Abbots and abbesses as a human resource in the ninth- to twelfth-century west

This volume provides a record of the response, by eight expert scholars in the field of medieval monastic studies, to the question "To what extent did abbots and abbesses contribute as a `human resource' to the development of reformed monastic communities in the ninth- to twelfth-century west?" Covering a broad geographical area, papers consider one or several of three key points of interest: the direct contribution of abbots and abbesses to the shaping of reformed realities; their influence over future modes of leadership; and the way in which later generations of monastics relied upon the memory of a leader's life and achievements to project current realities onto a legitimizing past

Crises of cenobitism: abbatial leadership and monastic competition in late eleventh-century Flanders

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

Typology of medieval historiography reconsidered: a social re-interpretation of monastic annals, chronicals and gesta

Der vorliegende Artikel widmet sich der Frage, ob es möglich ist, die akzeptierte Chronologie der mittelalterlichen Geschichtsschreibung noch einmal zu überdenken, indem die typologische Theorie revidiert und eine statistische Argumentation benutzt wird. Der Autor geht erstens davon aus, dass die Wahl, eine bestimmte Art von mittelalterlichen Historikern zu nutzen, eng mit den sozialen Wahrnehmungen ihrer eigenen Gruppe zusammenhängt, während die sich wandelnden typologischen Präferenzen sehr wahrscheinlich die Veränderungen bei diesen Einstellungen reflektieren. Zweitens hat die statistische Analyse gezeigt, dass die thematischen Interessen, die von diesen Autoren in jedem dieser Idiome ausgedrückt werden, gleichermaßen starken Einflüssen von gegenwärtigen Weltanschauungen unterworfen sind. Die letztgenannte Beobachtung wurde im Rahmen einer statistischen Analyse ausgewählter Jahrbücher aus den südlichen Niederlanden gemacht, die zeigte, dass selbst die Inhalte des rigidesten Typs von Historiographie starken Schwankungen unterworfen waren, die mit der sich wandelnden Situation in mittelalterlichen Klostergemeinden in der mittelalterlichen Gesellschaft in Zusammenhang zu bringen sind. Die Annäherung an mittelalterliche historische Texte sollte daher durch eine vorsichtigere Analyse ihrer sozialen Umgebung angeregt werden. (ICIÜbers)'The present article is devoted to the question whether it is possible to reconsider the accepted chronology of medieval historical writing by revising typological theory and by using statistical reasoning. Firstly, I argue that the choice of using a certain genre by medieval historians is closely related to the social perceptions of their own group, while shifting typological preferences are also very likely to reflect changes in these attitudes. Secondly, statistical analysis has shown that the thematic interests expressed by these authors in each of these idioms are equally subject to strong influences from contemporary world-views. The latter observation was made following statistical analysis of a selection of annals from the Southern Low Countries, which has shown that even the contents of the most rigid type of historiography was subject to strong fluctuations, which I related to the changing situation of medieval monastic communities in medieval society. Consequently, our approach of medieval historical texts should be inspired by a more careful analysis of their social setting.' (author's abstract

Reform, conflict, and the shaping of corporate identities: collected studies on Benedictine monasticism in medieval Flanders, c. 1050 – c. 1150

his volume collects ten previously published essays dealing with the development of Benedictine monasticism between c. 1050 - 1150. Relying on primary sources that originated in communities situated in the Southern Low Countries - one of the densest regions of Benedictine occupation and a crossroads of cultural and political influences - the essays are arranged in three thematic sections. The first looks at the societal background, methodologies, and intended outcomes of `Cluniac' reform around 1100. The second investigates reactions to reform, both within the monastic sphere and by outsiders. In the third section the focus is on groups of monks, and how they, their supporters, and their enemies all developed strategies of self-representation and self-positioning in the face of growing competition over landed wealth, patronage, and positions of social privilege