Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- For Ian Hawke
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Display
- Chapter 2 Reception and Intrusion
- Chapter 3 Enclosure
- Chapter 4 Family
- Conclusion
- Appendix A Male religious houses
- Appendix B Nunneries
- Appendix C Hospitals and leper houses
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other volumes in Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
Chapter 3 - Enclosure
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- For Ian Hawke
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Display
- Chapter 2 Reception and Intrusion
- Chapter 3 Enclosure
- Chapter 4 Family
- Conclusion
- Appendix A Male religious houses
- Appendix B Nunneries
- Appendix C Hospitals and leper houses
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other volumes in Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
Summary
The monastery should be so set up that everything necessary is carried on within the monastery, that is the water, the mill, the garden, and the various crafts so that there be no necessity for the monks to be wandering about outside: that is absolutely not good for their souls.
The rule of St Benedict clearly shows that enclosure was the principal means by which religious communities sought to protect their vocation from any interference from the outside world: it was enforced by monastic rules and expressed in the monastery architecture. In the preceding chapter, we saw how the laity intruded on sacred space. Enclosure, and the rules and customs governing it, were not just designed to keep lay people out, but also to ensure professed religious remained within their monasteries as far as possible. In this chapter, we shall consider how enclosure worked in practice as against the statutes laid down by monastic rules and the expectation of ecclesiastical visitors like Abbot Stephen and Archbishop Eudes. Monks and nuns temporarily left their cloister for various reasons and some indeed turned apostate and left their monasteries for good. We will also look at the use of monastery buildings, which is necessary for a full understanding of the architectural practice of enclosure. Statutes relating to enclosure also ensured the separation of certain groups from the rest of society; in this context, the attitudes towards those with leprosy and the governance of hospitals have particular relevance.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Religious Life in Normandy, 1050–1300Space, Gender and Social Pressure, pp. 88 - 126Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2007