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A Compromised Inheritance: Monastic Discourse and the Politics of Property Exchange in Early Twelfth-Century Flanders
Abstract
This paper explores the possibilities of assessing the social discourse of monastic groups in early twelfth-century Flanders. Through the examination of a dispute over property given by a dying noblewoman to the priory of Hesdin, it argues that both the way in which the monks and their benefactors dealt with the politics of property transfers and the discourse of the written account of these events may be interpreted, on the one hand as deliberate attempts to force a monastic understanding of property and relations with the laity upon the rural communities around Hesdin. On the other, they may be seen as the reflection of a struggle for power and status involving members of several levels of the lay elite.
By looking at the archives of the Benedictine priory of Saint-Georges in the Northern French town of Hesdin, this paper aims to illustrate the versatility of a monastic community at the turn of the twelfth century in documenting the spiritual, legal and memorial implications of the monastic profession, as well as their understanding of the ritual itself as a significant social event, in which lasting ties were established with secular society. The analysis of an exceptional notice relating to the conversion of a man named Walter will show how, in addition to these purposes, the written word could also be used to capture in a permanent form the profession ritual as a 'total' transition of a layman's properties and self from the secular world to its spiritual counterpart.
This paper looks at evidence from ecclesiastical institutions situated in the Southern Low Countries to argue that, during the final decades of the eleventh century, ecclesiastical discourse in conflicts with their enemies of the middle and lower groups of the secular elite shifted from a "culpabilizing" to a "penitential" one. While the effects of this shift are difficult to assess, the authors argue that there are indications that it may have been helpful in at least two respects. On the one hand, it allowed religious institutions to create new amicitiae with individuals and communities who had previously been refused such privileged relations. On the other, the instrumentalization of a penitential discourse in contemporary politics provided opportunities for lay people to demonstrate their ability to participate in the peaceful management of society. This in turn allowed the established ecclesiastical and lay elites to adapt themselves to the rapidly changing political, social, and economic realities of their time.
The history of monastic institutions in the Middle Ages may at first appear remarkably uniform and predictable. Medieval commentators and modern scholars have observed how monasteries of the tenth to early twelfth centuries experienced long periods of stasis alternating with bursts of rapid development known as reforms. Charismatic leaders by sheer force of will, and by assiduously recruiting the support of the ecclesiastical and lay elites, pushed monasticism forward toward reform, remediating the inevitable decline of discipline and government in these institutions. A lack of concrete information on what happened at individual monasteries is not regarded as a significant problem, as long as there is the possibility to reconstruct the reformers’ “program.” While this general picture makes for a compelling narrative, it doesn't necessarily hold up when one looks closely at the history of specific institutions. In Monastic Reform as Process, Steven Vanderputten puts the history of monastic reform to the test by examining the evidence from seven monasteries in Flanders, one of the wealthiest principalities of northwestern Europe, between 900 and 1100. He finds that the reform of a monastery should be studied not as an “exogenous shock” but as an intentional blending of reformist ideals with existing structures and traditions. He also shows that reformist government was cumulative in nature, and many of the individual achievements and initiatives of reformist abbots were only possible because they built upon previous achievements. Rather than looking at reforms as “flashpoint events,” we need to view them as processes worthy of study in their own right. Deeply researched and carefully argued, Monastic Reform as Process will be essential reading for scholars working on the history of monasteries more broadly as well as those studying the phenomenon of reform throughout history.
This paper argues that the now-abandoned notion of a ‘crisis of cenobiticism’ in the late eleventh and early twelfth century should be replaced by one in which endemic institutional processes and increased competition among Benedictine institutions led to a profound shift in the societal position and government of ‘old-style’ monasticism. As an analysis of evidence relevant to the abbey of Saint-Bertin shows, a series of events and setbacks had a significant effect on the abbey’s prominent position in Flanders in the middle decades of the eleventh century. Unable to compete effectively with the recently founded Bergues-Saint-Winnoc, Saint-Bertin was hindered by its own historical legacies when trying to adapt to changing economic, political and other circumstances. Yet towards the end of the eleventh century these same historical legacies, which effectively made the abbey’s leadership less dynamic than that of younger institutions, allowed the abbots of Saint-Bertin to reclaim a prominent position in Flanders, and to actively intervene in the institutional development of its immediate competitors. The renewed association with the count of Flanders was essential in this process. If nothing else, this shows the remarkable dynamics of institutional development in this period which has long been represented as a sterile time for Benedictine monasticism.
The author argues that the introduction of the written promise of obedience made by abbots to the local bishop, as recorded in liturgical manuals of the late-twelfth century, was the result of a process that began at least a century earlier. By looking at an exceptional set of liturgical and archival sources from the Bishopric of Arras in northern France and putting them in their appropriate canonical, liturgical, and political contexts, the author shows how, in the late- eleventh and early-twelfth centuries, reformist bishops were experimenting with a ritual repertoire that included references—be they intended or inferred—to both the monastic profession and secular homage.
The present town of Bertrée lies about mid-way between Liège and Louvain on the undulating plateau of Hannut, toward the center of the ancient region of the Hesbaye, where the rich soil, temperate climate, and relative flatness have attracted settlers since the earliest times. It lies south of the Roman road (later known as the chaussée Brunehaut) between Boulogne and Cologne and is surrounded by the remains of Roman and Gallo-Roman habitations, tombs, and cemeteries. Nearby there were roads to Nivelles and Bavay. In the Middle Ages it belonged both politically and ecclesiastically to the province of Liège, though it was situated almost in an enclave between the counties of Louvain to the north and west, Looz to the north and east, and Namur to the south and west. Nothing specific is known about its history, however, before Walter of Trognée established a priory there in 1124.
This article argues that the chronology and geography of the Cluniac reform movement in the county of Flanders in the early twelfth century were to a large extent determined by the attempts of the counts to regain control over the feudal network and by the reformers' specific strategies to reassess relations between monastic communities and their lay officers. Through the example of the turbulent abbacy and eventual deposition of Fulcard, abbot of Marchiennes and member of one of the most powerful local clans in the southeastern parts of Flanders, it is shown how the dividing line between supporters and adversaries of the reform movement ran across the division between the higher levels of the Flemish aristocracy and families who had recently introduced themselves into the aristocratic network. If one accepts the existence of opportunities for consensus based on what Patrick Geary has described as "structural conflicts," it can be understood how Cluniac reforms at the same time constituted a point of dissent and an opportunity for all parties involved to reassess their relations in a satisfying and largely peaceful manner.
In the many conflicts opposing the Church and lay aristocracy in the 11th century, the clerks traditionally appear as innocent victims who were unjustly spoliated. A more attentive reading of the sources, all of ecclesiastical origin, shows that the behavior of the laymen was essentially defensive. They were trying to protect, by violence if necessary, their patrimonies, menaced by the concentration of lands that was operating to the Church's profit.
Recherche sur la maniere de regler les differends a l'epoque ou la justice est laissee au domaine prive, X e -XI e s. Cette maniere differe selon les lieux. Chacun des trois AA. traite une abbaye clunisienne : Cluny (Rosenwein), Fleury (Head), Marmoutier (Farmer)
Barbara H. Rosenwein, Property transfers and the Church, eighth to eleventh centuries. An overview, p. 563-575.
An overview of current studies of property transfers and the Church, above of all the studies in this volume, reveals new recognition of the blurred distinctions between «family» and «church», «transfer» and «retention». Certain constraints in research are necessitated by the sources themselves (monastic charters, in the main), which are scattered in time and place. However, some constraints are lifted as scholars recognize the disjunction between the ideal types of documents postulated by jurists and the real (and bewilderingly varied) types of documents created on the ground. The predominance of one kind of charter (the precaria) does not mean than there was only one sort of property transfer, for the precaria had different meanings in different contexts. The chief lesson here is the creativity as well as opportunism of modes of property transfer during the period.
Deeply influenced by anthropology, the recent historiography dealing with the relationships between monastic communities and aristocratic families in the Xth-XIIIth centuries tend to see more and more those relationships in a global and structural way. In contrast with this excessively irenic view, and based upon the example of Saint-Victor of Marseille, this study aims at showing the existence, at the end of the XIth century and beginning of the XIIth, of a deep crisis in the amicitia binding the monks and the powerful laity at the time of the monastic revival of the years 950-1030. This crisis is revealed both by the new nature of the local conflicts and by the changes occurring at the more general level of the material and symbolic exchanges between the monks and the upper laity. One of its major consequences is to be found in a growing radicalization of the monastic criticisms against the laic lordship. It plays a significant role in the deep change affecting the relationship between the aristocracy and the Church as part of the emergence of the post-gregorian society.
This article identifies what it calls a 'performative turn' in historical studies, as in the humanities more generally. It traces the rise of the notion of performance out of the dramaturgical model of the 1940s and 1950s (associated with Kenneth Burke, Erving Goffman and Victor Turner), linking the new idea (developed by John Austin, for instance, and Pierre Bourdieu) to the rise of 'postmodernity'. Turning to historical studies, the article analyses the role played by the concept of performance in recent studies of ritual, festivals, identity, gender, and even emotions, architecture and knowledge, noting the shift from the assumption of social or cultural fixity to that of fluidity, from scripts to improvisations, from mentalities to the habitus. The new approach has generated problems, notably the over-reaction against the idea of social constraints, the danger of circularity and the over-extension of the central notion of performance. A stronger and a weaker sense of 'performance' need to be distinguished. Despite these problems, the performative approach has foregrounded important and neglected issues, notably that of differences between cultural or social domains. The article concludes by considering the methodological consequences of the approach, in particular its implications for source criticism and historical explanation.
Philippe Buc, The Dangers of Ritual: Between Early Medieval Texts and Social Scientific Theory.
Gerd Althoff, Spielregeln der Politik im Mittelalter: Kommunikation in Frieden und Fehde.
Frans Theuws and Janet L. Nelson (eds). Rituals of Power from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages.
Joëlle Rollo-Koster (ed), Medieval and Early Modern Rituals: Formalized Behavior in Europe, China and Japan.
‘Les Limites de l'exemption monastique dans le diocèse de Thérouanne au xie siècle: Messines, Saint-Georges-lez-Hesdin et Saint-Bertin’
- Dereine
‘Family structure and family consciousness among the aristocracy in the ninth to eleventh centuries’
- Bouchard