Study and Preach

historical monastic life

Monastic communities, both of men and women, have played an important role in the history of Britain. In a society which presented few options or opportunities, this way of life offered many attractions. What the life lacked in glamor, it more than made up for in serenity and stability. The monastic life offered social mobility for some, and a refuge for others. The monasteries provided the opportunity for education, freedom from some of the economic uncertainties of the times,
Monastic communities trace their origin to the early centuries of the Christian era. Some early Christians fled to the Egyptian deserts to live alone (monos) with God. These Desert Fathers greatly influenced the development of monasticism, both Eastern and Western. At the heart of the monastic impulse is the rejection of the world, and the recreation of paradise. The Desert Fathers were, at first, solitaries (ermetical). Later hermits gathered into small communities and shared some aspects of life together (cenobitical). This tension is often reflected in the history of monasticism.

The following information serves as a general introduction to monastic britain. There is a website for each of the monastic orders, which will give more information about that particular order and what that order is doing today.

Benedictines
The oldest monastic order (kind of monastery), there were already 36 Benedictine houses in England in 1066 – there were 136 when Henry VIII closed them all. The biggest communities were Abbeys ruled by an abbot, the smaller were called priories and ruled by a prior. In Somerset, Glastonbury Abbey was one of the oldest and most important in the country, with Stoke Courcey (Stogursey) Priory nearby. Some of the great Cathedrals were once Benedictine abbey churches – Canterbury, Winchester, Durham, Norwich, Ely and Rochester. Benedictine monks worked with books and education, copying old manuscripts, and starting schools and universities. There were more Benedictine monasteries throughout Europe than any other kind and in England they were rich and powerful. Benedictine monks wear black. Romsey Abbey was a convent of Benedictine nuns. The nuns looked after people who were old or ill, and taught children from important families.
http://www.osb.org/

Dominicans (Black Friars)
Started in1216 by St. Dominic, the Dominicans worked as preachers and in education, helped in Oxford and Cambridge Universities and came to Glasgow in 1246. They came late to England and little remains of their 50 houses today. St. Thomas Aquinus was their most famous scholar. They wear a white tunic and scapular cap with a large black cloak and hood. http://www.op.org/international/english/index.html

Franciscans
Started by St. Francis of Assisi, the Franciscans came to England in 1224, they begged for their food, working to help others in the community and lived simple lives. They wear grey habits.
http://www.friar.org/help.html

Augustinians (Black Canons, Austin Canons)
The Augustinians came to Britain in 1106, starting an Abbey in Colchester.
Their monastic “rule” was not very hard, and they were all priests, often looking after churches, schools, hospitals and almshouses away from the monastery. They wore a hooded black cloak over the top of a black cassock.
One of their houses was at Walsingham.
The Augustinian Friars are another, separate order.
http://www.augustinians.org.uk/home.html

Carmelites (White Friars)
The Carmelites started with Christian hermits that lived on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. They came to England in 1240 and lived very strict, simple lives. Their monasteries were called priories and there were 50 when they were closed by Henry VIII. The monks wear white cloaks over brown habits. There is a Carmelite convent today in Darlington. http://www.carmelite.org/

Carthusians
The Carthusians combined the strict, lonely life of a hermit with the community life of monastery. Monks lived on their own in small two storey “cells” for most of the time, but gathered together for prayers and Sunday dinner. Their monasteries were called Charterhouses. The first was at Withaur near Somerset, linked to The Cistercians in Yorkshire and the best ruins are at Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire. There were only ten chaterhouses in the UK. Today there is a Carthusian Charterhouse, St. Hugh’s, at Parkminster.
http://www.xxxxx.dircon.co.uk/Cart/

Cistercians
The Cistersians built their monasteries in lonely places and lived lives as simple as possible. Their clothes were made of undyed wool, their food was simple (no meat, fish or eggs) and they slept on bare boards in unheated cells. They worked in the fields rather than at books, and their buildings were plain and undecorated. Today there are ruined Cistercian abbeys at Netley, Cleeve, Fountains, Rievaulx, Furness, Tintern and Valle Crucis.
http://www.osb.org/cist/

Cluniacs
The Cluniacs began at Cluny Abbey in France, and their monasteries were all run from there in one big organization. They were like Benedictine monasteries, but their buildings, services and vestments (religious clothing) were much grander. They worked on reading and writing rather than farms. There is a ruined Cluniac monastery at Lewes in Sussex.
http://www.aedificium.org/MonasticLife/CluniacOrder.html

Gilbertines
The Gilbertines started in England and were very like the Cistercians in the way they lived, but worked in the community like the Augustinians. Their mother house was at Sempringham, Lincolnshire.
http://www.catholicity.com/encyclopedia/g/gilbertines,order_of.html

Premonstratensians
Coming from France to England in 1143, the first Premonstratensian house was at Newham. Eventually there were 31 and their remains can be found today at Dryburgh, Easby, Egglestone and Titchfield. They were very like the Cistercians in the way they lived and worked. They wore a long white cloak and hood over a white cassock, with a white cap (biretta).
http://www.premontre.org/

Tironensians
Starting in France, the Tironensians were very like the Benedictines in the way they lived and worked. There were five priories in the UK, the main one being at St. Dogmael’s in Wales, whose remains can be seen today.
http://www.tsj.org/The%20Great%20Architects%20of%20Tiron_Rev_May%2010.pdf#search=’Tironensians’

Celtic Monastic Life
In the Dark Ages Christianity was flourishing a long way away from the Roman Empire, in the Celtic society of Ireland. Christians had come to Ireland from Europe, and had spread the good news about Jesus. Because Ireland was a long way from the rest of Europe the Christian Church there developed its own way of doing things. Celtic Christians loved books and learning and their monasteries produced beautiful writings like the famous “Book of Kells”. They also believed in “pilgrimage for the love of God”. Monks did not stay all the time in monasteries, and Celtic monks travelled far and wide to spread the Christian faith – even going as far as Iceland and Kiev in Russia.The Celtic Missionary monks lived simple lives and walked everywhere – they said horses separated them from the people they might meet on the way. Their lives of love, goodness and constant prayer impressed people and through them the Christian faith grew in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern England. They started monasteries like those at Iona and Lindisfarne. Celtic missionary monks included St Patrick, St David, St Columba, St Aiden and St Kentigern.The Celtic and Roman churches became one at a meeting of Christian leaders held at Whitby in 664 AD. Until this time, Celtic Christians had celebrated Easter on a different day to Christians in the former Roman Empire.
http://www.aidan.org.uk/downloads/cces_nm_sample-unit.pdf#search=’Celtic%20Monastic%20Life’

The Dissolution of the Monasteries
In 1536 there were over 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in Britain. By the end of 1540 there were none. In 1534 King Henry VIII made himself supreme head of the Church in England in place of the Pope. All monks and nuns were made to swear an oath accepting the King as their new leader. Most did, but those that refused were hung, drawn and quartered – a slow and painful way to die. In 1535 the King’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, ordered a valuation of all church property. After this each monastery was visited to find out if the monks and nuns were living as they should. The report said that there were wrong things happening in many places. This was the excuse the king wanted to shut them down and take their land and money. In 1536 he started to close all the monasteries, starting with the smallest. The last to go was Waltham Abbey in Essex which shut on 23rd March 1540. The monks and nuns were each given a small pension to live on. Some monks became parish priests, while many nuns married and lived normal lives. An abbot or abbess was given a house and a bigger pension. Cromwell became very rich, but he did not live to enjoy it. He upset the king and was executed in 1540.

For some more good information of monastic life check out the ‘Encyclopedia Britanica’
and /www.britannia.com/church/ch10.html

For information on the workings of a medieval monastery check out the ‘Britain Express’ website.
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/medieval-monastery.htm