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In this section:
The Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia
The Rule of St. Augustine
The Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds
Source 1: The Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia
Source 1: The Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–547) was an early medieval Italian monk, known as the “father of monasticism” principally for his enormously influential western Christian monastic guideline known as a regula, or “rule of life”. His regula addresses such diverse topics as moral conduct, the office of the abbot, liturgical prayer, food and resources, and prescribed responses to a myriad of situations which may arise in the monastery. Benedict had already been leading monasteries for many years when this most recent regula was written, so his writing comes from a wealth of experience in monastic life. Throughout his life, Benedict had lived alone as a hermit and headed several monasteries across Italy as their abbot. Many passages of the Rule of St. Benedict are economic, either implicitly or explicitly, insofar as they are concerned with how resources are to be distributed in the monastic society.
Memling, Hans. Benedetto Portinari Triptych. 1487. Oil on panel. Uffizi Gallery. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memling,_Trittico_di_Benedetto_Portinari,_San_Benedetto.jpg.
Chapter 33 is entitled “Whether monks ought to have anything of their own”. Benedict explicitly states that “very specially is this vice of private ownership to be cut off from the monastery by the roots” [emphasis added]. Any and all things require the permission of the abbot to be given and accepted. This includes even books, pens, desks, and any item which the monk may hold for their own uses. All these items are given only with the permission of the abbot, and monks look to the abbot to receive anything of necessity. Benedict says: "let all things be common to all", and describes monks who desire private ownership as engaging in "this most baneful vice".
In Chapter 34, entitled “Whether all ought to receive necessaries equally”, Benedict draws upon scripture to promote the principle of "divid[ing] to each...as for him there was need". Those who require few necessities should "give thanks to God and not be vexed" by the fact they have not received much. Those who are in greater need should humbly receive the gifts they are given, and not become "puffed up" by this greater consideration.
In Chapter 35, "Concerning the weekly kitcheners", Benedict outlines a system of communal, shared labor for the purposes of kitchens and serving meals. No one is to "be excused from the office of kitchener" and those who are not serving in the kitchens are expected to "take turns in serving". The position of weekly reader, the brother who reads prayers before meals, also is to rotate on a weekly basis, as prescribed in Chapter 38, "Concerning the weekly reader".
Benedict addresses the distribution of the monastery's resources in Chapter 32, "Concerning the iron tools and other things belonging to the monastery", and Chapters 39 and 40, "Concerning the quantity of foods/drink". Chapter 32 prescribes the abbot with the power to "assign the property of the monastery", including tools and clothing. The purpose of this assignment is for the resources "to be kept by [those assigned resources] and re-collected after use", and Benedict includes a harsh warning against using monastery property in a "slovenly or neglectful manner". Chapters 39 and 40 delineate specific quantities of meals, bread, and wine. Benedict reluctantly makes these prescriptions, as he says "everyone has his own proper gift from God...it is with some misgiving we appoint the measure of other men’s living", but his main aims in doing so are restraining excess consumption, so as to avoid surfeiting, indigestion, etc.
Finally, Chapter 48, "Concerning the daily manual work", Benedict sets out the times for working throughout the day. He also writes about the value of work and reveals some of insight into the normative principles of communal labor. Communal labor is important because "idleness is inimical to the soul", and monks are encouraged to take delight in their manual work. When they "[gather] crops by their own hands, then are they truly monks", because this is how their "fathers and the apostles" lived by the work of their own hands.
Source 2: The Rule of St. Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo lived between 354 and 430 in ancient Roman North Africa—he died in the present-day Algerian town of Hippo. Though he is most well-known for his extensive theological writings, he also wrote his own monastic regula around the year 400, which is the oldest monastic rule in Western Christianity. Though much shorter, its content resonates very closely with the Rule of Benedict, which likely drew inspiration from it. It governs many of the same aspects of life, such as group labor, prayer, and community life.
In the first chapter, Augustine lays out the "Purpose and Basis of Common Life". He writes "call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in common"; he entrusts the distribution of food and clothing to the superior on the basis of need, also citing the Acts of the Apostles chapter 4. Augustine sees the monastery as a place of humility, a place to be close to those in poverty.
Dall'Orto, Giovanni. Image of "Saint Augustine surrounded by monks". 11 Aug. 2007. Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Venice. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7395_-_Venezia_-_Ex_convento_di_S._Stefano_-_An._padovano_-_S._Agostino_e_frati_(sec._XV)_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto,_12-Aug-2007.jpg
Chapter 5 of Augustine's rule is entitled "The Care of Community Goods and Treatment of the Sick"; the first part bears special relevance here. Augustine's community is firmly centered around the common good. Work is to always be done for the common good and not individual benefit. Any gifts which the monks receive are to be given to the superior and allocated on the basis of need. To these ends, the superior was to appoint many monastic brothers to assist in allocating food, clothing, shoes, and books. Augustine's rule emphasized that work for the common good is done so the virtue of charity may increase within monks; this gives a spiritual dimension to communal work which is now not seen as burdensome or sacrificial, but holy. He also grounds these principles in Biblical scripture. He cites Acts 4:32,35 in support of holding property in common and distributing to monks on the basis of need, and 1 Corinthians 13:5 shows how charity "is not self-seeking", and therefore one who loves works for the common good rather than individual gain.
Source 3: Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds
In 1173, a man named Jocelin of Brakelond entered a Benedictine monastery in Bury St. Edmunds, a town in the county of Suffolk in east England. The abbey dominated the town and the surrounding East Anglia region, which was, at the time, relatively highly populated with rich farmland. Over the span of approximately 29 years, Jocelin chronicled the life of the abbey in a narrative which "takes us to the heart of the medieval world," (Jocelin ix).
Jocelin's account reveals an abbey which is interwoven with the social, economic, and political fabric of the world around it. The monastery is not an isolated part of the town, but is the dominant socioeconomic force within it. The abbot of Bury St. Edmunds is a powerful figure who rules over not just the abbey, but also a territory known as the "Liberty of St. Edmund", a territory of Suffolk given to the authority of the monastery. This gave the abbot a great deal of power in civil government, and made the abbot a "chief [man] of the kingdom, to be consulted on great matters of state," (Jocelin xvi). However, the abbey's most important day-to-day role was the "upkeep of the monastery and its community" (Jocelin xvii). For my analysis, I focused on a few sections of Jocelin's work concerning land management to get an overall picture of the management of the abbey.
Armagh, John. "St Edmundsbury Abbey Panorama". 10 Oct. 2011, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StEdmundsburyAbbeyPanorama.jpg.
The first section of Jocelin's narrative, "The Abbey in debt," describes the abbey's debt crisis under the leadership of Abbot Hugh and his successor, Robert. Although, Jocelin says, "everything connected with the Rule [of Benedict]" was managed well, this was not so for "external affairs". Because of Hugh's weak leadership, those to whom the abbey's extensive property was rented out "ignored their duty", and several hundred pounds (£) were borrowed every year. Despite this mismanagement, Abbot Robert did everything in his power to ensure the King and the papal authorities were given no negative impression of his abbey. The installation of Samson as abbot in 1182 brought some "new innovations" to the monastery's management. He ordered a survey of the Liberty's total land, created written records about rent payment, and opened up new lands for agriculture. He created a more centralized management system, and reclaimed land for the monastery that had been rented out in order to guard against falling into debt again.
In the section entitled "Relations with the town and the London merchants", Jocelin gives us a peek into the commerce the monastery engaged in. The abbey collected tolls and fees from merchants at the towns market, which led to conflict with the London merchants in the time after Samson's election. This dispute, like many other in the book, is a question of authority, and one which concerns legal rights and privileges. Throughout the chronicle, these disputes are usually settled within the royal government. These disputes demonstrate the complex position which the monasteries held in medieval society; on the one hand, they were privileged institutions by virtue of their religious authority; on the other, their power often clashed with other factions, and caused controversy among all parties over who had the most authority over a given area or custom.
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