Monasticism

The term monasticism comes from the Greek word monos, meaning “alone.” Medieval monks embraced solitude by withdrawing from society to pursue a spiritual life. They believed that the quest to find God demanded a renunciation of the world, which marked the first step toward asceticism, or an austere life devoid of worldly pleasures. In the third and fourth centuries the first monks escaped the sins of earthly existence by wandering the deserts of Egypt, Syria, Judea, and Alexandria. Several narratives of the so-called desert fathers were recorded by scribes and served as sources of inspiration for devotees in the West.

The Italian abbot Saint Benedict (ca. 480–ca. 547) allegedly composed a rule for monks that outlines the Standard pattern of monastic observance. The Rule of Saint Benedict defines a monastic community as a single group of religious men cohabiting in a monastery, the official residence for religious men. According to the rule, each monastery must have one abbot, who functions as a paternalistic figure and a pastoral counselor for the novices (it being not uncommon for a member of the elite to give away a young child to God’s service). The monastery must be an autonomous, self-sufficient house in which monks perform manual labor as well as ecclesiastical duties. The general ethos of the abbey should resemble one of docility rather than pride. Essential routines should include prayer, work, and study, all intended to shelter the monks from the dangerous sensuality of the world. During the Middle Ages more extreme ascetics inflicted punish ments on their bodies, such as self-flagellation and fasting, to imitate the suffering of Christ. Monasteries were often placed in remote areas, suggesting silence and frugality. When they were not in the chapel, monks often were reading in the library or hand-copying manuscripts in the scriptorium. All monks studied Latin because the Vulgate, which is the Latin version of the Bible, was the only translation acceptable to the Catholic Church.

Because monasteries could be expensive to build and operate, they depended on wealthy patrons. The motives of these benefactors may have been a mixture of politics and piety. They believed that their endowments would safeguard their souls and those of their relatives in heaven. Moreover, the monks acted as intercessors for the military elite by praying for them during holy wars. The intricate details of the penance, or accounting for sins, in the Middle Ages perhaps explain the eagerness of political leaders to found and fund monasteries.

It is difficult indeed for the modern reader to imagine the extreme devotion and mental stamina required to execute the routine prayers, liturgical rituals, and long periods of reflection that constituted a medieval monk’s life. Novices commonly suffered beatings meant to enforce such discipline, and silence in the church, refectory (or dining area), and dormitory was strictly imposed.

In 1095 Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade in an effort to reaffirm papal authority by a series of military expeditions to Jerusalem. Because the Saracens (a common medieval term for Muslims) resisted Christianity, many medieval discourses demonized them, condemning them as the enemies of faith. The knights who participated in the holy wars against Islam were motivated by a guaranteed salvation. Although they were militant, they viewed themselves in the service of the church and therefore equated death in war to martyrdom. Presumably the knights were also bound to the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, as were the clerics. But knighthood provided the ideal means of salvation for laymen not suited for cloistered life.

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