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7 - Ecclesiastical Responses to War in king Stephen's Reign: The Communities of Selby Abbey, Pontefract Priory and York Cathedral

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2012

Paul Dalton
Affiliation:
Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
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Summary

It is well known that religious communities in England suffered as well as flourished during the reign of King Stephen (1135–54), a period dominated by a protracted civil war fought for control of the crown. The extent of this suffering and efflorescence has been studied extensively. Less attention has been paid to the methods by which religious communities sought to deal with the threats and violence that faced them, to protect and promote their interests and secure their peace and safety, and to reconcile themselves with their oppressors. This chapter will help to illuminate these themes as they relate to two monasteries and one cathedral community in Yorkshire. The monasteries are the Benedictine abbey of St Mary and St Germanus, Selby, the foundation of which in 1069–70 owed much to the support of William the Conqueror, and the Cluniac priory of St John the Evangelist, Pontefract, established during the 1090s by Robert I de Lacy, lord of Pontefract. The cathedral is that of St Peter's, york, whose hospital (also named St Peter's) in york and important estate at nearby Sherburn will be particular centres of attention. The chapter will begin by discussing some of the damage suffered by these communities, and the political and military context in which it occurred. It will then explore some of the practical and spiritual ways in which the communities sought to respond to the difficulties, dangers and opportunities that faced them. Its conclusions have a wider bearing on understanding the processes that brought the civil war to an end.

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Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2011

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