In the late eighth century, many came to the brook called Aniane in southern France, seeking to join in a new monastic life filled with hard work, physically, spiritually and mentally. The Goth named Witiza, who had adopted the name of Benedict, served as their mentor and guide. In the end, though, most lacked the work ethic and temperament for discipline that Benedict expected of them. They were ‘weak in spirit’. Why? According to his biographer, Ardo, Benedict’s measures to curtail gluttony, such as measuring portions of wine and bread before distribution to the brothers at mealtimes, alienated these novices. Eventually, those lacking conviction abandoned Aniane and embraced their secular comforts once again. In the disdainful words of Ardo, they returned, as in the biblical proverb, ‘ut sues ad coenum canisque ad vomitum’, as pigs to their filth and a dog to its vomit. The demands placed on Benedict’s monastic aspirants represented a new approach to monasticism, providing them with ‘an unknown path to salvation’ (‘ignotamque viam salutis’), but the sacrifice for such a reward was clearly high. This friction between the monastic hopefuls and Benedict of Aniane represents one of many such moments of conflict in the eighth and ninth centuries as reformers sought to instill a new culture of work in monasteries.

Historians have examined many aspects of the attitude to and application of working culture in the medieval monastery, but the Carolingian period has received less attention than others. Generally, early monks, especially in the East, placed a high value on work.