READING GUIDE, WEEK 6: Monasticism and Saints
A. Saint Benedict (c.480-547), Rule for Monasteries (aka, The Benedictine
Rule)
Benedict of Nursia is one of those incredibly influential historical
figures about whom not much is actually known. Most of our information
comes from Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604), who popularized Benedict's
life through Gregory's own Dialogues and through heavy promotion
of Benedict's Rule. As a set of regulations for the monastic life, Benedict's
Rule was hardly unique: it seems to have been based on an earlier rule
(the Rule of the Master), and was merely one of many rules in existence
in the early Middle Ages. What does mark Benedict's rule as unique was
its popularity. While others existed, they existed in mostly localized
settings, whereas Benedict's rule became the standard, even universal rule
for monks. If we were to speak generically about monks prior to 1100, 90%
of the time we would be speaking about Benedictine monks. Scholars
generally argue that one reason for the success of Benedict's rule was
its combination of traditional monastic asceticism with an easy practicality;
Benedict knew that monks needed rigor and self-denial, but was canny enough
to allow them sufficient food, the comfort of a community, and the satisfaction
of labor (and reading). Note: the dates found at the top of many
paragraphs of the Rule refer to one of Benedict's commandments, that the
monks appoint a brother to read to them at each meal; part of this daily
reading was the Rule itself. So the date tells you what would be read on
a given day of the year. Notice, too, that a community would generally
read the entire Rule three times per year.
Monks vs. Priests, or
notes on terminology: "Rule" comes from the Latin word ‘regula'
(meaning ‘rule'). Thus when you see mention made of ‘regular clergy' the
meaning is not ‘ordinary' or ‘everyday' but rather ‘those clergy who follow
a regula, or rule'. In most cases, then, ‘regular clergy' is synonymous
with ‘monks'. ‘Secular clergy' (from the Latin ‘saeculum')
are those clergy who do not adopt a rule and do not retreat from the world,
but choose instead to live in the world and minister to lay people's needs.
Examples of secular clergy are parish priests and cathedral canons.
Notice, however, that priests are defined not by their relation to the
world, but by their special status gained through ordination. This means
that there can be ‘regular' priests (that is, monks who have been ordained
as priests) and ‘secular' priests (those priests who live among laypeople
and minister to them). Most monasteries would have several monks
ordained as priests, so that those priest-monks could perform the mass
and other sacraments for the rest of the brethren. One last term:
we will encounter the word ‘friar' later in the semester. "Friars" are
a variety of regular clergy, quite similar to monks but with some major
distinctions (mostly they were clergy who followed a rule but remained
in the world; an example of a Friar is a Franciscan or a Dominican).
1. Read the 2nd paragraph of the prologue carefully. What metaphor
does Benedict apply to monks? How is that analogous to the roles played
by aristocrats in early medieval society? Hint: monks were often
referred to as ‘warriors of Christ'.
2. Under the reading for January 4, notice the concept of ‘faith and
good works'. What does this mean? What does it tell us about sources of
authority in early medieval Christianity?
3. Chapter one describes the different varieties of monks. Which sort
are Benedict's monks? How do Benedict's monks differ from the other sorts?
4. What are the abbot's duties in the monastery? What authority does
he have? What sort of person should he be?
5. The monastery is supposed to be a community - how much input do
the individual monks have on matters?
6. Look at the list of ‘instruments of good works'. Try to boil them
down to a set of meta-traits. How should a monk act? What virtues should
define him? What vices will mar his profession?
7. Obedience is one of the pillars of the Benedictine Rule. Why was
obedience important? Was Benedict a greedy power-monger, interested in
getting others to obey him? What virtues does obedience teach? [hint: think
humility]
8. Make a list of the twelve degrees of humility. How does each ‘degree'
help attain humility? Why is humility to be valued by a monk?
9. How are monks ascetics? What is ascetic about their lives?
10. The divine offices were the primary ‘work' of monks (called in
Latin the "Opus Dei", literally the "Work of God"). Here is the
schedule of monastic offices:
Matins (also Vigils or Nocturns): 2 AM in
winter, 3 AM summer
Lauds : first light
Prime: Sunrise (1st hour of day)
Terce (3rd hour of day)
Sext (6th hour of day)
Nones (9th hour of day)
Vespers: evening
Compline: sundown
What did the monks do in these services? Why? What function did the
Opus Dei have for the broader early medieval society?
11. When and why could a monk be expelled or excommunicated from the
monastery?
12. What should monks do during the days (when they aren't performing
the Opus Dei, that is)? Why? What is Benedict's rationale for these
tasks?
13. How much food do the monks eat? When do they eat? What are mealtimes
like?
14. What role does silence play in the monastic life? Why was it considered
important?
15. Monasteries played an important role in receiving and hosting guests.
How did the Rule provide for this?
16. What are ‘oblates'? (see chapter 59)? Who could become a monk?
Who in practice became monks? Why?
17. What officers (below the abbot) should a monastery possess? What
are their functions?
18. Could monks possess property? Of what sort? Could the monastery
possess property? What distinction was drawn between individual and collective
property?
19. Describe the monks' living quarters. Why does Benedict require
all to sleep together, with the younger nearer to the older monks?
20. The ‘three pillars of monasticism' are often described as poverty,
chastity, and obedience. Locate evidence to support this statement. Why
did Benedict consider these traits to be so important?
B. Life of Saint Balthild (d. circa 680 CE)
Saints were (and are) Christian heroes, whose suffering and/or deeds
define the ideal form of Christian behavior for the period in which they
lived. We can thus learn much about a particular period of Christian
history by examining that period's saints. Saint Balthild is a particularly
interesting representative of the so-called ‘cult of the saints', for her
life reveals much about not only the values and expectations of sanctity,
but also of women's roles in Frankish society. As a slave/servant, then
as wife of King and mother of another, and finally as a nun and saint,
Balthild's life story spans the range of roles for women in this period.
1. What was the goal in writing this text? To narrate an ‘unbiased'
account of Balthild's life? Consider the qualities that make up the genre
of ‘saints' lives'.
2. What laudatory general traits or characteristics does the anonymous
author attribute to Balthild? Which of these mark her as saintly material?
Why? What does this tell us about the role of saints in Frankish society?
3. Examine Balthild's experiences as a servant girl in the home of
Erchinoald. What does the author want us to know about this period
in her life? Why?
4. The passage in which Balthild escapes marriage from Erchinoald only
to quickly marry King Clovis II is an interesting one, with apparent contradictions.
How can the author reconcile Balthild's lack of desire to marry Erchinoald
with her subsequent marriage to Clovis? What is the ‘moral' of this story?
5. What acts as Queen did Balthild perform? What do these acts suggest
to us about the expectations of Queenship? What should queens do? What
was their role in society? How did they interact with their husbands?
6. The author spends two chapters lauding Balthild's decision to found
and enrich monasteries. Explain this.
7. As regent for a minor king (her son, Clothar II), Balthild would
have enjoyed almost-kingly power and authority. Is this reflected in the
Life? Why or why not?
8. Her decision to join the nunnery at Chelles was almost undoubtedly
a product of a palace coup led by her son and his friends (to get rid of
Mom's influence). How does the author ‘spin' this event?
9. What traits does Balthild exhibit as a nun? Are they consistent
with her queenly traits?
10. The author throws in some obligatory miracles at the end of her
tale - what is their purpose? Why are saints associated with miracles?
What do miracles prove about the saint?
11. Do you think that sainthood is a gendered concept? That is, are
there distinct characteristics or attributes for male and female saints?
Do authors ‘fit' particular lives or deeds into unconsciously gendered
categories?
C. Gregory the Great, Dialogues (excerpts concerning the miracles
of St Benedict), c. 600
Gregory the Great was pope between 589 and 604 CE. He is considered
the last of the Church Fathers, and while responsible for important works
of theology, his real influence came in a series of pastoral works, designed
to help bring the essence of Christianity to recently converted or quasi-barbarian
Christians. Among these works was his Dialogues, selections
of which you have read for this week. In these selections Gregory elucidates
the wondrous deeds and nature of Saint Benedict (author of the Benedictine
Rule); he does so in the form of a dialogue between himself (Gregory) and
a fictional student, named (not surprisingly) Peter. Many scholars
attribute to this section of the Dialogues the rise in popularity
of Saint Benedict and his Rule (which Pope Gregory also championed); it
was also the model for an increasingly important genre of texts, the miracle
collection. Keep in mind that a miracle collection was not really
intended as high theology or doctrine (Gregory reserved his biblical exegesis
for these tasks); it was intended to provide mostly-illiterate Christians
with comprehensible stories that illuminated both the prime virtues of
the Christian life and the power and glory of God. Notice, too, that as
a written text, it would have been incomprehensible to those same illiterates;
miracle collections were often considered as sorts of pastoral or preaching
aids, from which a local priest or bishop could draw appropriate examples
to demonstrate the truths of Christian doctrine and belief.
1. What were some of the miracles that Benedict performed? Can you
categorize them into types? Does a certain type predominate? Thinking ‘sociologically'
(not doctrinally), can you provide explanations for the different types
of miracles? That is, are they designed to show different kinds of virtues?
2. Was Benedict an ascetic? How do we know?
3. Notice the circumstances under which Benedict was ‘called' to be
abbot of his monastery. This ‘topos' of the reluctant abbot (or bishop)
was extremely common in medieval saints' lives and miracle stories. Why?
4. As a person living in the 21st century, you may find the instances
of supernatural power (whether Benedict's miracles, or the Devil's constant
and dangerous presence) to be puzzling, incredible, or whatever. Remember,
however, to place yourselves in the shoes of sixth-century folks. And this
does NOT mean assuming that these folks were simplistic, deluded by lack
of science, or ‘stupid'. Indeed, people like Gregory (or Augustine, who
also believed in miracles) were brilliant minds. So we have to ask why
early medieval society was so ready to believe in the immanence (that is,
‘overwhelming presence') of the supernatural. What does it tell us
about their society?
5. Which qualities or traits mark Benedict as a saint? Are these the
same qualities that made Balthild a saint?
6. Pay careful attention to the contrived exchanges between Gregory
and Peter, for in them Gregory often discusses and explains some of the
theory behind saints and sanctity. For instance, Peter wonders whether
saints ‘know' the mind of God. How does Gregory respond? Peter expresses
some cautious doubt about certain miraculous events (see p. 200); how does
Gregory respond? What authority does Gregory cite?
7. Some students occasionally assume that medieval people saw saints
as ‘gods' unto themselves. How does Gregory respond to the idea that the
saint's power is an expression of his own will (that is, not connected
to God's)? What is the official doctrine of the saint's relationship
to God, and to this world?