Monastic Revival and Regional Identity in Early Normandy (Studies in the History of Medieval Religion)

388 Pages·1997·1.58 MB·English

by  Cassandra Potts

Monastic Revival and Regional Identity in
title: Early Normandy Studies in the History of
Medieval Religion ; V. 11
author: Potts, Cassandra.
publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd.
isbn10 | asin: 0851157025
print isbn13: 9780851157023
ebook isbn13: 9780585177632
language: English
Monasticism and religious orders--France--
subject Normandy--History--Middle Ages, 600-
1500, Normandy (France)--Church history.
publication date: 1997
lcc: BX2613.P68 1997eb
ddc: 271/.00944/20902
Monasticism and religious orders--France--
subject: Normandy--History--Middle Ages, 600-
1500, Normandy (France)--Church history.
Page i
Monastic Revival and Regional Identity in Early
Normandy
Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
VOLUME XI
The rulers of Normandy performed a complex juggling act: starting
from a pagan Norse military power base round Rouen, they built an
accepted political entity within the boundaries of the Christian state
their ancestors had invaded. Successfully reconciling Viking, Frankish
and Breton elements within their realm, the Norman rulers made 'one
people out of the various races', in the words of one eleventh-century
writer. As part of that effort, they revived and reformed monasteries in
the region, enlisting the aid of prestigious abbots from reform centres
beyond Normandy. By the early eleventh century there was a
consciousness within the region that a new people as well as a new
principality had taken shape over the course of the past century. In this
process of state-building and ethnogenesis, the revival and reform of
monasticism played a crucial role.
This book evaluates the relationship between Norman lords and
monastic communities and demonstrates how that relationship
contributed to the political and social evolution of the duchy. Through
this regional focus, Monastic Revival and Regional Identity in Early
Normandy adds to our understanding of the part monasticism played
in tenth-and eleventh-century society, and, more broadly, in the
formation of political and cultural entities in medieval Europe. The
conclusions presented here are based on an analysis of published
sources as well as over two hundred unpublished charters located in
Norman archives and libraries.
Dr C P teaches at Middlebury College, Vermont.
ASSANDRA OTTS
Page ii
Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
ISSN 0955-2480
General Editor Christopher Harper-Bill
I
Dedications of Monastic Houses in England and Wales 10661216
Alison Binns
II
The Early Charters of the Augustinian Canons of Waltham Abbey,
Essex, 10621230
Edited by Rosalind Ransford
III
Religious Belief and Ecclesiastical Careers in Late Medieval England
Edited by Christopher Harper-Bill
IV
The Rule of the Templars: the French Text of the Rule of the Order of
the Knights Templar
Translated and introduced by J. M. Upton-Ward
V
The Collegiate Church of Wimborne Minster
Patricia H. Coulstock
VI
William Waynflete: Bishop and Educationalist
Virginia Davis
VII
Medieval Ecclesiastical Studies in honour of Dorothy M. Owen
Edited by M. J. Franklin and Christopher Harper-Bill
VIII
A Brotherhood of Canons Serving God: English Secular Cathedrals in
the Later Middle Ages
David Lepine
IX
Westminster Abbey and its People c.10501216
Emma Mason
X
Gilds in the Medieval Countryside: Social and Religious Change in
Cambridgeshire c.13501558
Virginia R. Bainbridge
Page iii
Monastic Revival and Regional Identity in Early
Normandy
Cassandra Potts
THE BOYDELL PRESS
Page iv
© Cassandra Potts 1997
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no
part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted,
recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 1997
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 0 85115 702 5
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell &
Brewer Inc.
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604-4126, USA
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Potts, Cassandra, 1958
Monastic revival and regional identity in early Normandy /
Cassandra Potts.
p. cm. (Studies in the history of medieval religion, ISSN
0955-2480 ; v. 11)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-85115-702-5 (alk. paper)
1. Monasticism and religious orders France Normandy History.
2. Normandy (France) - Church history. I. Title. II. Series.
BX2613.P68 1997
271'.00944'20902 - dc21 97-12256
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Page v
Contents
Abbreviations vii
Preface ix
Maps xii
1 1
Origins and Evidence
2 13
Monasticism and the Norman Rulers
3 36
Local Ties: Monastic Lands and Lay Communities
4 62
Wider Horizons: Monasticism beyond Upper Normandy
5 81
Resisting the Tide at Mont-Saint-Michel
6 105
Private Monasteries and their Patrons
7 133
Conclusion
Appendix: The New Numbering System for the Fécamp 139
Charters at the Musée Bénédictine in Fécamp
Bibliography 141
Index 165