Les mobilités monastiques en Orient et en Occident de l’Antiquité tardive au Moyen Âge (IVe-XVe siècle)
| , ,Mobilités et réseaux culturels
"Visiting monks": educational mobility in 11th and 12th century monasteries
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1In this brief article, I argue that some high medieval monastic travels could be perceived as having an educational purpose. After briefly introducing my theme and sources, I will present some cases of temporary exchanges of monks between two monasteries. Subsequently, I will go over different kinds of learning practices which took place during such exchanges, and I will conclude by reflecting on the link between these practices and the processes of monastic reform.
- 1 Wathen 1975, p. 1-44.
- 2 See the Regula Benedicti 1, 10-11: quartum vero genus est monachorum quod nominatur gyrovagum, qui (...)
- 3 Pricoco 1995, p. xxi.
- 4 Regula sanctorum patrum Serapionis, Macharii, Pafnutii et alterius Macharii 4, 4: non licebit de a (...)
- 5 Regula Benedicti 61, 13: caveat autem abbas, ne aliquando de alio noto monasterio monachum ad habi (...)
- 6 The first council of Orléans (511) refers to the problem of wandering monks and mentions that whoe (...)
2The essays collected in this volume show that monks could travel for very different reasons. However, because of the ideal of stability, to which the monks adhered, travelling was always, in a certain sense, an exception, which had to be justified, authorized and controlled1. Already since the early Middle Ages, monks were supposed to carry some proof of the purpose and authorized nature of their journeys, to avoid the suspicion of being wanderers (gyrovagi) or monks who had run away from their monasteries2. The Regula quattuor patrum (which, according to Adalbert de Vogüé, goes back to the first decade of the fifth century)3 mentioned that a monk from a known monastery was not to be welcomed into a different community without the explicit consent of his abbot4, and the Regula Benedicti, while expressing the same idea, referred to the letters of recommendation carried by monks to justify their journeys5. Similar rules also appear in the decrees of various early medieval councils6.
- 7 Rees 2007, p. 149-168, Wilcox 2012, p. 79-96, Cotton 1981.
- 8 See for example Hildegard of Bingen’s letter 183: obsecrans ut eum ad praesentiam tue beatitudinis (...)
- 9 See Morelle 2009, p. 34-50; Gawlik 1991, col. 2024-2025; Fiesel 1920, p. 157-167; Fabricius 1926, (...)
3The expression litterae commendatitiae is attested since the Roman age7, and appears in twelfth-century monastic sources8. It seems to be used mainly to indicate letters of guarantee issued by a religious authority for a traveler, similarly to the letters written by bishops for travelling clerks9. Letters of recommendation are a particularly suitable source to study monastic travels, since they often contain information about the journey and its goal. Among the variety of monastic journeys that they attested, in this article I will focus on those which inform us about the practice of sending one monk to spend a limited amount of time in another monastery. The possibility of such a journey was envisioned by the Regula Benedicti, which in the chapter consecrated to the reception of visiting monks stated:
- 10 Regula Benedicti 61, 1-3: si quis monachus peregrinus de longinquis provinciis supervenerit, si pr (...)
4A visiting monk from far away will perhaps present himself and wish to stay as a guest in the monastery. Provided that he is content with the life as he finds it, and does not make excessive demands that upset the monastery, but is simply content with what he finds, he should be received for as long a time as he wishes10.
- 11 Regula Benedicti 61, 4: si qua sane rationabiliter et cum humilitate caritatis repraehendit aut os (...)
- 12 Regula Benedicti 61, 8-2: suscipiatur congregationi sociandus, verum etiam suadeatur ut stet, ut e (...)
5Furthermore, the Regula declared that the monk could, "with all humility and love make some reasonable criticisms or observations, which the abbot should prudently consider; it is possible that the Lord guided him to the monastery for this very purpose"11. If the monk showed himself to be a valuable member of the community, he was to be allowed to permanently join it, and even "urged to stay, so that others may learn from his example"12. It is therefore clear that such a stay could be considered as beneficial for the host community; on the other hand, the letters attest that it could be perceived as beneficial for the monk himself, because it offered him the opportunity to learn and to progress, and that it could even benefit the monk’s community of origin when (and if) he came back, since he could share what he learned with his fellow brothers.
- 13 Constable 1967, ep. 79, p. 214.
- 14 Ut semper quod vos spargitis, nos colligamus; quod vos seritis, nos metamus; quod vos molitis, nos (...)
6An interesting twelfth-century example is offered by a note of recommendation contained in a letter sent by Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny, to Geoffrey, bishop of Châlons-en-Champagne, between 1131 and 114313. In it, it is explicitly stated that the man is being sent to the addressee so that he may receive an education. The learning experience is represented as a transformation from a previous and inferior state to a superior one: thanks to the work of the bishop, the man in question is to be made honest, wise, and literate (ut cum labore vestro probus, sapiens, litteratus factus fuerit). It can be noted that Peter used plural verb forms for both himself and for his addressee: if this is not a plural of humility in the former case, and a mark of respect in the latter, then he was referring to the relationship between their two communities. In fact, it seems likely that the accomplishment of the undertaking – that is, the successful education of the man in question – was supposed to benefit not only Peter himself, but the whole community of Cluny, to which the man had to be returned (ut […] nobis eum […] reconsignetis). This, by the way, suggests that he was probably already a monk, or at the very least, that he was destined to become one. To represent the fact that Cluny would benefit from the work done in Châlons, Peter used metaphors from the world of agriculture, such as sowing and harvesting, grinding and eating14; this skillful rhetoric was used to stress and celebrate the work of the bishop (and, probably, of his household) and the fruitful relations between Châlons and Cluny.
7This letter also allows us to observe a recurring pattern with temporary stays in other monasteries, that is, that they were rarely an isolated phenomenon: rather, they were often embedded in a network of contacts and exchanges between two communities. Sometimes we learn this in passing, as in the letter in question, where Peter mentioned that after his stay in Châlons, the man had to be given back to Cluny as it had already happened "for the other one" (nobis eum, sicut de altero fecistis, reconsignetis). In addition, the dynamics of the relations between Cluny and Châlons were described in universal terms, by using the adverb semper, always: "so that we always harvest what you sow".
- 15 On the relationship between these two men, see Southern 1990, p. 39-66.
8While in this specific case is not possible to reconstruct the careers, and even the names, of the people involved in the exchanges, in others we can rely on various letters to track the monks who travelled from one monastic institution to another and then back. One of such well-documented example is offered by the exchanges which took place between the episcopal see of Canterbury, and in particular the monastery of Christ Church of Canterbury, under the archbishop Lanfranc (1070-1089) and the monastery of Bec, in Normandy, where Anselm was prior (1063-78) and then abbot (1078-1093). As it is well known, Lanfranc had been prior at Bec when Anselm had entered that monastery, attracted no doubt by the fame of his fellow countryman. When Lanfranc was elected abbot of the Saint-Étienne at Caen (in the same region), Anselm succeeded him as prior, much as he would one day succeed him as archbishop of Canterbury15. Anselm and Lanfranc entertained a regular correspondence, which informs us about the contacts and the exchanges between the two centers.
- 16 Legant dilectissimi fratres nostri qui vobiscum sunt (Kohlenberger, Rochais 2004, ep. 1, p. 26-28) (...)
9In the oldest letter to Lanfranc which is preserved in Anselm’s letter-collection, the then prior of Bec congratulated his old friend for his election as archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 and referred to the fact that several monks of Normandy (from the monasteries of Bec and Caen) had followed him across the sea16 . Other letters allow us to learn the names of these monks and, in some cases, to reconstruct their careers. Among the other men who later travelled from Canterbury to Bec and back, an interesting case is that of Lanfranc’s nephew (also called Lanfranc), who entered the monastery of Bec around 1073, and is mentioned in various letters. The archbishop thanked for the warm welcome that the young men had received, and Anselm’s answer clearly shows that the exchanges of men were one of the means through which the two leaders entertained their friendly relationship:
- 17 Significastis vos inde laetos esse quia ego – ut de aliis taceam – dilectissimum nostrum, nepotem (...)
You indicated that you were happy about the fact that I – not to mention the others – received our dearest friend, your nephew, with great joy. I am, therefore, quite delighted at this joy of yours; and the joy I felt concerning our afore-mentioned friend has been renewed by growing, although it always thrives. And I am even more pleased to realize that it has turned out according to your wish – and indeed I am not ashamed to admit that I had this mainly in mind when I received him17.
- 18 Cuius voluntati nos oboedire oportet (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 42, p. 140) and eius semper (...)
- 19 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 43, p. 142 and ep. 69, p. 210.
10In the same letter, Anselm referred to a monk of his, Maurice, who was spending a temporary stay in Canterbury. In several letters, the prior hinted that he would have liked to have him back, but bowed to Lanfranc’s will if the archbishop desired to keep Maurice with him a while longer. This is particularly explicit in the letters addressed to Maurice himself, who clearly longed to return to Bec: Anselm asked him to be patient and stressed the fact that they both needed to obey Lanfranc and be in his good grace18. This helps us to understand how monastic exchanges between two monasteries could affect the relationships between their leaders: on the one hand they could mark and foster a friendship, but on the other hand there was always the risk that they could damage it, for example if one of the parties was offended by something. The fact that the "visiting monk" was a pawn in a larger game does not, however, mean that his personal needs were not taken into consideration: in discussing the length of Maurice’s stay in Canterbury, Anselm also declared that they also had to take into account what was advantageous for him (quod tibi expedit)19.
- 20 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 32-36, p. 112-120.
11An important means of helping monks to adjust to life in a new community was to recommend them to one or more people who already lived there. When Maurice had left Bec for Canterbury, Anselm had recommended him to many people there: beside of course Lanfranc, also to Henry, a former monk of Bec who had become prior of the monastery of Christ Church, to Gundulf, another monk of Bec who had followed Lanfranc and was now at Christ Church, to Herluin, who had himself been the beneficiary of a letter of recommendation addressed to the prior Henry when he had moved from Bec to Canterbury, as well as to a lay doctor, Albert, whose professional help Anselm later requested for Lanfranc the younger20. The names of these men, together with those of the others who later travelled from Canterbury to Bec and vice versa, reappear throughout the letter-collection, which helps us to understand the importance of this network in Anselm’s life and action.
- 21 Quia accedens ad servitutem Dei et maxime id aetatis homo multis variisque temptationibus per temp (...)
12In the case of Lanfranc the younger, his uncle recommended him to Anselm, to whom he asked to take particular care of him for two reasons. Firstly, he had recently entered monastic life – which as clearly perceived as a delicate stage of life – and secondly he was at an age where, according to the letter-writer, a young man was "racked inwardly by many different temptations through the suggestions of evil spirits assailing him and tormented by the itching of the flesh in many different ways within and without"21.
- 22 Sic utique cavet a quibus est cavendum, ut nulli nostrum iure videatur reprehensibilis; sic studet (...)
- 23 Sic quieti et silentio atque orationi, ut merito sit omnibus amabilis. Vnde certe cotidie et ipse (...)
- 24 Domnum vero Widonem, quem magisterio puerorum addidimus, sic suavis commendat oboedientia et in st (...)
- 25 Ut pariter gloriari possimus et vos per quem, et nos qui eum talem habemus.
13In a later letter, Anselm reassured the archbishop that his nephew was doing well in the monastery, behaving in an irreproachable way and showing a positive attitude toward his fellow monks22. The successful adaptation to life in the community is represented through the reference of the creation of friendly bounds: the young man is described as lovable to everyone for his merits, and as having won the affection both of his superior (Anselm) and of the whole community23. In the same letter the prior referred to the progresses of two other men who had come from Canterbury. He told Anselm that Wido, because of his particular talents, had been charged of teaching the young boys, which clearly shows that welcoming him was profitable for Bec24. In discussing the matter, the prior stressed that not only those who now possessed Wido should rejoice, but also those who had formed him – which constitutes another example of the use of the rhetoric of mutual benefit to represent monastic exchanges25.
14The other man mentioned in this letter is Osbern, for whom also Anselm had words of praise:
- 26 Domnus Osbernus vester utique et pietatis affectu hilaritate conditio et in dies venerabiliter pin (...)
Your Dom Osbern, in fact, daily develops (pinguescit – literally, to grow fat or rich) admirably, both in his fervor for prayer seasoned with a sense of joy in his progress in knowledge (scientiae profectu) through perseverance in study, coolness of thinking, and a tenacious memory26.
- 27 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 67, p. 206, see below.
- 28 See for example two letters of the Benedictine abbot Geoffrey of Vendôme: fratrem hunc cum litteri (...)
15The vocabulary of learning is clearly crucial, and education appears to be perceived as a highly individualized process of moral, intellectual and spiritual improvement. A surprising side to this story is that only a later letter, and precisely the one with which Anselm sent Osbern back to Canterbury (recommending him to the prior Henri), allows us to find out the true reason why this man had been sent to spend some time in Bec. We learn that Osbern had been sent away from his monastery of Christ Church because of the bad behavior that he had displayed there, in the hope that the stay in Bec may have an educational and corrective effect on him27; a practice which is attested elsewhere28.
- 29 Dilectus meus, domnus Osbernus vester, qui ad vos ducitur, sic pristinae vitae perversitatem spont (...)
16In the case of Osbern, the goal seems to have been achieved: Anselm declared that he now regretted and condemned his past mistakes, and burned with the desire of a praiseworthy life. In Anselm’s judgement, he had achieved or was about to achieve that redeeming transformation of the inner man which was frequently associated with successful monastic formation in the monastic texts of this period29.
17This brief overview of some monastic exchanges which are attested by Anselm and Lanfranc’s correspondence offered a wide range of situations, from the case of a "bad monk" sent to another monastery in the hope that he may reform himself to that of "good monks" who were supposed to improve themselves even more and to make themselves appreciated and useful in the host community. To try and understand in a better way why such exchanges could benefit both communities, I will now focus on the learning practices which could take place in the everyday life of these "visiting monks".
18In recommending his nephew to Anselm, Lanfranc of Canterbury had some practical suggestions concerning how the prior could help the young man in adapting to monastic life. He did not ask Anselm to mentor the young Lanfranc individually, but simply to allow him to share as much as possible in his informal talk (ut vestri eum colloquii participem sepissime faciatis) and to direct all those whose teachings could do him good to converse with him on every appropriate occasion (omnesque quorum doctrina salubris ei esse potest colloqui cum eo quotiens expedit iubeatis). Such informal conversations were clearly perceived as an important and effective means of teaching and learning. One of their advantages was probably their adaptability to the needs of each learner and to his progress: for example, Lanfranc the younger could go from the condition of a simple listener to an increasingly active participation to the conversations of Anselm’s circle of friends in Bec.
19Another interesting description of learning practices concerning visiting monks can be found in a letter which Anselm addressed to Maurice during the latter’s stay in Canterbury, telling him to seize the opportunity to learn some things that he did not learn in Bec. Specifically, Maurice was invited to profit from the presence in Canterbury of master Arnulf, a specialist in grammar:
- 30 Audivi quod legas a domno Arnulfo. Quod si verum est, placet mihi qui semper profectum tuum, sicut (...)
I have learned that Dom Arnulf is giving you lessons. If this is so I am delighted; as you may have noticed, I have always wanted to see you make progress, and now I desire it more than ever. I have also heard that he excels in declensions; now, as you know, it has always been a hard chore for me to decline with children, and I am aware that in this science you made less progress with me than you should have. I send you, then, as my dearest son, this word of advice, this plea: everything you may read with him, or in any other way, apply yourself to declining it with care30.
- 31 Volo quatenus ut fiat quantum potes, satagas, et praecipue de Virgilio et aliis auctoribus, quos a (...)
20It is clear that Anselm had taught Maurice in the past, and that he continued to feel the responsibility of advising him on how to progress further. He took the blame for the shortcomings in Maurice’s grammatical instruction and encouraged him to seize this opportunity to fill the gaps. In facts, he even suggested that Maurice should focus on the books which he had not studied with Anselm31.
- 32 Leclercq 1996, p. 120.
21To express the notion of Maurice’s training under Arnulf’s guidance, Anselm used the expression "to read with someone" (legere ab aliquo), which usually indicated a master’s reading and explaining the texts to one or more pupils32. However, in the kind of reading implied by this letter, the learners were not simple listeners: there is a specific reference to the exercise of the declinatio, where the readers inflected the nouns or conjugated the verbs which they found in the text. A mature learner such as Maurice may even have experimented with possible variations of a given sentence, and his interaction with the master probably resembled more a learned conversation than a classroom lecture to young pupils.
22The other letters addressed by Anselm to Maurice attest that he was expected to come back to Bec with more than a perfected knowledge of Latin grammar and literature: he had to copy books which were only available in Canterbury and bring back the manuscripts for his monastery’s library. The prior gave Maurice his opinion regarding which texts he should copy, depending on the time at his disposal: the usefulness of the books was important, but the good quality of the copy even more.
- 33 Glosas Aphorismi si omnes potes scribere gaudeo; sin autem, eas quae sunt Graecorum aut inusitator (...)
I shall be glad if you are able to copy the whole of the commentary to the Aphorisms but if not, I admonish you not to leave out those words which are in Greek or uncommon. You are pondering how much time you should spend on the little book De pulsibus, but I would prefer you spend whatever time there is in completing the Aphorisms. Knowledge of that [other] little volume is of no use except to those who delve into it most frequently and diligently. If you can copy anything else after the Aphorisms and this book, I shall accept it gratefully. About both these undertaking I admonish you that whatever you do the copy should deserve, by very diligent and careful execution, to be called perfect. For I would prefer part of an obscure and unusual work faithfully copied than the whole of it corrupted by mistakes33.
- 34 See Jaeger 1994, p. 49-52 and Münster – Swendsen 2008, p. 43-64.
23While these letters help us understanding one of the means through which intellectual exchanges between monasteries could take place, a reflection on the educational value of monastic exchanges would not be complete if it did not take into account moral and spiritual training. In fact, as we have already seen in Peter the Venerable’s letter, the acquisition of the knowledge of the litterae was always supposed to go hand in hand with the mores, as it had been studied especially with reference to the secular and canonical world34. This analysis of references to education in letters dealing with monastic exchanges allow us to observe that the link between intellectual and moral training was crucial for monastic conceptions of education as well: according to Peter the Venerable’s letter of recommendation the man was to be made not only litteratus, but also honest and wise, and Anselm’s letters are no exception. They attest that while someone’s moral improvement could be a goal in itself (as in the case of Osbern’s stay in Bec), when someone’s intellectual education is discussed, there is always a reference to moral and spiritual matters, too. In fact, Anselm made clear that, during Maurice’s stay, his spiritual and moral achievements were even more important than his intellectual ones:
- 35 Ante omnia gratias tibi, quantas possum, ago; quia ubicumque sic vivis, ut quamquam non ego, sed S (...)
Above all, I thank you as much as I can, because wherever you are you live in a way which honors me, also living among unknown and foreign people, for having nurtured such a disciple, although not I but the Holy Spirit has taught you. In any case, the more you have been tested and found worthy in dangerous company, the more you will be dear to God and God’s friends35.
24Anselm was acknowledging that being away from one’s own community always presented a risk: therefore, a monk’s stay could also serve as a test of his character. At the same time, Maurice’s good conduct in Canterbury was a testimony of the instruction that he had received in Bec, which suggests that visiting monks could be seen as living advertisement, "poster boys" of their communities. In fact, in some cases, the exchanges seem to have planned specifically so that the monks could spread customs and traditions, affecting the host community by making it more similar to their community of origin – that is by "reforming" it.
- 36 Mittimus itaque a latere nostro fratrem Absalonem cuius industriam in multis experti sumus et cuiu (...)
- 37 Mitto autem a latere nostro fratres integre hactenus apud nos reputationis, quorum conversationem, (...)
25For example, Peter of Celle, while he was abbot of the monastery of Saint-Remi in Reims, sent some of his monks to the priory of Lapley, which was experiencing serious difficulties. In two letters addressed to the prior of Worcester between 1162 and 1173, he presented the monks that was sending, stressing their qualities, which he clearly regarded as crucial for the success of the undertaking: "We are sending then from our presence brother Absalon whose diligence we have experienced in many things and by whose zeal, if the grace of God be with him, we hope those ruins will be repaired and changed for the better"36. While Absalon was replacing the prior of Laplay, other monks seem to have been sent simply to offer to the community the example of their good behavior, since Peter states: "I am sending from our presence brothers of intact reputation among us, whose manner of life, if presentiments of good things can be apprehended from past ones, we believe will be good and honest in your land"37.
26Even more interesting for the purpose of the present article is the fact that monks could spend time away from their monastery specifically to be instructed so that they could, later on, go back to their community and spread what they had learned. A very famous case is that of the Irish monks that Bernard of Clairvaux welcomed in his monastery for this purpose, as we learn from the letters that he exchanged with Malachy, archbishop of Armagh and former abbot of Bagor. The latter visited Clairvaux around 1140, and left there four of his companions, who were supposed to be instructed in the Cistercian way of life, so that they could later spread it in Ireland by establishing a new monastic foundation. Sometime later, Malachy sent Bernard other men and asked him to send back two of the brothers who had been receiving training in Clairvaux, in the hope that they could begin the work and later be joined by the others. The abbot’s reply was probably disappointing for the bishop: he explained that, after consulting with his community, he did not believe that it would be wise to send the monks in question back yet, because they were not ready and still had much to learn:
- 38 Duximus non eos separandos ab invicem, donc plenius in eis formetur Christus, donec ad integrum do (...)
With regard to your wish that I should send you two of the brothers to prepare a place, I have discussed it with the brethren and we are agreed that it would not be well for them to be separated from us until Christ is more fully formed in them, until they fully trained (doceantur) to fight for the Lord. When they have been instructed in the school of the Holy Ghost (in schola Sanctus Spiritus eruditi), when they are clothed with strength from on high, then they will return to their father to sing the songs of the Lord no longer in a strange land but in their own38.
- 39 For example, the Cistercian abbot Adam of Perseigne described monastic formation as quomodo scilic (...)
- 40 Sit nomen Domini benedictum in saecula, de cuius munere venit ut communes habeam filios vobiscum, (...)
- 41 Itaque ego seminavi, rigate vos, et Deus incrementum dabit (Gastaldelli 1987, ep. 356, p. 414).
27As it can be seen, once again learning appears to be conceived as an individualized process of personal improvement, where the inner man is gradually shaped in Christ’s image. There is no mention of a formal training that men in question may have been receiving, and it seems to be implied that the simple fact of living in Clairvaux and interacting on a daily basis with its community was having a transformative impact on these men, who could not be separated from it precisely because their instruction was not yet complete. As in Osbern’s case, the successful education is represented as a transformation into new men (novos de veteribus homines): renewal was, in fact, a concept frequently associated with religious education, and in particular with novitiate39. Bernard also used agricultural metaphors to represent the exchange, exactly as Peter the Venerable had done: "blessed forever be the name of the Lord by whose gift it has come about that we have sons in common whom your teaching has planted, my exhortations have watered, and to whom God has given increase"40. In the letter with which he finally sent the monks back to Ireland, Bernard referred to them as seeds and inverted the metaphor: now Malachy had to continue watering what Bernard has planted41.
28This monastic exchange was followed by another, as we learn from a later letter of Bernard’s that some monks of Clairvaux had been sent to spend time in the new Irish foundation. However, a disagreement soon arose between the French monks and the Irish, and the former came back to Clairvaux. Bernard wrote to Malachy to tell him that he regretted his monks’ decision and to express his concerns for the new foundation, which he considered still fragile and in need of special care. Therefore, he explained that he would have liked for monks of Clairvaux to be there, but claimed that it was not easy for him to find, within his community, monks willing to go to Ireland. Nevertheless, he sent two:
- 42 Carissimum filium nostrum Christianum et vestrum remisimus ad vos, quantum potuimus instructum ple (...)
I have sent back to you my very dear son Christian, having instructed him as well as I could in the observances of our Order, and I hope that in future he will be more careful about them. Do not be surprised that I have not been able to send many with him, for I could not find many suitable men who were willing to go, and I was loath to oblige them to do so against their will. My dear brother Robert acceded to my request this time like an obedient son. It will be your business to help him in the buildings and other things necessary for the well being of your house42.
29The monks in question had clearly been assigned different roles: while Christian, having been instructed in the observances of the Cistercian order, was probably charged with spreading and enforcing their traditions, Robert seems to have been responsible for more practical matters, perhaps with overseeing the construction of the buildings which were necessary to the monastery. Once more, individual traits and talents were taken in consideration in monastic exchanges, to determine how the stays could be most beneficial both for the visiting monks and for the communities.
30Overall, I believe that even the few examples which have been cited so far suffice to show that monastic journeys could have educational purposes, if we interpret education in the broad sense which is attested by the sources themselves. In fact, the letters use the vocabulary of learning and teaching for a wide range of situations and contents, from the adaptation to monastic life to the mastery of Latin grammar and to the knowledge of Cistercian traditions. Notwithstanding this variety, the cases which have been cited on the basis of preserved eleventh and twelfth-century monastic letters share various common traits: first of all, the exchanges were not isolated, but represented a part of existing relationships between two communities, and – especially – their leaders. Secondly, they are often represented as being beneficial for different parties: the monks themselves, the host community and the community of origin.
- 43 The importance of non-written forms of communication in the monastic world has long been acknowled (...)
- 44 In these sense, medieval monasteries can be interpreted as «communities of pratice», see Vanderput (...)
- 45 See Regula Benedicti, Prologus, 45: Constituenda est ergo nobis dominici schola servitii (Pricoco (...)
- 46 See Leclercq 1992, p. 279–98, Southern 1982, p. 115.
31Another important element is that education doesn’t seem to take place solely through formal means (that is, through the hierarchical, vertical and one-way transmission of a corpus of knowledge by a master in a formal setting), but also through informal and shared ones, where various people were involved and non-written means of communicating and co-constructing knowledge, such as friendly conversation and participation in communal activities, played a crucial role43. This was a very flexible kind of teaching and learning, which could be adapted to the individual because it took into account his strengths and weaknesses. Social interaction between the newcomers and the members of the hosting community clearly played a crucial role: conversations, as we have seen, could be an important means of learning. In addition, the fact that simply living in a certain community seems to have been perceived as potentially having a transformative effect suggests that that the learning process could take place through the visiting monks’ participation – probably passive at first, but then increasingly active – to the activities of the host community: not only attending mass or listening to the readings, but also walking around the monastery and eating in the refectory, since all these activities had to be performed in the proper way44. Differences clearly existed between the uses and traditions of various communities, and yet the sources do not mention that visiting monks received a formal training for this purpose (as it happened for young boys in a designated school); therefore, it can be supposed that they were expected to learn by imitating their fellow monks and by relying on their help and correction whenever necessary. In this way, the monastery itself acted as a school (according to the ideal of the schola Christi presented in the Benedictine Rule)45, through all its spiritual, intellectual, social, and manual activities: monastic life was inherently an "educational" one46.
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Notes
1 Wathen 1975, p. 1-44.
2 See the Regula Benedicti 1, 10-11: quartum vero genus est monachorum quod nominatur gyrovagum, qui tota vita sua per diversas provincias ternis aut quaternis diebus per diversorum cellas hospitantur, semper vagi et numquam stabiles et propriis voluntatibus et guilae illecebris servientes et per omnes deteriores sarabaitis (Pricoco 1995, p. 134-136). For the evolution undergone by the notion of vagare see De Jong 1996, p. 248 and n. 70.
3 Pricoco 1995, p. xxi.
4 Regula sanctorum patrum Serapionis, Macharii, Pafnutii et alterius Macharii 4, 4: non licebit de alio monasterio sine voluntate eius qui praeest fratrem recipere (Pricoco 1995, p. 18).
5 Regula Benedicti 61, 13: caveat autem abbas, ne aliquando de alio noto monasterio monachum ad habitandum suscipiat sine consensu abbatis eius aut litteras commendaticias (Pricoco, p. 250).
6 The first council of Orléans (511) refers to the problem of wandering monks and mentions that whoever welcomes a stranger monk is guilty. Concilium Aurelianense I, 19: monachi autem […] si per contumaciam extiterit indevotus aut per loca aliqua evagari aut peculiare aliquid habere praesumserit, omnia quae adquisierit, ab abbatibus auferantur secundum regulam monasterio profutura. Ipsi autem qui fuerint pervagati, ubi inventi fuerint, cum auxilio episcopi tanquam fugaces sub custodia revocentur; et reum se ille abbas futurum esse cognoscat, qui in huiusmodi personas non regulari animadversione distrinxerit vel qui monachum susceperit alienum (Basdevant – Gaudemet 1989, p. 82-84). The council of Losne (673-5) explictly mentions the use of letters, see Concilium Latunense, can. 7: ut nullus clericum alterius absque literas episcopi aut abatis sui praesumat recipere, nec monachi sine sacris aut literas, ut diximus, per patrias vacare aut discurrere praesumat (Basdevant – Gaudemet 1989, p. 578), and can. 19: et quoniam ad sanctam sinodum in notitiam pervenit, quod, si monachi in monasterio enutriti vacando per diversa loca discurrant, eos quidam in eorum comunione suscipiant, idcirco placuit convenire, ut nullus monachum alterius sine comitatum abatis sui vel literas comendaticias suscipere praesumat (Basdevant – Gaudemet 1989, p. 582). Here sine is followed by two accusatives (comitatum and literas), as it is sometimes the case in medieval Latin, see Elliott 1997, p. 26. Comitatus is probably used instead of commeatus (comiatus), see Basdevant – Gaudemet 1989, n. 2.
7 Rees 2007, p. 149-168, Wilcox 2012, p. 79-96, Cotton 1981.
8 See for example Hildegard of Bingen’s letter 183: obsecrans ut eum ad praesentiam tue beatitudinis cum litteris commendaticiis dirigerem (Van Acker 1991, p. 413) and Peter the Venerable’s letter 28: monachos sine permissione abatis proprii aut litteris commendatitiis indifferenter suscipitis, which echoes the above-mentioned passage of the Benedictine Rule (Constable 1967, p. 55).
9 See Morelle 2009, p. 34-50; Gawlik 1991, col. 2024-2025; Fiesel 1920, p. 157-167; Fabricius 1926, p. 39-86 and 168-194.
10 Regula Benedicti 61, 1-3: si quis monachus peregrinus de longinquis provinciis supervenerit, si pro hospite voluerit habitare in monasterio et contentus est consuetudinem loci quam invenerit et non forte superfluitate sua perturbat monasterium, sed simpliciter contentus est quod invenerit, suscipiatur quanto tempore cupit (Pricoco 1995, p. 248).
11 Regula Benedicti 61, 4: si qua sane rationabiliter et cum humilitate caritatis repraehendit aut ostendit, tractet abbas prudenter, ne forte pro hoc ipsud eum Dominus direxerit.
12 Regula Benedicti 61, 8-2: suscipiatur congregationi sociandus, verum etiam suadeatur ut stet, ut eius exemplo alii erudiantur (Pricoco 1995, p. 250).
13 Constable 1967, ep. 79, p. 214.
14 Ut semper quod vos spargitis, nos colligamus; quod vos seritis, nos metamus; quod vos molitis, nos comedamus.
15 On the relationship between these two men, see Southern 1990, p. 39-66.
16 Legant dilectissimi fratres nostri qui vobiscum sunt (Kohlenberger, Rochais 2004, ep. 1, p. 26-28). Obviously, the Norman conquest of England, which had just taken place, must be kept in mind.
17 Significastis vos inde laetos esse quia ego – ut de aliis taceam – dilectissimum nostrum, nepotem vestrum, valde gaudens suscepi. Tanto igitur et hac vestra laetitia sum laetificatus, et gaudium quod habueram de praedicto caro nostro, quamvis semper vigeat, augendo est renovatum: quanto id – quod non verecundor fateri me scilicet ex magna parte illum sic suscipiendo intendisse – ad votum provenisse cognovi (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 32, p. 112). I use here the English translation in Fröhlich 1990, p. 127.
18 Cuius voluntati nos oboedire oportet (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 42, p. 140) and eius semper nobis amplectenda gratia (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 43, p. 142).
19 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 43, p. 142 and ep. 69, p. 210.
20 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 32-36, p. 112-120.
21 Quia accedens ad servitutem Dei et maxime id aetatis homo multis variisque temptationibus per temptatorum spirituum suggestiones intrinsecus laniatur, multis diversisque carnis titillationibus intus et exterius cruciatur (Clover – Gibson 1979, ep. 18, p. 96-98).
22 Sic utique cavet a quibus est cavendum, ut nulli nostrum iure videatur reprehensibilis; sic studet humili benignitati et benignae humilitati (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 39, p. 130).
23 Sic quieti et silentio atque orationi, ut merito sit omnibus amabilis. Vnde certe cotidie et ipse me de se laetum facit laetiorem, et ego ilium – ut de communi proximorum dilectione taceam – vestro et suo merito dilectum habeam dilectorem.
24 Domnum vero Widonem, quem magisterio puerorum addidimus, sic suavis commendat oboedientia et in strenuitate humilitas (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, p. 132).
25 Ut pariter gloriari possimus et vos per quem, et nos qui eum talem habemus.
26 Domnus Osbernus vester utique et pietatis affectu hilaritate conditio et in dies venerabiliter pinguescit, et scientiae profectu per studii instantiam et ingenii serenitatem tenacemque memoriam cotidie laudabiliter crescit (translation Fröhlich 1990, p. 140).
27 Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 67, p. 206, see below.
28 See for example two letters of the Benedictine abbot Geoffrey of Vendôme: fratrem hunc cum litteris nostris ad vos mittere curavimus ut eum ad salutem animae suae in congregatione vestra recipiatis, si tamen recipere vultis. Diu enim, ut ipse bene nostis, nobiscum fuit, sed mores suos iuxta desiderium nostrum corrigere noluit, and praesentium latorem vestrae bonitatis transmittimus, quatinus eum in congregatione vestra ad salutem animae vestrae ad salutem animae suae, si vulitis, recipiatis […] Diu etenim nobiscum fuit et pravos mores suos semper emendare contempsit, sed bonum quod apud nos diutius facere distulit apud vos forsitan facere curabit (Giordanengo 1996, ep. 11, p. 20 and ep. 13, p. 23 respectively).
29 Dilectus meus, domnus Osbernus vester, qui ad vos ducitur, sic pristinae vitae perversitatem sponte accusat et exsecratur, atque, inquantum ex ea quam nobiscum habuit conversatione palam et secrete experiri potui, sic vitae laudabilis amore accenditur, ut non immerito interior eius homo in melius aut iam mutatus aut procul dubio facile mutandus existimetur (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 67, p. 206).
30 Audivi quod legas a domno Arnulfo. Quod si verum est, placet mihi qui semper profectum tuum, sicut ipse ex parte expertus es, desideravi, nec unquam utique plus quam modo. Audivi quoque quod ipse multum valeat in declinatione, et tu scis quia molestum mihi semper fuerit pueris declinare, unde valde minus quam tibi expediret, scio te apud me in declinandi scientia profecisse. Hortor itaque, et precor, et ut filio charissimo praecipio, quatenus quidquid ab eo legeris, et quidquid aliud poteris, diligentissime declinare studeas (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 64, p. 192). I use here the English translation available in Murphy 1980, p. 168). The Arnulf mentioned here was probably a monk of the abbey of Saint-Lucien (Beauvais), whose name is more frequently spelled as «Ernulf», see Sharpe 2009, p. 27 n. 69.
31 Volo quatenus ut fiat quantum potes, satagas, et praecipue de Virgilio et aliis auctoribus, quos a me non legisti (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 64, p. 192).
32 Leclercq 1996, p. 120.
33 Glosas Aphorismi si omnes potes scribere gaudeo; sin autem, eas quae sunt Graecorum aut inusitatorum nominum ne deseras admoneo. Quod tamen temporis in libello de pulsibus insumere deliberas, malo ut ad perficiendum quidquid est in aphorismo impendas. Non enim eiusdem libelli scientia utilis est, nisi frequentissimo et diligentissimo usu se illa occupantibus. Si quid tamen post aphorismum, et de hoc potes, libenter accipio. De utroque hoc praecipue moneo ut quidquid feceris studiosissima exquisitione correctum, dignum sit dici perfectum. Malo enim in ignota inusitataque scriptura partem integram veritate, quam totum corruptum falsitate (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 60, p. 180, trans. Fröhlich 1990, p. 173). See also ep. 43, p. 142-143, which repeats many of the same ideas.
34 See Jaeger 1994, p. 49-52 and Münster – Swendsen 2008, p. 43-64.
35 Ante omnia gratias tibi, quantas possum, ago; quia ubicumque sic vivis, ut quamquam non ego, sed Spiritus sanctus te bene vivere docuerit, tamen honor mihi etiam sit inter ignotos et alienigenas talem nutrisse discipulum. Tanto utrique eris Deo et amicis Dei charior, quanto fueris in periculosa conversatione inventus probatior (Kohlenberger – Rochais 2004, ep. 60, p. 182, translation Fröhlich 1990, p. 173).
36 Mittimus itaque a latere nostro fratrem Absalonem cuius industriam in multis experti sumus et cuius studio si ei gratia Dei affuerit ruinas illas reparandas et in melius commutandas speramus (Haseldine 2001, ep. 111, p. 438).
37 Mitto autem a latere nostro fratres integre hactenus apud nos reputationis, quorum conversationem, si de preteritis futurorum presagia apprehenduntur, bonam in terra vestra credimus futuram et honestam (Haseldine 2001, ep. 112, p. 440).
38 Duximus non eos separandos ab invicem, donc plenius in eis formetur Christus, donec ad integrum doceantur proeliari proelia Domini. Cum igitur fuerint in schola Sanctus Spiritus eruditi, cum induti virtute ex alto, tunc demum ad patrem filii revertentur, ut cantent canticum Domini, non iam in terra aliena, sed in sua (Gastaldelli 1987, ep. 341, p. 387-388, trans. Scott James 1998, p. 252).
39 For example, the Cistercian abbot Adam of Perseigne described monastic formation as quomodo scilicet noviter conversi de saeculo in novum hominem valeant reformari (Bouvet 1960, ep. 5, p. 112).
40 Sit nomen Domini benedictum in saecula, de cuius munere venit ut communes habeam filios vobiscum, quos vestra praedicatio plantavit, nostra exhortatio rigavit, Deus autem incrementum dedit.
41 Itaque ego seminavi, rigate vos, et Deus incrementum dabit (Gastaldelli 1987, ep. 356, p. 414).
42 Carissimum filium nostrum Christianum et vestrum remisimus ad vos, quantum potuimus instructum plenius in his quae ad Ordinem pertinent, et de cetero circa observantias eius sollicitiorem futurum, ut speramus. Nec mire mini, quod non plures cum eo misimus fratres, quoniam nec idoneos invenimus fratres, qui facile acquiescerent, nec invitos cogere cons ilium fuit. Dilectissimus frater noster Robertus precibus nostris acquievit etiam hac vice, tamquam filius oboedientiae. Vestrum erit iuvare eum, ut possit iam in aedificiis et in ceteris necessariis promo veri domus vestra (Gastaldelli 1987, ep. 357, p. 418, trans. Scott James 1998, p. 454-455).
43 The importance of non-written forms of communication in the monastic world has long been acknowledged, see Kasper – Schreiner 1997, Vanderputten 2011.
44 In these sense, medieval monasteries can be interpreted as «communities of pratice», see Vanderputten 2016 and Long 2017.
45 See Regula Benedicti, Prologus, 45: Constituenda est ergo nobis dominici schola servitii (Pricoco 1995, p. 124).
46 See Leclercq 1992, p. 279–98, Southern 1982, p. 115.
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