1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910779536903321

Autore

Vanderputten Steven

Titolo

Monastic reform as process [[electronic resource] ] : realities and representations in medieval Flanders, 900-1100 / / Steven Vanderputten

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, : Cornell University Press, 2013

ISBN

0-8014-6811-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (262 p.)

Disciplina

271.009493/109021

Soggetti

Monasticism and religious orders - France - Flanders - History - Middle Ages, 600-1500

Monasticism and religious orders - Belgium - Flanders - History - Middle Ages, 600-1500

Flanders (France) Church history

Flanders (Belgium) Church history

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. Corporate Memories of Reform -- 2. The "Failed" Reforms of the Tenth Century -- 3. The "Dark Age" of Flemish Monasticism -- 4. Introducing the New Monasticism -- 5. Processes of Reformist Government -- 6. Shaping Reformed Identities -- 7. The "Waning" of Reformed Monasticism -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Overview of the Leadership of Benedictine Monasteries in Flanders Reformed in the Tenth and Early Eleventh Centuries between c. 900 and c. 1120 -- Appendix B: Booklist of the Abbey of Marchiennes, c. 1025-1050 -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

The history of monastic institutions in the Middle Ages may at first appear remarkably uniform and predictable. Medieval commentators and modern scholars have observed how monasteries of the tenth to early twelfth centuries experienced long periods of stasis alternating with bursts of rapid development known as reforms. Charismatic leaders by sheer force of will, and by assiduously recruiting the support of the ecclesiastical and lay elites, pushed monasticism forward toward reform, remediating the inevitable decline of discipline and government



in these institutions. A lack of concrete information on what happened at individual monasteries is not regarded as a significant problem, as long as there is the possibility to reconstruct the reformers' 'program.'' While this general picture makes for a compelling narrative, it doesn't necessarily hold up when one looks closely at the history of specific institutions.In Monastic Reform as Process, Steven Vanderputten puts the history of monastic reform to the test by examining the evidence from seven monasteries in Flanders, one of the wealthiest principalities of northwestern Europe, between 900 and 1100. He finds that the reform of a monastery should be studied not as an "exogenous shock" but as an intentional blending of reformist ideals with existing structures and traditions. He also shows that reformist government was cumulative in nature, and many of the individual achievements and initiatives of reformist abbots were only possible because they built upon previous achievements. Rather than looking at reforms as "flashpoint events," we need to view them as processes worthy of study in their own right. Deeply researched and carefully argued, Monastic Reform as Process will be essential reading for scholars working on the history of monasteries more broadly as well as those studying the phenomenon of reform throughout history.