that they arose as a reaction to luxury and laxness after Christianity was declared
legal and then favored in the Roman Empire . Anthony of Egypt, one of the earliest desert hermits, is
sometimes known as the father of monasticism, though this is a bit of a misnomer, since other monks
were practicing before him, yet the title is justified in a way, for his example, especially made popular
through Athanasius’ Life of Anthony, inspired countless numbers to attempt the monastic life. His choice
to enter the harsh life of the desert, his strict practice, and tales of his spiritual warfare became a call to
ascetical heroics.
Shapers of Later Monasticism
St. Benedict
Basil of Caesurea (c.330-379): Considered the founder of Eastern monasticism, Basil (also called Basil
the Great) along with his older sister, Macrina, helped give shape to the monastic life in the East. His
Aescetica provided the foundational rules that still today guide the Eastern Orthodox practice. Basil is
also known as one of the key theologians and preachers of the period and served as a bishop the last
seven years of his life.
Benedict of Nursia (480-543): Considered the father of Western monasticism, Benedict originally took
up the life of a hermit, but after being surrounded by numerous others, he founded a communal house
at Monte Cassino.
His Rule became the foundational guide for Western practice ("Therefore, we intend to establish a
schola [Lt. "school" or "combat unit"] for the Lord's service."). Almost all subsequent reform movements
in the medieval period saw themselves as trying to recover the original purity of Benedictine practice.
The Rule gave shape to the characteristic shape of Western monasticism. Some of the following are
key aspects:
Benedictine monks made three vows:
Poverty: communal ownership of all property; simple dress and meals
Chastity: celibacy; self-control; pure thought life and body
Obedience: submission to all superiors and all monks who have previously entered the order
2. Monks ordered their day about the office of prayer: eight hours each with characteristic emphasis:
Matins (during the night)
Lauds or Morning Prayer (at Dawn)
Prime or Early morning prayer (the First Hour = 6am)
Terce or Mid-morning Prayer (the Third Hour = 9am)
Sext or Mid-day Prayer (the Sixth Hour = 12pm)
None or Mid-afternoon Prayer (the Ninth Hour = 3 pm)
Vespers or Evening Prayer (at the lighting of the lamps)
Compline or Night Prayer (before retiring)
3. Daily life was divided between prayer, work, and study. Labor was meant to keep each house self-
sufficient and free of idleness, though in later centuries, manual work was often taken care of by local
peasants. Communal meetings, sleeping arrangements, and dining all enforced a community discipline.
Silence and times of solitude were regularly practiced, as well.
4. The monastery set up the following offices:
Abbot: abba (Aram. "father")--the spiritual and organizational leader of the house.
Prior: the second in command.
Dean: would oversee ten monks
Celtic Monasticism
At its height in 5th through 7th centuries, the Celtic monastic tradition was a different one than that of
Benedict, and consequently, had some differences in practice and emphasis, including the practice of
peregrination, wandering on land or sea without direction or planning, totally dependent upon God’s
purposes. They observed a different calendar than that of Rome, and possibly some married monks
were allowed. Celtic monasteries were also known for their rich book production and early missionary
work in the British Isles and France . Many of their scholars would form the backbone of the Carolingian
Renaissance in future centuries. Important early Celtic missionaries include Patrick of Ireland (c. 390-
461), Columbanus (543-615) who founded Iona, and Aidan (d. 651) who founded Lindisfarne in
Northumbria . At the Synod of Whitby in 633, the Celtic orders adopted Western practices, including the
Western calendar.
Reform Movements
I. Cluny
The Benedictian monastery at Cluny, Burgandy was established in 909/910 by the Duke of Aquitaine to
be an abbey free of secular feudal control. For 200 years it functioned as a center of reform and social
stability, and it was ruled by a succession of seven powerful and intelliegent abbots, including Breno
and Peter the Venerable. The houses associated with Cluny (314 by the 12th century) practiced a more
centralized form of governance in being answerably to the mother house at Cluny, a power structure not
shared by the larger Benedictine order. Cluny became a great center of art and liturgy, responsible for
the training of popes and other important church leaders. Eventually, the Cluniacs became enriched
with their social wealth and influence.
Destroyed in the 18th century, the abbey-church at Cluny was an immense structure and became
famous in the high medieval period. 555 feet in length, it was the largest church until St. Peter's at
Rome was constructed. "It consisted of five naves, a narthex, or ante-church, and several towers.
Commenced by St. Hugh, the sixth abbot, in 1089, it was finished and consecrated by Pope Innocent II
in 1131-32, the narthex being added in 1220" (Catholic Encyclopedia).
St. Bruno
II. Carthusians
Begun by Bruno in 1084, the Carthusian order adopted their own rule, The Statutes, in opposition to the
Benedictine rule. Bruno began the first house in Chartreuse in the Alps. The Carthusian order is still
considered the strictest order of the Roman Catholic Church. They refused the dormitory-style common
sleeping quarters of Cluny for single-cells, opting for a very simple, spare existence, hard manual labor,
poor diet and clothing. The Carthusian order stressed a simplicity or absence of insignia. In many ways,
the Carthusians returned to the early desert Cenobitic organization. The order famously claims
"nunquam reformata quia nunquam deformata" ("It needs no reform that has never been deformed.")
III. Cistercians
In 1098, Robert of Mosleme left the Benedictine order to begin a reform movement at Citeaux. By papal
order, Robert was shortly replaced by Alberic, who died in 1109, then by Stephen Harding who ruled
until 1134. The order stressed a return to the Benedictine rule in its original strictness, and as a result,
they were in tension with Peter the Venerable at Cluny. They stressed manual, agricultural work,
located themselves in wilderness self-contained retreats, and refused gifts from the wealthy. Bernard of
Clarivaux, one of the most famous monks of the medieval period, took the order from 30 to 280 houses.
In the 13th century, Cistercian wool industry called for the creation of an order of lay brothers, relatively
uneducated field workers and herdsmen, associated with the houses. The Cistercians adopted a polity
half-way between the centralization of the Cluniacs and the complete independence of Benedictine
houses. Cistercian abbots, elected by each house, were then subject to the yearly meeting of the
chapter, the association of houses presided over by the Citeaux abbot.
IV. Augustinians
In the 11th century, a number of independent monastic houses sprung up, ordering themselves under
the Rule of St. Augustine. They were consolidated between 1243 and 1256 ("The Great Union") by
Pope Innocent IV. Inspired by the ideal of "modesty and service," the OSA (Order of Saint Augustine)
has operated schools, hospitals, retirement centers, and music foundations.
V. The Franciscans & The Dominicans
Franciscans: Begun by Francis and Clare of Assisi in the early 13th century as a preaching order
concerned with the poor, the order was known for its work with the sick, destitute, and disenfranchised,
as well as its unquestioning obedience to the pope.
St. Francis
Under Francis’ charismatic leadership, the order expanded rapidly, and became known for its emphasis
on evangelical poverty, winsome compassion, and missions. During but especially after Francis’
lifetime, the order became divided into stricter and laxer parties. The scholar Bonaventure led the
Franciscans from 1257 to 1274, seeking to chart a moderate course, though condemning the excesses
of the stricter Observationist or “Spiritual” party. The Spiritual Franciscans, along with strong mystical
and apocalyptic beliefs, held to the doctrine of apostolic poverty, believing that Christ and the apostles
owned nothing. This position was declared heretical in 1322. The Franciscan order in the following
centuries spun off a number of separate sects and other orders.
St. Dominic
Dominicans: The Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum) was founded by Dominiac in the 13th
century as a medicant, or preaching, order. It was begun with an apologetical goal in mind—to convert
Muslims, Jews, and heretics to the Catholic faith. Dominiac stressed vacility with vernacular languages,
a strong academic education, especially in theology, and a life of simplicity and poverty so as to avoid
hypocrisy. Two of its most famous members were the philosophers Albertus Magnus and Thomas
Aquinas. The order grew quickly in its first centuries of existence and its influence expanded as its
members were chosen for church offices. Eventually, the order was charged with running the Roman
Inquisition.
Knights Templar & Other Military Orders
Existing for about two centuries (1096-1314), the Knights Templar was the most well-known of the
military orders. They were constituted as a monastic order after the First Crusade as an inspiration of
Bernard of Clarivaux. The order was made-up of celibate lifetime members and temporary members,
often married, from the knightly class who were mostly uneducated. The order also pioneered modern
banking methods, such as credit and checking, to raise funds for the crusades, as well as to assist
pilgrimages to the Holy Land . They served in the Holy Land campaigns, but eventually were accused of
heresy by Philip the Fair and disbanded by Pope Clement V.
The Order of Christ, begun in 1318, succeeded the Knights Templar and absorbed many of its knights.
It settled in Portugal . Over the centuries, it was reformed as both a religious order answerable to the
pope and a civil order answerable to the king. The Knights Hospitaller, a 12th century order working
with the sick, after the First Crusade divided itself into two parts, the newer one pledged to protecting
pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They also fought with distinction in the Holy Land . Eventually, they
absorbed much of the property of the Knights Templar, and its branches became military enclaves in
later centuries, such as the Knights of Malta.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mona/hd_mona.htm
According to an early biography, the young Saint Anthony (died 356) led a conventional Christian life
until the day when, on the way to church, he “communed with himself and reflected as he walked how
the Apostles left all and followed the Savior; and how they in the Acts sold their possessions and
brought and laid them at the Apostles’ feet for distribution to the needy, and what and how great a hope
was laid up for them in heaven” (Athansius, Life of Anthony 2). Anthony chose to give up his worldly
routine in order to embrace Christ’s example as fully as possible, and in the fourth century, growing
numbers of men and women embarked on the course that he charted. This way of life, called
monasticism, imposed rigors and privations but offered spiritual purpose and a better hope of salvation.
In western Europe, the focus of this essay, it exercised a powerful influence on society, culture, and art
and was one of medieval Christianity’s most vigorous institutions.
The concept of withdrawal from society is essential to the Christian tradition of monasticism, a term that
derives from the Greek word monachos , which means a solitary person. In regions around the eastern
Mediterranean in the late third and early fourth centuries, men and women like Anthony—whose
biography provided a model for future monks—withdrew into the Egyptian desert, depriving themselves
of food and water as part of their effort to withstand the devil’s temptations. The ideal of the saint alone
in the wilderness retained its appeal, but Pachomius (died 312/13) and others living along the Nile River
pioneered an irresistible alternative in cenobitic monasticism, that is, retreat into a community of like-
minded ascetics committed to daily regimens of work and prayer. In western Europe, some monks and
nuns settled far from cities and towns, seeking lives of devotion and self-denial in inhospitable or
fortified locations, but other communities flourished in populous places, where they might withdraw from
the world in spirit and yet remain nearby to offer instruction and guidance.
Monks and nuns performed many practical services in the Middle Ages, for they housed travelers,
nursed the sick, and assisted the poor; abbots and abbesses dispensed advice to secular rulers. But
monasticism also offered society a spiritual outlet and ideal with important consequences for medieval
culture as a whole. Monasteries encouraged literacy, promoted learning, and preserved the classics of
ancient literature, including the works of Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, and Aristotle. To beautify the celebration of
the liturgy, monastic composers enriched the scope and sophistication of choral music, and to create
the best environment for devotion, monasticism developed a close and fruitful partnership with the
visual arts. The need for books and buildings made religious houses active patrons of the arts, and the
monastic obligation to perform manual work allowed many monks and nuns to serve God as creative
artists. Exceptionally, some of them signed their works in words that seem intended not only to name
the maker but also to identify the object as a prayerful offering. So the Latin inscription on an exquisite
silver chalice (47.101.30) translates, “In honor of the Blessed Virgin brother Bertinus made this in the
year 1222,” and the three nuns who made a fourteenth-century lace altarcloth (29.87) included their
own names in the fabric along with the wish, “May our work be acceptable to you, o kindly Jesus.”
Every monastic community consisted of men or women vowed to celibacy and bound by a set of
regulations. By 400, several rules were current, each of which stated the spirit and discipline of
monastic life in a different way. In time, communities observing the same rule found a shared identity as
an order. For instance, instructions written by Augustine of Hippo (354–430) for a group of nuns in North
Africa gained the status of a rule for the Augustinian order. In addition to discussing the leadership and
activities of the community, Augustine describes the emotional bond that links the monastery to the
faithful outside it: “Amid the great offenses with which this world everywhere abounds, I may be
comforted at times by thinking of your number, your pure affection, your holy conversation, and the
abundant grace of God which is given to you so that you not only have renounced matrimony, but have
chosen to dwell with one accord in fellowship under the same roof, that you may have one soul and one
heart in God” (Augustine, Letter 211).
In the fifth and sixth centuries, the founders of new houses often codified new rules, but these seldom
extended far from their origins. One remarkable exception is the rule devised by Benedict of Nursia (ca.
480–534) for the monastery at Monte Cassino, which was widely adopted in religious communities
throughout western Europe, encouraged by such powerful promoters as Pope Gregory I (the Great,
died 604) and the emperor Charlemagne (742–814). The Benedictine Rule is addressed “to you . . .
whoever you may be, who are renouncing your own will to do battle under the Lord Christ, . . . taking up
the strong, bright weapons of obedience” (prologue 2). The Benedictine Rule is often summarized by
the Latin motto “Ora et labora” (Pray and work), for it enumerates the essential obligations of monastic
life, emphasizing manual labor, daily reading, and, above all, communal prayer, called the “opus Dei,”
the work of God. Eight times a day, beginning in the darkness before dawn and concluding in the
evening before bedtime, the monastic community is to meet in church for a liturgy called the Divine
Office, drawn primarily from the Psalter, the collection of poetic songs traditionally ascribed to the
biblical King David. Throughout the Middle Ages in western Europe, the language was Latin, and the
office was chanted or sung, sometimes very elaborately. The music of the office, the selection of
psalms, and the inclusion of other material varied with the seasons and feasts of the liturgical year,
articulating sacred time within every monastic community. Monks and nuns thus worked to secure their
own salvation, but also through prayer to seek the salvation of others.
Monastic life appealed to many in the Middle Ages, and as the number and wealth of monasteries
increased, so did demand for buildings, books, and devotional objects. Medieval monastic communities
shaped the development of the arts by their patronage but also by their creativity and inventiveness, as
innovations tried in one monastery often spread to other houses and into more general use.
Monasticism posed a continual challenge for builders, for there was always a conviction that monastic
life would flourish best in surroundings most conducive to it. The authors of the fifth- and sixth-century
rules say little about the design and disposition of buildings, but later authorities devised careful
instructions for the form and arrangement of monastic communities. The ninth-century plan preserved at
the abbey of Saint Gall in Switzerland, for example, depicts an ideal meant to inspire both emulation
and devotion. As in this plan, each actual monastery had at its heart a church of adequate size to hold
the whole community, ideally constructed of stone and proportioned for the most resonant acoustic.
Some monastic churches were intended only for the resident nuns or monks, but others had
accommodations for visiting pilgrims or lay worshippers as well. Other spaces reserved for special
functions typically adjoined the church. These include the refectory, where the monks or nuns
assembled for meals (35.35.1); the dorter or dormitory, where they slept; the chapter house, where the
community met for business matters and reflection on the rule (35.50); and the cloister, an enclosed
garden surrounded by covered walkways (25.120.398). The columns, arcades, and arched portals
devised for these structures create architectural rhythms that seem to echo the ordered patterns of
monastic life.
The style and decoration of a monastery’s buildings varied according to its own means and its
traditions. In the early twelfth century, for instance, the great Benedictine abbey at Cluny constructed a
church of astonishing size with imposing exterior towers and lavish interior ornament; the tightly packed
buildings that fill a fragmentary frieze (1980.263.1) suggest the richness of the structure and the way it
complemented the spectacular liturgy celebrated there. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), principal
founder of the Cistercian order, considered such decoration distracting as well as costly and improper.
Cistercians thus insisted on the utmost simplicity in buildings, which are notable for their pure geometric
proportions and deliberate avoidance of ornament. Elsewhere, monastic buildings were decorated with
a lively mix of themes ranging from sacred subjects to depictions of rulers and donors (32.147), exotic
animals (31.38.1a), and apparently humorous or even lascivious figures (34.21.2).
Monastic needs and tastes proved as transformative for the arts of the book as for architecture in the
Middle Ages, for monasteries required books for everyday use in the liturgy, at mealtimes and meetings,
when books were read aloud, and for private prayer and meditation. An array of liturgical texts, from the
breviary, a compendium of texts for the Divine Office, to missals, gospels, antiphonaries, and graduals
for the choir, was standard in monastic libraries, as were the books of the Bible and theological works
by Saint Augustine, Gregory the Great, and other patristic writers. Other books served the demands of
particular religious orders: every Benedictine house, for instance, needed a copy of the rule that
governed its existence, and the imposition of a standard liturgy by the Dominican order spurred the
creation of illuminated choir books for its communities. Until the thirteenth century, medieval monks and
nuns made most of these books themselves, preparing parchment, mixing inks, laboriously copying
texts by hand, and painting exquisite images in the time allotted to work between the liturgical hours.
Some monks composed texts of their own, like the Spanish monk Beatus of Liébana, whose
commentary on the Book of Revelation was enriched with vivid illustrations (1991.232.1). Medieval
nuns, like the poet Hroswitha of Gandersheim (died ca. 1002) and the mystic Hildegard of Bingen (died
1179), also authored original works.
In a monastic setting, the very exercise of producing a book became a means of meditation on
scripture, and the embellishment of the text often highlights this fact: the complex ornament of an initial
in a twelfth-century Bible, for instance, invites sustained contemplation (1999.364.2). Other illuminations
connect the liturgical celebration of time with the events narrated in scripture; so an initial for a hymn
text used on the feast of the Annunciation contains an image of the angel Gabriel greeting the Virgin
Mary (1982.175). Musical notation, itself the invention of medieval monks, appears in manuscripts large
enough for a whole choir to see (2005.273).
Beyond books, many monasteries contained works of painting or sculpture intended to foster devotion.
A statue of the Virgin and Child from late thirteenth-century Spain had this function (53.67): on the base
of the throne, below the Virgin’s feet, are painted Benedictine monks engaged in veneration. A religious
house might commission such an image for itself, or a lay patron might offer one as a pious donation.
Some of the painters and sculptors responsible for such works were bound by monastic vows, but
others were not, and arrangements between patrons, artists, and monasteries caused ongoing
interaction between secular society and cloistered communities. The close relationship between
devotional imagery and monasticism continued into the Renaissance, when many iconic works of
religious art—Leonardo’s Last Supper, for instance—were made for monastic settings.
The steady stream of donations enriched many monasteries to fabulous proportions. Men and women
of means offered lands and fortunes or endowed new houses: Saint Guilhem, for instance, was duke of
Aquitaine and count of Toulouse before he founded the Benedictine monastery that bears his name in
804 (25.120.1-.134). Other noblemen sought burial in monasteries, commissioning monumental tombs
and offering gifts in the hope that the prayers of monks or nuns would guarantee their salvation
(25.120.201). All over Europe, rulers and aristocrats demonstrated their adherence to Christian ideals
by presenting monastic communities with lavish gifts, including costly manuscripts and elaborate
reliquaries (1987.217), sculpture (33.23), and splendid liturgical objects (17.190.134).
The glittering treasuries and magnificent architecture of the wealthiest monasteries struck some as
incompatible with the ideals of poverty and humility, and many attempts to reform monasticism aimed to
purge it of perceived excess. Of particular significance, the Dominicans and Franciscans, founded by
Saint Dominic (ca. 1170–1221) and Saint Francis (1181/82–1226), respectively, committed to owning
nothing, and are called the mendicant orders from the Latin word meaning to beg. Unlike earlier monks
and nuns, the mendicants moved freely outside their houses and actively ministered to the laity by
preaching and caring for the sick and the destitute. From their beginnings in the thirteenth century, they
laid new emphasis on poverty, but they soon found themselves as richly endowed with works of art and
architecture as the older monastic orders (25.120.531–.1052). Saint Clare (1194–1253), a friend and
follower of Saint Francis, founded an order of nuns and won them the right to refuse all possessions,
and yet donors offered costly gifts (62.96) to communities of her followers. Mendicant themes, like
scenes from the lives of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, gained wide currency in frescoes, panels
(1984.343), embroideries (64.101.1384) made for friaries and convents, and illustrated books conceived
for noblemen and kings (1994.516). Many works of art demonstrate the impact of the mendicant orders
on laypeople’s spiritual awakening: a relief from a tomb in Milan, for example, shows a family in the care
of the Dominican saint Peter Martyr as they kneel before the Virgin and Child (2001.221).
By the late Middle Ages, a dramatic increase in lay piety affected expectations for religion and for
religious art. Yet new forms of spirituality and new endeavors in the arts continued to spring from
monastic foundations. Books of hours, devotional prayer books, often magnificently illuminated, put
forth the daily regimen of the monastic offices, and the preaching of mendicant friars threw open to all
the faithful the longstanding monastic challenge to find sanctity through spirituality.