Monasticism

This essay was written in response to Question 1 of Mid-Term Exam #1.
1. Monasticism.

What do you think was the purpose (s) of monasticism?
Analyze the role played by monks and nuns in early medieval society?
What does it mean when an historian writes: "monks became the heroes of Christian civilization?" Do you agree? Why or why not?

What is Monasticism?

First, I’ll begin with our textbook definition: the word “monk” comes from the Latin word “monachus, meaning ‘one who lives alone’”.[1] Not surprising then is the Wikipedia definition of monasticism as “the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one’s life to spiritual work.”[2] Two types of monasticism are distinguishable. Eremitic monasticism fits the traditional definition, and it involves a turning away from other’s company, and living the life of a hermit. Cenobitic monasticism, on the other hand, was the kind practiced by the Christian monks in the Middle Ages. It is characterized by a gathering together, within a religious community, of men or women who devote themselves to the spiritual life (as they define it).

How/When/Where Did it Arise?

Monasticism existed long before the Christian monks began practicing it, around 400 years after the founding of their faith. St. Anthony is the first well-know Christian monk, and for this he is called the “father of monasticism”.[3] As a way of life, monasticism is apparently very hard to sustain for many people over a period of time. Not surprisingly, then, most monks have preferred to live in a community of others.[4]

Who Were Some of the Middle Age Monks?

St. Benedictine of Nursia is one of the most remarkable of the monks from the Middle Ages. In fact, sometime between 520 and 530, St. Benedictine wrote a set of rules that “established the fundamental form of monastic life in the western Christian church. The Benedictine rule came to be used by other monastic groups and was crucial to the growth of monasticism in the western Christian world.”[5] The ideals of poverty, chastity, and obedience were promulgated in order to live a life of moderation devoted to prayer (7 times a day!) and manual labor (since “idleness was the ‘enemy of the soul’”).[6] St. Benedict’s aim was “to provide a spiritual father to support and strengthen the individual’s ascetic effort and the spiritual growth that is required for the fulfillment of the human vocation, Divinization.”[7]

Augustine was a monk sent by Pope Gregory the Great to England in 597 in an effort to convert the Anglo-Saxons of Britain to Christianity. After he converted King Ethelbert, most of his subject’s followed suit. Pope Gregory’s techniques of conversion were characterized by his willingness to use persuasion rather than force. In fact, he encouraged the monks and missionaries to permit the locals to retain their culture and even their places of worship, as long as they worshipped the right God! For example, Christmas was celebrated on the same date when the winter solstice used to be honored.

St. Boniface (680-755) was another famous monk from the Middle Ages. He became known as the “Apostle of the Germans” for his efforts to convert the Germans in Frisia, Bavaria, and Saxony to Christianity. This effort to convert others to one’s faith is another distinguishing characteristic of the monks at this time in history.

What Monastic Orders Developed during the Middle Ages?

Other western European monastic orders that emerged during the Middle Ages were the Cluniac order; the Cistercians; the Dominicans; and the Franciscans. The latter two groups “abandoned enclosure as a principle and with the other friars became a feature in the town life of Europe until the Reformation.”[8] So – monasticism changes a lot over the time frame we’re studying, from solitary recluses to communal worshippers to workers in the world.

How did Monasticism Affect the Middle Ages?

What was most remarkable about the monastic movement is that the monks and their monasteries (and nuns in their cloisters, though less so) became the centers of learning, and the preservers and producers of scholarship, in the Middle Ages. Thomas Cahill goes so far as to say that the Irish saved civilization, and by this he meant the Irish MONKS, who piously produced manuscript after manuscript of copied and codified and collected information from centuries past. “The monks became passionate scribes not only of the Scriptures but also of other classical texts that were at risk of being lost after the fall of the Roman Empire. Celtic art forms were among the traditions that survived into the Irish Christian era and would lead to the development of spectacular illuminated manuscripts at the monks' hands.”[9] The earlier works of the Greeks and Romans were transcribed or simply copied, and they were STUDIED by the monks, who grew in learning and in this way became carriers of culture.

WHAT WAS MONASTICISM’S PURPOSE?

The purpose of monasticism kind of depends on whose point of view we’re talking about! For the monks, living in a cloistered community (for that’s how most of the monks lived) was clearly a way to worship their God, and to become closer to their ideal image and their highest aspiration. However, there were certainly secondary purposes served also. A banding together of brothers is humanity’s classic way of surviving adversity, and the Middle Ages had this a ‘plenty. With mass migrations of entire tribes of people, with roving knights and dominating kings, with a constant struggle for simple survival in addition to the quest for security – it’s no wonder the monastery was appealing!

For society, the purpose of the monastic movement is a little more speculative. However, it’s no great stretch of the imagination to realize that everyone benefits when some people do what they do best (read, write, learn, pray, heal, help, obey), and let others do what they do best (conquer territories, till fields, birth babies, make shoes). After all, this is what specialization and division of labor is all about! And it’s a time-worn winning concept – as long as there is enough “surplus” to go around. And in the Middle Ages, there WAS enough to feed the hermits and the monks. After all, they were perfecting themselves and thereby preserving the passage of the serfs and lords into heaven. That is, the work of the monks was socially sanctioned, and culturally approved.

What’s Religion Got to Do with It?

What would have happened WITHOUT the monks and monasteries? Well that’s probably a very good question, and one that no one really knows the answer to. However, I could hazard an opinion. On the one hand, it’s likely that there would have been SOME type of “civilizing force” to carry out the cultural duties of the transmission of knowledge, and the elevation of spirits, and the education of individuals in the ways and worshipping of the community. For instance, one of the remarkable things about Charlemagne is the extent to which he promoted some of the same civilizing influences. Some even say he started a Carolingian Renaissance.

Nevertheless, the monks are the ones who almost single-handedly passed on the Greek and Latin lessons from previous generations, and in this way they created the base upon which the European and Western civilization stands.

What Role Did Monks and Nuns Play in Early Medieval Society?

The monks and nuns of the early medieval period were, quite simply, the carriers of culture. Culture is defined as: “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.”[10] Naturally, the monastic orders were not the ONLY carriers of culture, but they certainly performed a role that was sorely lacking. They kept learning alive. They taught schools. They aided the poor, and housed and fed the needy. Most of all, the copied the manuscripts, and translated the Latin texts, and taught the newly converted Christians how to BE Christian.

One aspect of monasticism that I found astonishing was that “Christian monasticism was and continued to be a lay condition – monks depended on a local parish church for the sacraments.[11]

What Made Monks the Medieval Heroes?

In earlier generations, the venerated Christians were the martyrs – the ones who were killed or punished for their beliefs. “Christians in the first three centuries A.D. were crucified in the same manner as Roman political prisoners or eaten by lions as a circus spectacle. They are recognized as martyrs because they preferred dying for their faith to apostasy (renunciation of faith).”[12] The monks in the monasteries, and the nuns in the cloisters, were offering a role model that was more encouraging, and ennobling. Of course, it helped that the crucifiers were not after them anymore! Still, it’s a significant step forward when one’s spiritual ideal lives a life that approximates what an ordinary individual is capable of doing. And that’s just what the monks did. They lived a contemplative, studious, serious, and successful life that enriched their communities as well as themselves.





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[1] Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization, A Brief History, Volume I To 1715; Thompson Learning, Inc; Belmont CA, 2005; p. 119.

[2] This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Monasticism". Accessed 1/25/06.

[3] Wikipedia, Ibid.

[4] Spielvogel, p. 120.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid, p. 121

[7] This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rule of St Benedict". Accessed 1/27/06.

[8] Wikipedia,Monasticism Ibid.

[9] Friend, Pat. “Book Review: How the Irish Saved Civilization”. http://www.allaboutirish.com/library/bookrev/rev-saved.shtm. Accessed 1/28/06

[10] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. http://www.answers.com/topic/culture. Accessed 1/28/06.

[11] This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Christian monasticism". Accessed 1/27/06.

[12] This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Martyr". Accessed 1/28/06