Table Of ContentBRILL'S STUDIES
IN
INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
General Editor
A.J. VANDERJAGT, University of Groningen
Editorial Board
M. COLISH, Oberlin College
J.I. ISRAEL, University College, London
J.D. NORTH, University of Groningen
H.A. OBERMAN, University of Arizona, Tucson
R.H. POPKIN, Washington University, St. Louis-UCLA
VOLUME 76
WAYWARD MONKS AND
THE RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION OF
THE ELEVENTH CENTURY
BY
PHYLLIS G. JESTICE
BRILL
LEIDEN · NEW YORK · KÖLN
1997
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jestice, Phyllis G.
Wayward monks and the religious revolution of the eleventh century
/ by Phyllis G. Jestice.
p. cm. — (Brill's studies in intellectual history, ISSN
0920-8607 ; v. 76)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9004107223 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Monasticism and religious orders—Europe—History—Middle Ages,
600-1500. 2. Eleventh century. 3. Europe—Church
history—600-1500. I. Title. Π. Series.
BX2590J47 1997
271 '.0094Ό9021—dc21 96-49111
GIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufhahme
Jestice, Phyllis G.:
Wayward monks and the religious revolution of the eleventh
century / by Phyllis G. Jestice. - Leiden ; New York ; Köln :
Brill, 1997
(Brill's studies in intellectual history ; Vol. 76)
ISBN 90-04^10722-3
NE: GT
ISSN 0920-8607
ISBN 90 04 10722 3
© Copyright 1997 by Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without prior wntten permission
fiom the publisher.
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
i. The problem: the monk versus the world 1
ii. The state of the question 6
iii. The "monastic crisis" 8
iv. Dissolution versus definition 12
v. The principles of this book 18
Chapter One Tenth-century monks and social
expectations 23
i. The tenth-century monastery as public servant 24
ii. Withdrawal from a tainted world 29
iii. Infiltration of the cloister 35
iv. A foretaste of heaven 39
Chapter Two Missionaries and new monastic dreams 44
i. The imperial mission 46
ii. Wenceslas of Bohemia and changing monastic ideals ... 53
iii. The new language of mission 56
iv. The problem of stability 65
v. Monks and Christian responsibility 69
vi. A Romualdian missionary movement 75
Chapter Three Stability and care: the recluses 90
i. The growing popularity of réclusion 93
ii. Separation and liminality 100
iii. The recluse as caregiver , 113
iv. The holiness of recluses 122
Chapter Four The godly society: monks and reform in the
eleventh century 128
i. From missionary to wandering preacher 129
vi CONTENTS
ii. The monk as spiritual adept 134
iii. Entanglement with ecclesiastical reform 137
iv. The revival of eremitism 141
v. Romuald of Ravenna and the Camaldolesi 151
vi. Monks and caritas 160
Chapter Five The "new monasticism" of Lotharingia in the
early eleventh century 170
i. Lotharingian monasticism and the turn to the world ... 173
ii. Hypocrisy and schism 183
iii. Gregory the Great and the active life 190
iv. Invasion of the monastery 195
v. Is monasticism enough? 200
Chapter Six Monks and the Roman reform 210
i. Monks, the reformed papacy, and ecclesiastical
reform 212
ii. Peter Damian versus the Tuscan hermit 217
iii. The quandary of ecclesiastical reform 224
iv. The evidence of Vallombrosa 227
v. A community of reformers 233
vi. Servants of the papacy? 245
Chapter Seven Anti-Gregorian propaganda and the
monastic crisis 248
i. Hirsau as model for world-reforming monasticism 249
ii. The polemic against Hirsau 255
iii. The disavowal of a radical past 262
iv. Hildebrand the false monk 265
v. The case for Gregory 273
vi. The monastic ordo and Christianity 275
Conclusion 278
Select Bibliography 289
Index 307
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Few things in the world can incur as many debts as a first book.
How can one even say how such a thing begins? My personal theory
is that my fascination with the middle ages began with my mother
reading me King Arthur stories when I was too young and impres
sionable. I'm sorry she did not live to see my work in print.
Certainly this work would not have been possible without much
help along the way, both financially and in patience as I gradually
learned what I wanted to say and how to say it. Long ago, when
something remotely like this book was a dissertation, Stanford Uni
versity was generous in fellowship support, a fellowship from the
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst supported a year of study
in Munich where I enjoyed the outstanding resources of the Monu-
menta Germaniae Historica, and a Whiting Fellowship in the Hu
manities gave me time to write my dissertation. As I realized the
inadequacies of that work, revision was possible with the help of
faculty travel and research grants from the University of California
at Davis.
Thank you to the colleagues I've met at conferences around the
country for the past six years, who helped me think through ideas,
especially to John Van Engen, who helped me probably more than
he knows. Also many thanks to those who have given me support
when I've really needed it—you know who you are, especially my
students who have encouraged and appreciated me. But above all, I
want to thank the professors of the University of Puget Sound, where
I received my bachelor's degree in 1982. I don't think I could have
gotten a better education anywhere in the world. I certainly never
expected to find such warm support there and belief in abilities that
I barely suspected I had. It was a glorious voyage of exploration and
discovery, that taught me (among many other lessons, both academic
and other) that academia is my natural home. I will be grateful all
my life to Walter and Frank who were so generous with their time,
and taught me that learning was not just something to do for the
grades. My special thoughts and fondest memories are of Esther
VUl ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Wagner, who taught me Latin, fussed over me and cared about me,
and whom I loved very deeply. It is one of my dearest wishes that
I can someday be half as good a teacher to someone as she was to
me. It is to her memory that this book is dedicated.
