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106-485: The first traces of human settlement in the vicinity of Vézelay date from 2300 to 2200 BC. near the sources of the Salt Fountains. In the first century and the second century, about two thousand mine shafts were mined in the south-west of Vezelay by about five hundred to eight hundred slaves. These mines allowed the creation of a center of economic activity (market), a refuge and probably a place of pilgrimage. From

212-530: A "Superior General". Each Benedictine congregation is autonomous and governed by an abbot or abbess. The autonomous houses are characterised by their chosen charism or specific dedication to a particular devotion. For example, In 1313 Bernardo Tolomei established the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet . The community adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict and received canonical approval in 1344. The Olivetans are part of

318-574: A celestial organ" When Bernard was finished the crowd enlisted en masse and they supposedly ran out of cloth to make crosses. Bernard is said to have flung off his own robe and began tearing it into strips to make more crosses. Others followed his example and he and his helpers were supposedly still producing crosses as night fell. On 2 July 1190, the Frankish and English factions of the Third Crusade met at Vézelay before officially departing for

424-464: A charter with the inhabitants that defined the rights of the abbey and the bourgeois: an act of wisdom that was praised In laudatory terms by Bernard of Clairvaux . In the twelfth century, Vézelay developed. Then, in 1146, Vézelay's reputation was such that Bernard de Clairvaux preached the second crusade at the place known as the Saint Bernard cross. The place of preaching was transformed into

530-458: A commemorative church: there were still some ruinis known as "La Cordelle". Abbé Ponce de Montbossier temporarily restored the abbey to its former privileges of independence (" pote, potestas Vezeliacensis "). The abbots received enormous prerogatives from the Vatican: the right to wear the mitre , the crosier , the ring and the sandals . At the same time, the city continued its development and

636-545: A commendatory abbot, a lay person, appointed by a noble to oversee and to protect the assets of the monastery. Often, however, this resulted in the appropriation of the assets of monasteries at the expense of the community which they were intended to support. Saint Blaise Abbey in the Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg is believed to have been founded around the latter part of the tenth century. Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise and

742-643: A crusade to the Holy Lands, there are four extant letters written by Pope Urban himself: one to the Flemish (dated December 1095); one to the Bolognese (dated September 1096); one to Vallombrosa (dated October 1096); and one to the counts of Catalonia (dated either 1089 or 1096–1099). However, whereas the three former letters were concerned with rallying popular support for the Crusades, and establishing

848-567: A few different places, namely the sacristy , which contained books for the choir and other liturgical books, the rectory , which housed books for public reading such as sermons and lives of the saints, and the library , which contained the largest collection of books and was typically in the cloister. The first record of a monastic library in England is in Canterbury . To assist with Augustine of Canterbury 's English mission , Pope Gregory

954-579: A great influence on popular conceptions and misconceptions about the Crusades, so it is worth comparing the five composed speeches to Urban's actual words. Fulcher of Chartres has Urban saying that the Lord and Christ beseech and command the Christians to fight and reclaim their land. The chronicler Robert the Monk put this into the mouth of Urban II: ... this land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by

1060-576: A hunting lodge, was officially returned to the Benedictines four hundred years later, in 1928. During the next few years, so-called Prinknash Park was used as a home until it was returned to the order. St. Lawrence's Abbey in Ampleforth, Yorkshire was founded in 1802. In 1955, Ampleforth set up a daughter house, a priory at St. Louis, Missouri which became independent in 1973 and became Saint Louis Abbey in its own right in 1989. As of 2015,

1166-657: A life of exploitation, others dedicated to the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament such as the one established by Catherine de Bar (1614–1698). In 1688 Dame Mechtilde de Bar assisted Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien , queen consort of Poland, to establish a Benedictine foundation in Warsaw . Abbeys were among the institutions of the Catholic Church swept away during

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1272-477: A monastery of women at the present site of Saint-Père. It has a villa, surrounded by large estates. The neighborhood in which the houses are located bears the name of Vezeliacus which will become Vizeliac then Vézelay. This was a tenuous start, abruptly interrupted between 871 and 877, when the Normans dislodged the nuns. Girart then asks for their replacement by a community of men. The abbey was then transferred to

1378-490: A monastic manner of life, drawing on the Vulgate 's use of conversatio as indicating "citizenship" or "local customs", see Philippians 3:20. The Rule enjoins monks and nuns "to live in this place as a religious, in obedience to its rule and to the abbot or abbess." Benedictine abbots and abbesses have jurisdiction over their abbey and thus canonical authority over the monks or nuns who are resident. This authority includes

1484-574: A much larger force to retake Jerusalem. Urban II refers to liberating the church as a whole or the eastern churches generally rather than to reconquering Jerusalem itself. The phrases used are "churches of God in the eastern region" and "the eastern churches" (to the Flemish), "liberation of the Church" (to Bologna), "liberating Christianity [Lat. Christianitatis]" (to Vallombrosa), and "the Asian church" (to

1590-401: A reference to ritual purification , which is inspired by Benedict's encouragement of bathing . Benedictine monks have played a role in the development and promotion of spas . Benedictine monasticism differs from other Christian religious orders in that as congregations sometimes with several houses, some of them in other countries, they are not bound into a unified religious order headed by

1696-511: A religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit . They retained a close relationship until her death. Despite being called an order, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy but are instead organized as a collection of autonomous monasteries and convents, some known as abbeys . The order is represented internationally by the Benedictine Confederation , an organization set up in 1893 to represent

1802-526: A simple collegiate church, a chapter of canons replaces the Benedictine monks and especially the domain is placed in the hands of commendatory abbots . Francis I tried in vain to get Vezelay to become a bishopric. The bull of 1541 was registered by the Parlement of Paris only in 1653. It bore only insufficient income and favored the commendatory abbots. During the wars of religion , the abbots made

1908-469: A small town. "Hence, among them, a spirit of independence, which monastic despotism irritated, and which soon manifested itself by bloody revolts, obstinate struggles". It would be necessary to wait for a pontifical bull to make Madeleine officially become the patroness of the abbey (1050). Such prosperity attracted Cluny, who submitted to Vezelay and appointed the Abbe Artaud. In 1060, Vézelay obtained

2014-539: A strong place of the Protestant League . Under the influence of Theodore de Beze , the abbey made Vézelay one of the first towns of the region allied to Protestantism. In March 1569, the town was taken by the Protestant troops of Captains Sarrasin and Blosset, anxious to win a good military position. The city was soon besieged by the armies of Charles IX commanded by Louis Prevost of Sansac. The cavalry

2120-620: A template for explaining child deaths. According to historian Joe Hillaby, the blood libel of Harold was crucially important because for the first time an unexplained child death occurring near the Easter festival was arbitrarily linked to Jews in the vicinity by local Christian churchmen: "they established a pattern quickly taken up elsewhere. Within three years the first ritual murder charge was made in France." The forty-eighth Rule of Saint Benedict prescribes extensive and habitual "holy reading" for

2226-529: A unified defense against them. The most important effect of the First Crusade for Urban himself was the removal of Clement III from Rome in 1097 by one of the French armies. His restoration there was supported by Matilda of Tuscany . Urban II died on 29 July 1099, fourteen days after the fall of Jerusalem , but before news of the event had reached Italy; his successor was Pope Paschal II . Urban

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2332-428: Is Ora et Labora "pray and work". Although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence are set, and at other times silence is maintained as much as is practically possible. Social conversations tend to be limited to communal recreation times. Such details, like other aspects of the daily routine of a Benedictine house are left to the discretion of the superior, and are set out in its customary ,

2438-531: Is subsequently found in some monasteries in southern Gaul along with other rules used by abbots. Gregory of Tours says that at Ainay Abbey , in the sixth century, the monks "followed the rules of Basil, Cassian, Caesarius, and other fathers, taking and using whatever seemed proper to the conditions of time and place", and doubtless the same liberty was taken with the Benedictine Rule when it reached them. In Gaul and Switzerland, it gradually supplemented

2544-608: Is the local wine appellation. Vineyards descend to the edge of the town and produce only white wines, made exclusively of the Chardonnay grape variety. About half of the production is marketed through the Cave Henry co-operative. The vineyards are believed to have been established by the Monastery in the ninth century. In the late nineteenth century the vineyards were decimated by phylloxera . The vineyards were revived during

2650-476: Is the will of God!" Within Fulcher of Chartres account of pope Urban's speech there was a promise of remission of sins for whoever took part in the crusade. All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. It is disputed whether the famous slogan "God wills it" or "It

2756-659: Is the will of God" ( deus vult in Latin, Dieu le veut in French) in fact was established as a rallying cry during the Council. While Robert the Monk says so, it is also possible that the slogan was created as a catchy propaganda motto afterwards. Urban II's own letter to the Flemish confirms that he granted "remission of all their sins" to those undertaking the enterprise to liberate the eastern churches. One notable contrast with

2862-533: The cullagium tax), and the emperor and his antipope. He facilitated the marriage of Matilda , countess of Tuscany, with Welf II , duke of Bavaria . He supported the rebellion of Prince Conrad against his father and bestowed the office of groom on Conrad at Cremona in 1095. While there, he helped arrange the marriage between Conrad and Maximilla , the daughter of Count Roger of Sicily , which occurred later that year at Pisa ; her large dowry helped finance Conrad's continued campaigns. The Empress Adelaide

2968-642: The Abbey of Monte Cassino . There is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. When Monte Cassino was sacked by the Lombards about the year 580, the monks fled to Rome, and it seems probable that this constituted an important factor in the diffusion of a knowledge of Benedictine monasticism. Copies of Benedict's Rule survived; around 594 Pope Gregory I spoke favorably of it. The rule

3074-580: The Benedictine Confederation . Although Benedictines are traditionally Catholic, there are also other communities that follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. For example, of an estimated 2,400 celibate Anglican religious (1,080 men and 1,320 women) in the Anglican Communion as a whole, some have adopted the Rule of Benedict. Likewise, such communities can be found in Eastern Orthodox Church , and Lutheran Church . Members of

3180-483: The Benedictine Rule . Rule 38 states that 'these brothers' meals should usually be accompanied by reading, and that they were to eat and drink in silence while one read out loud. Benedictine monks were not allowed worldly possessions, thus necessitating the preservation and collection of sacred texts in monastic libraries for communal use. For the sake of convenience, the books in the monastery were housed in

3286-579: The Black Monks , especially in English speaking countries, after the colour of their habits . Not all Benedictines wear black, however, with some like the Olivetans wearing white. They were founded by Benedict of Nursia , a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica , possibly his twin, also became

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3392-509: The Congregation of Saint Maur , a prerevolutionary French congregation of Benedictines known for their scholarship: Benedictine Oblates endeavor to embrace the spirit of the Benedictine vow in their own life in the world. Oblates are affiliated with a particular monastery. Urban II Pope Urban II ( Latin : Urbanus II  ; c.  1035 – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery ,

3498-665: The Council of Piacenza , where, in March 1095, Urban II received an ambassador from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos asking for help against the Turkish tribes who had taken over most of formerly Byzantine Anatolia . The Council of Clermont met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian , and French bishops . All of the sessions except the final one took place either in the cathedral of Clermont or in

3604-1182: The English Reformation . A stone's throw from Marble Arch , the Tyburn Convent is now the Mother House of the Congregation. Benedictines are thought to have arrived in the Kingdom of Poland in the 11th-century. One of the earliest foundations is Tyniec Abbey on a promontory by the Vistula river. The Tyniec monks led the translation of the Bible into Polish vernacular. Other surviving Benedictine houses can be found in Stary Kraków Village , Biskupów , Lubiń . Older foundations are in Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Łęczyca , Łysa Góra and in Opactwo , among others. In

3710-773: The French Revolution . Monasteries and convents were again allowed to form in the 19th century under the Bourbon Restoration . Later that century, under the Third French Republic , laws were enacted preventing religious teaching. The original intent was to allow secular schools. Thus in 1880 and 1882, Benedictine teaching monks were effectively exiled; this was not completed until 1901. In 1898 Marie-Adèle Garnier, in religion, Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre, founded in Montmartre ( Mount of

3816-834: The Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over papal authority. Despite the Walk to Canossa , Gregory had backed the rebel Duke of Swabia and again excommunicated the emperor. Henry finally took Rome in 1084 and installed Clement III in his place. Urban took up the policies of Pope Gregory VII and, while pursuing them with determination, showed greater flexibility and diplomatic finesse. Usually kept away from Rome, Urban toured northern Italy and France. A series of well-attended synods held in Rome , Amalfi , Benevento , and Troia supported him in renewed declarations against simony , lay investitures , clerical marriages (partly via

3922-759: The Middle Ages the city of Płock , also on the Vistula, had a successful monastery, which played a significant role in the local economy. In the 18th-century benedictine convents were opened for women, notably in Warsaw's New Town. A 15th-century Benedictine foundation can be found in Senieji Trakai , a village in Eastern Lithuania . Kloster Rheinau was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in

4028-727: The Vatican and to the world. The headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate is the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo built by Pope Leo XIII in Rome . The Rule of Saint Benedict is also used by a number of religious orders that began as reforms of the Benedictine tradition such as the Cistercians and Trappists . These groups are separate congregations and not members of

4134-565: The 1970s. Benedictines The Benedictines , officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( Latin : Ordo Sancti Benedicti , abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict . Initiated in 529 they are the oldest of all the religious orders in the Latin Church . The male religious are also sometimes called

4240-531: The 1st century, the Romans set up the wine-growing on the hill of Vézelay. A temple in honor of Bacchus was discovered by the parish priest Guenot in 1689 in the foundations of the old church of Saint-Etienne during the construction of a new bell tower, which shows the importance of this culture in the region. In the 9th century the Benedictines were given land to build a monastery during the reign of Charles

4346-541: The Bald . According to legend, not long before the end of the first millennium a monk named Baudillon brought relics of Mary Magdalene to Vézelay from Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume . In 1058 Pope Stephen IX confirmed the authenticity of the relics, leading to an influx of pilgrims that has continued to this day. Vézelay Abbey was also a major starting point for pilgrims on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela . This

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4452-746: The Benedictine Confederation. Other specialisms, such as Gregorian chant as at Solesmes in France, or Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Sacrament have been adopted by different houses, as at the Warsaw Convent, or the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre at Tyburn Convent in London. Other houses have dedicated themselves to books, reading, writing and printing them as at Stanbrook Abbey in England. Others still are associated with

4558-407: The Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778. The abbey of Our Lady of the Angels was founded in 1120. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations. Through the influence of Wilfrid , Benedict Biscop , and Dunstan , the Benedictine Rule spread rapidly, and in the North it was adopted in most of the monasteries that had been founded by

4664-476: The Catalan counts). Coincidentally or not, Fulcher of Chartres's version of Urban's speech makes no explicit reference to Jerusalem. Rather it more generally refers to aiding the crusaders' Christian "brothers of the eastern shore," and to their loss of Asia Minor to the Turks. It is still disputed what Pope Urban's motives were as evidenced by the different speeches that were recorded, all of which differ from each other. Some historians believe that Urban wished for

4770-405: The Celtic missionaries from Iona. Many of the episcopal sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines, and no fewer than nine of the old cathedrals were served by the black monks of the priories attached to them. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak and homeless. The monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of

4876-600: The Cluniac Abbey of Fruttuaria in Italy, which led to St. Blaise following the Fruttuarian reforms. The Empress Agnes was a patron of Fruttuaria, and retired there in 1065 before moving to Rome. The Empress was instrumental in introducing Fruttuaria's Benedictine customs, as practiced at Cluny, to Saint Blaise Abbey in Baden-Württemberg . Other houses either reformed by, or founded as priories of, St. Blasien were Muri Abbey (1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey (1093), Göttweig Abbey (1094), Stein am Rhein Abbey (before 1123) and Prüm Abbey (1132). It also had significant influence on

4982-420: The English Congregation consists of three abbeys of nuns and ten abbeys of monks. Members of the congregation are found in England, Wales, the United States of America, Peru and Zimbabwe. In England there are also houses of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation : Farnborough, Prinknash, and Chilworth: the Solesmes Congregation , Quarr and St Cecilia's on the Isle of Wight, as well as a diocesan monastery following

5088-409: The Great gave him nine books which included the Gregorian Bible in two volumes, the Psalter of Augustine, two copies of the Gospels , two martyrologies , an Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles, and a Psalter . Theodore of Tarsus brought Greek books to Canterbury more than seventy years later, when he founded a school for the study of Greek. The first Benedictine to live in the United States

5194-548: The Holy Land. The human settlement on the hill of Vézelay is very anterior to the Benedictine abbey. Merovingian sarcophagi were found in the basement of the church of St. Peter, and under one of them an older sarcophagus. In 2012, a Carolingian wall was discovered, under the cloister of Vézelay. Girart de Roussillon received by a favor from Louis the Pious and chose in 858 to ensure the perenniality of his possessions by transforming them into two Benedictine communities, respectively male and female: Pothières and Vézelay. He founded

5300-455: The Holy See, To recognize no chief of order, no diocesan bishop, no prince, no lord whatsoever. It forms a kind of theocratic republic, detached at first from the Carolingian monarchy, then from the French feudalism, and not preserving, either with one or the other, any connection or relationship of subordination." Some authors assert that in 882 the monk Badilon had brought from Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume to Vézelay, relics of Mary Magdalene. On

5406-454: The Martyr ), Paris a Benedictine house. However, the Waldeck-Rousseau 's Law of Associations , passed in 1901, placed severe restrictions on religious bodies which were obliged to leave France. Garnier and her community relocated to another place associated with executions, this time it was in London , near the site of Tyburn tree where 105 Catholic martyrs—including Saint Oliver Plunkett and Saint Edmund Campion had been executed during

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5512-444: The Muslims in Spain. While the First Crusade resulted in occupation of Jerusalem from the Fatimids , Pope Urban II died before he could receive this news. He also set up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the Church. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 14 July 1881. Urban, baptized Eudes (Odo), was born to a family of Châtillon-sur-Marne. In 1050, he begun his studies at

5618-453: The Rule of Saint Benedict: The Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury. Since the Oxford Movement , there has also been a modest flourishing of Benedictine monasticism in the Anglican Church and Protestant Churches. Anglican Benedictine Abbots are invited guests of the Benedictine Abbot Primate in Rome at Abbatial gatherings at Sant'Anselmo. In 1168 local Benedictine monks instigated the anti-semitic blood libel of Harold of Gloucester as

5724-493: The Vezelians to leave the Anglo-Burgundian league and contributed to the rapprochement between Philip the Good and Charles VII and led to the meeting of the Council of Basel in 1431. Finally, he participated in the elaboration of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges in 1438. Louis XI did not tolerate the abbots being bound to the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. In order to secure a stronghold, he brutally imposed one of his courtiers, Pierre de Balzac. The New Gate of Vézelay built at

5830-409: The abbeys of Alpirsbach (1099), Ettenheimm ünster (1124) and Sulzburg ( c.  1125 ), and the priories of Weitenau (now part of Steinen , c.  1100 ), Bürgel (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch ( c.  1130 ). Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire , Loiret was founded in about 640. It is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, and possesses

5936-416: The abbot of Monte Cassino , was chosen to follow Gregory in 1085 but, after his short reign as Victor III, Odo was elected by acclamation at a small meeting of cardinals and other prelates held in Terracina in March 1088. From the outset, Urban had to reckon with the presence of Guibert , the former bishop of Ravenna who held Rome as the antipope "Clement III". Gregory had repeatedly clashed with

6042-510: The army of rescue at Vézelay. They make their junction with the English contingents of King Henry V, commanded by his brother, the Duke of Bedford, John of Lancaster. The two armies gather 12,000 men and meet to counter the forces of the Dauphin Charles at La Charité-sur-Loire . Abbot Hugues de Maison-Comte, an adviser to Charles V, is known for his fairness in his relations with the inhabitants of Vézelay (1353–1383), and Abbé Alexandre, adviser to Philippe Le Bon for his diplomatic role. He exhorted

6148-405: The brethren. Three primary types of reading were done by the monks in medieval times. Monks would read privately during their personal time, as well as publicly during services and at mealtimes. In addition to these three mentioned in the Rule, monks would also read in the infirmary. Monasteries were thriving centers of education, with monks and nuns actively encouraged to learn and pray according to

6254-434: The chronicle account of the First Crusade called the Gesta Francorum (written c. 1101), which includes a version of it. Fulcher of Chartres was present at the Council, though he did not start writing his history of the crusade, including a version of the speech until c. 1101. Robert the Monk may have been present, but his version dates from about 1106. As a better means of evaluating Urban's true motives in calling for

6360-401: The city untaken, on 25 February 1570. At the treaty of Saint-Germain (1570), Vézelay was one of the two towns of the government of Champagne to authorize the Protestants to freely exercise their worship. In 1594 Edme de Rochefort, Sieur de Pluvault, who governed the city in the name of the League, gave the place to Henri IV and took the lead of the royalist troops to take Avallon. Vézelay

6466-416: The code adopted by a particular Benedictine house by adapting the Rule to local conditions. According to the norms of the 1983 Code of Canon Law , a Benedictine abbey is a " religious institute " and its members therefore participate in consecrated life which Canon 588 §1 explains is intrinsically "neither clerical nor lay." Males in consecrated life, however, may be ordained. Benedictines' rules contain

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6572-422: The controversy, although Bertrade remained active in attempting to see her sons succeed Philip instead of Louis . ) Urban further authorised itinerant preachers such as Robert of Arbrissel to spread the knowledge of Christian faith and promote the ideas of the reform movement, contributing to the mass phenomenon of spirituality at the end of the 11th century. Urban II's movement took its first public shape at

6678-461: The daughter of the first Christian King of Kent . Currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns. Five of the most notable English abbeys are the Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey , The Abbey of St Edmund, King and Martyr commonly known as Douai Abbey in Upper Woolhampton, Reading, Berkshire, Ealing Abbey in Ealing, West London, and Worth Abbey . Prinknash Abbey , used by Henry VIII as

6784-419: The desires of all who were present, that they cried out "It is the will of God! It is the will of God!". When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, [he] said: "Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.' Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered

6890-437: The end of the 15th century and where the sites are still visible. At the end of the 15th century, a new door was built in the precincts: the Porte Neuve. The latter is defended by two round towers about twelve meters in diameter with walls three meters thick, and two harrows are added to the door in order to be able to prohibit access. In 1538, a bull granted what the monks long demanded: namely secularization. The abbey becomes

6996-403: The hill and Benedictine monks replaced the nuns. The position of the monastery attracted many families to take advantage of the protection of the walls of the new establishment. It was dedicated to the Virgin and the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Its status is quite peculiar, for it was affiliated with Cluny , which was exempted until 1744: "by paying the annual fee of one pound of silver to

7102-409: The letters to Bologna and Vallombrosa he refers to the crusaders' desire to set out for Jerusalem rather than to his own desire that Jerusalem be freed from Seljuk rule. It was believed that originally that Urban wanted to send a relatively small force to aid the Byzantines, however after meeting with two prominent members of the crusades Adhemar of Puy and Raymond of Saint-Guilles, Urban decided to rally

7208-414: The much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually entirely displaced the earlier codes. By the ninth century, however, the Benedictine had become the standard form of monastic life throughout the whole of Western Europe, excepting Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, where the Celtic observance still prevailed for another century or two. Largely through

7314-407: The nearby cathedral school of Reims . He was prior of the abbey of Cluny , and Pope Gregory VII later named him cardinal-bishop of Ostia c.  1080 . He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms , especially as legate in the Holy Roman Empire in 1084. He was among the three whom Gregory VII nominated as papabile (possible successors). Desiderius ,

7420-427: The new archbishop of Canterbury fled England. Likewise, despite the importance of French support for his cause, he upheld his legate Hugh of Die 's excommunication of King Philip over his doubly bigamous marriage with Bertrade de Montfort , wife of the Count of Anjou . (The ban was repeatedly lifted and reimposed as the king promised to forswear her and then repeatedly returned to her. A public penance in 1104 ended

7526-412: The ninth or tenth century speaks of six hours a day as the usual task of a scribe, which would absorb almost all the time available for active work in the day of a medieval monk. In the Middle Ages monasteries were often founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910. The abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot of Cluny

7632-574: The objectives, his letters to the Catalonian lords instead beseech them to continue the fight against the Moors , assuring them that doing so would offer the same divine rewards as a conflict against the Seljuks. It is Urban II's own letters, rather than the paraphrased versions of his speech at Clermont, that reveal his actual thinking about crusading. Nevertheless, the versions of the speech have had

7738-483: The order's shared interests. They do not have a superior general or motherhouse with universal jurisdiction but elect an Abbot Primate to represent themselves to the Vatican and to the world. Benedictine nuns are given the title Dame in preference to Sister . The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Benedict of Nursia c. 529, was the first of the dozen monasteries he founded. He later founded

7844-472: The other hand, Eudes, first abbot, is mentioned in 897. Elected in 1037, Abbot Geoffroy reformed the abbey and convinced his contemporaries that the abbey possessed the remains of Mary Magdalene : hence pilgrimages, offerings and donations. Between the years 1050 and 1250, Vézelay was the largest Magdalenian sanctuary in Western Europe. This benefited the inhabitants naturally and the village became

7950-580: The people to wrest the Holy Land , and the eastern churches generally, from the domination of the Seljuks. This was the speech that triggered the Crusades . There exists no exact transcription of the speech that Urban delivered at the Council of Clermont. The five extant versions of the speech were written down some time later, and they differ widely from one another. All versions of the speech except that by Fulcher of Chartres were probably influenced by

8056-418: The places where they were founded or their founders centuries ago, hence Cassinese , Subiaco , Camaldolese or Sylvestrines . All Benedictine houses became federated in the Benedictine Confederation brought into existence by Pope Leo XIII 's Apostolic Brief " Summum semper " on 12 July 1893. Pope Leo also established the office of Abbot Primate as the abbot elected to represent this Confederation at

8162-641: The pope proclaimed that the body found at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume was indeed the body of Mary Magdalene. The pilgrims turned away from Vézelay and prosperity left too. In 1280, an ordinance signed by Philip the Bold proclaims the more or less complete attachment of Vezelay to the royal domain. Pope Martin IV approved the decree. With the Order of 1312, Philip the Fair confirmed that city and abbey are an ordinary dependency of

8268-503: The power to assign duties, to decide which books may or may not be read, to regulate comings and goings, and to punish and to excommunicate , in the sense of an enforced isolation from the monastic community. A tight communal timetable – the horarium  – is meant to ensure that the time given by God is not wasted but used in God's service, whether for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading or sleep. The order's motto

8374-695: The recent "triumph" of the Pisans over Saracen forces. Urban received vital support in his conflict with the Byzantine Empire , Romans and the Holy Roman Empire from the Norman of Campania and Sicily . In return he granted Roger I the freedom to appoint bishops (the right of lay investiture ), to collect Church revenues before forwarding to the papacy, and the right to sit in judgment on ecclesiastical questions. Roger I virtually became

8480-510: The relics of St. Benedict. Like many Benedictine abbeys it was located on the banks of a river, here the Loire . Ainey Abbey is a ninth century foundation on the Lyon peninsula. In the twelfth century on the current site there was a romanesque monastery , subsequently rebuilt. The seventeenth century saw a number of Benedictine foundations for women, some dedicated to the indigent to save them from

8586-479: The religious community. The protection of the relics of the Madeleine seemed to be ineffective, and the pilgrims turned away from this troubled city by so many conflicts (such as the uprising of 1250). Pope Clement IV launched an inquiry to understand the reasons for such a forfeiture and ordered a solemn verification of the relics of the Madeleine. King St. Louis joined the ceremony (on 24 April 1267). But in 1279,

8692-622: The reunification of the eastern and western churches, a rift that was caused by the Great Schism of 1054 . Others believe that Urban saw this as an opportunity to gain legitimacy as the pope as at the time he was contending with the antipope Clement III. A third theory is that Urban felt threatened by the Seljuk conquests in Europe and saw the crusades as a way to unite the Christian world into

8798-537: The right of commune. In 1096, Urban II preached the first crusade; the construction of the abbey church was decided. It was consecrated in 1104. The abbe Artaud was assassinated in 1106. After many vicissitudes (revolts, seigneurial conflicts, the fire of 1120 caused by lightning), the narthex or Church of the Penitent Pilgrims was built: it was dedicated only in 1132. In 1137 the Abbe Albéric signed

8904-493: The road to the Holy Sepulchre ; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves ... God has conferred upon you above all nations great glory in arms. Accordingly undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven . Robert continued: When Pope Urban had said these ... things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose

9010-465: The royal domain. The inhabitants understood that this authority allowed them to contain the abbatial independence, and to escape the brutalities of feudal lords. Vezelay enters the restricted circle of the towns of the kingdom (there were only 16). In 1360, the wall was rebuilt and reinforced with round towers with machicolations . On 27 July 1421 the troops of the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe Le Bon, await

9116-408: The same community), and to adopt a "conversion of habits", in Latin, conversatio morum and obedience to the community's superior. The "Benedictine vows" are equivalent to the evangelical counsels accepted by all candidates entering a religious order . The interpretation of conversatio morum understood as "conversion of the habits of life" has generally been replaced by notions such as adoption of

9222-407: The same cry. For, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war-cry in combats, because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It

9328-485: The same lineage. For instance the American-Cassinese congregation included the 22 monasteries descended from Boniface Wimmer. A sense of community has been the defining characteristic of the order since the beginning. To that end, section 17 in chapter 58 of the Rule of Saint Benedict specifies the solemn vows candidates joining a Benedictine community are required to make: a vow of stability, to remain in

9434-604: The same remission of sin for those that fought in Spain and discouraged those that wished to travel east from Spain. A similar line is taken by Erdmann, who views the conflict in Iberia as being premeditated by the Mahdia campaign of 1087 conducted by Pope Victor III due to the granting of an indulgence. This campaign, Erdmann argues, was considered a success because of the elevation of the see of Pisa in 1092 in which Urban acknowledges

9540-430: The seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder one another, that you wage war, and that frequently you perish by mutual wounds. Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon

9646-588: The sick. During the English Reformation , all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, forcing those who wished to continue in the monastic life to flee into exile on the Continent. During the 19th century English members of these communities were able to return to England. St. Mildred's Priory , on the Isle of Thanet , Kent , was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by

9752-517: The speeches recorded by Robert the Monk, Guibert of Nogent , and Baldric of Dol is the lesser emphasis on Jerusalem itself, which Urban only once mentions as his own focus of concern. In the letter to the Flemish he writes, "they [the Turks] have seized the Holy City of Christ, embellished by his passion and resurrection, and blasphemy to say—have sold her and her churches into abominable slavery." In

9858-414: The suburban church of Notre-Dame-du-Port. Though the Council was primarily focused on reforms within the church hierarchy, Urban II gave a speech on 27 November 1095 at the conclusion of the Council to a broader audience. The speech was made outside in the open air to accommodate the vast crowd that had come to hear him. Urban II's sermon proved highly effective, as he summoned the attending nobility and

9964-524: The third crusade. The choir of the Romanesque church was rebuilt into a larger one. Abbe Hugues, a corrupt man, squandered the wealth of the abbey and was dismissed in 1207. The decline of the abbey began, coinciding with the decline of the monastic orders and that of the Benedictines in particular. Towards 1215, the abbey was completed, and the conflicts with the counts of Nevers resumed. The different popes and kings of France could do nothing to protect

10070-980: The time of his death in 1887, Wimmer had sent Benedictine monks to Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, and Colorado. Wimmer also asked for Benedictine sisters to be sent to America by St. Walburg Convent in Eichstätt , Bavaria. In 1852, Sister Benedicta Riepp and two other sisters founded St. Marys, Pennsylvania . Soon they would send sisters to Michigan, New Jersey, and Minnesota. By 1854, Swiss monks began to arrive and founded St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana, and they soon spread to Arkansas and Louisiana. They were soon followed by Swiss sisters. There are now over 100 Benedictine houses across America. Most Benedictine houses are part of one of four large Congregations: American-Cassinese, Swiss-American, St. Scholastica, and St. Benedict. The congregations mostly are made up of monasteries that share

10176-408: The twelfth century, which saw the rise of the mendicant Franciscans and nomadic Dominicans . Benedictines by contrast, took a vow of "stability", which professed loyalty to a particular foundation in a particular location. Not being bound by location, the mendicants were better able to respond to an increasingly "urban" environment. This decline was further exacerbated by the practice of appointing

10282-471: The work of Benedict of Aniane , it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire. Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium. As a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole, active work. An anonymous writer of

10388-888: Was Pierre-Joseph Didier. He came to the United States in 1790 from Paris and served in the Ohio and St. Louis areas until his death. The first actual Benedictine monastery founded was Saint Vincent Archabbey , located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania . It was founded in 1832 by Boniface Wimmer , a German monk, who sought to serve German immigrants in America. In 1856, Wimmer started to lay the foundations for St. John's Abbey in Minnesota. In 1876, Herman Wolfe, of Saint Vincent Archabbey established Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. By

10494-471: Was crucially important in attracting pilgrims and the wealth they brought to the town. Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade at the Council of Vézelay in 1146 with King Louis VII of France . The crowd was so large that a large platform was erected on a hill outside the city. The full text has not survived, but a contemporary account says that "his voice rang out across the meadow like

10600-528: Was encouraged in her charges of sexual coercion against her husband, Henry IV. He supported the theological and ecclesiastical work of Anselm , negotiating a solution to the cleric's impasse with King William II of England and finally receiving England's support against the Imperial pope in Rome. Urban maintained vigorous support for his predecessors' reforms, however, and did not shy from supporting Anselm when

10706-484: Was fortified in 1150 with 2,000 meters of curtain wall and the construction of the Holy Cross gate. Then, the city obtained communal institutions in 1152, which were withdrawn in 1155 by Louis VII . After the revolt of 1167, the inhabitants obtained from the monks a written charter which guaranteed them liberties in the region (" libertas Vezeliacensis "). In 1190, Philippe Auguste and Richard Cœur de Lion met for

10812-432: Was involved in Iberia from the very beginning of his time as pontiff. Of his involvements in Iberia there were two main engagements, namely the: Urban here gave support to the crusades in Spain against the Moors there. According to Chevedden, Urban was concerned that the focus on the east and Jerusalem would neglect the fight in Spain. He saw the fight in the east and in Spain as part of the same crusade so he would offer

10918-411: Was launched on Vézelay on October 6, but the captains entrenched in the city defended themselves very well by attacking in their turn. The bombings since Asquins and Saint-Père yielded nothing. The siege turned into a blockade to starve the city. The city did not surrender despite eight months of siege and intense fighting, thanks to a supply of relief from Protestant troops. Sansac lifted the camp, leaving

11024-575: Was the grand prior of Cluny and bishop of Ostia . As pope, he dealt with Antipope Clement III , infighting of various Christian nations, and the Turkish invasions into Anatolia . In 1095 he started preaching the First Crusade (1096–1099). He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the holy land from Muslims and free the eastern churches. This pardon would also apply to those that would fight

11130-459: Was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermont which ignited the series of Christian military expeditions known as the Crusades . Pope Urban was a native of France and was a descendant of a noble family from the French commune of Châtillon-sur-Marne . Before his papacy, Urban

11236-462: Was the superior of all the daughter houses, through appointed priors. One of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald , who founded the Camaldolese community. The Cistercians branched off from the Benedictines in 1098; they are often called the "White monks". The dominance of the Benedictine monastic way of life began to decline towards the end of

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