ASPECTS of Tile MONASTIC PATRONAGE of Tile ENGLISH
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ASPECTS OF TIlE MONASTIC PATRONAGE OF TIlE ENGLISH AND FRENCH ROYAL HOUSES, c. 1130-1270 by Elizabeth M. Hallani VC i% % Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in History presented at the University of London. 1976. / •1 ii SUMMARY This study takes as its theme the relationship of the English and French kings and the religious orders, £.1130-1270, Patronage in general is a field relatively neglected in the rich literature on the monastic life, and royal patronage has never before been traced over a broad period for both France and England. The chief concern here is with royal favour shown towards the various orders of monks and friars, in the foundations and donations made by the kings. This is put in the context of monastic patronage set in a wider field, and of the charters and pensions which are part of its formaL expression. The monastic foundations and the general pattern of royal donations to different orders are discussed in some detail in the core of the work; the material is divided roughly according to the reigns of the kings. Evidence from chronicles and the physical remains of buildings is drawn upon as well as collections of charters and royal financial documents. The personalities and attitudes of the monarchs towards the religious hierarchy, the way in which monastic patronage reflects their political interests, and the contrasts between English and French patterns of patronage are all analysed, and the development of the royal monastic mausoleum in Western Europe is discussed as a special case of monastic patronage. A comparison is attempted of royal and non-royal foundations based on a statistical analysis. The iting and architectural style of royal monasteries, the political implications of monastic patronage, and the extent to which royal patronage affected religious orders are also examined; finally there is a brief treatment of royal patronage after £.1270. Transcripts of imprinted charters and photographs of royal monasteries are included as pices lustificatives. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Particular thanks are due to Professor C.N.L. Brooke for his unfailing help and encouragement and his constructive criticisms made throughout the course of this work. I am also indebted to Professor R.M.T. Hill and Dr. David Bates for invaluable suggestions and advice. I would like to thank the staffs of the Institute of Historical Research and other central and local archives in France and England for a great deal of assistance. Finally to my parents and my husband go thanks of a different kind, for their patience and help in seeing the work through to its completion. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Sumrnari 11 Acknowledgements 1]1 Chapter I The ideas, the nature and the functioning of royal patronage of the religious orders. I The study and the sources. I 2 Sources and other studies. 3 3 Kings as founders, patrons, advocates, 7 and benefactors of monasteries. Benefits gained by kings from monastic 12 patronage. 5 Monastic gains from patronage: general. i8 6 Charters of donation - their diplomatic 20 and content. 7 The nature of the grants made by 25 charter. 8 Royal charters given to religious houses 29 in France, England and Scotland. 9 Royal pensions to monasteries and their 32 value. Tables and Graphs 1,1 - 1,6. Chapter II Henry I, Stephen and the Thipress Matilda's patronage of monasteries. I Introduction: William I, William II and Lf8 Henry I. 2 Stephen and the npress - politics and 6i monastic patronage, 1135-5k. 3 Stephen and monastic patronage. 66 Stephen and Savigny, Cluny, priories and 69 hospitals. 5 The monastic patronage of the npress 78 Matilda. Figs. 11,1 - 11,3. 89 V Page Chapter III Henry II, Richard I, John and the monastic orders. I Henry II, the Church and the monastic 91 orders. 2 Henry II and the orders of Font evrault, 102 Sempringhain and La Grande Chartreuse. 3 Henry II and the Augustinians, hospitals ilk and charity. (1 Henry II, Richard I and the order of Grandmont - this material is covered in the enclosed of fprint.) 5 Henry II, Richard I and the military 12k orders. 6 Richard I and the monastic orders. 13k 7 King John, the Church and the monastic i k3 orders. 8 John, charity and Cistercians. 150 9 Postscript : Henry III. 15k Figs. 111,1 - 111,15. 156 Chapter IV Louis VI, Louis VII, Philip-Augustus and the monastic orders. I Introductory. 165 2 Louis VI and the monastic orders 167 3 Louis VI and the new orders. 173 k Louis VII and the monastic orders. 179 5 Louis VII, the Cistercians and canons. 190 6 Philip-Augustus and the monastic orders. 195 7 Philip-Augustus and charity, chapels, 201 Grandmont, the military orders and La Victoire. 8 Politics and monastic patronage - the 208 loss of Normandy by John. Chapter V Louis VIII, Louis IX, Blanche of Castile and the religious orders. 1 Louis VIII and the monastic orders. 215 2 Louis IX, Blanche of Castile and the 220 Church. 3 Louis IX, Blanche of Castile and the 230 religious orders - some foundations and donations. k Louis IX, Blanche of Castile and the 235 Cistercians. vi Page 5 Louis IX, Blanche and charity. 28 6 Louis IX, the friars and the University. 258 7 St.-Denis and the Court style, royal 275 relics and the Sainte-Chapelle. Figs. V,1 - V,7. 28k Chapter VI Royal monasteries as mausolea - a special case of monastic patronage. I Introductory. 288 2 Royal burial before c.1100. 291 3 The development of ideas about burial 293 £.111250. k The mausoleum of the single ruler and 297 his family. 5 Mausolea as memorials. 309 6 The large-scale monastic mausoleum as a 31k focus for political, social and religious sentiments. 7 Some conclusions. 326 Chapter VII Royal and non-royal foundations. Methodology of the study. 329 2 Monastic Foundations and the royal 332 houses-a comparison of trends: (i) Benedictines 332 (ii) Augustinians and Premonstratensians. 33k (iii)Cistercians and Savigniacs. 335 (iv) Gilbertines and Grandrnontines. 335 (v) Carthusians. 336 (vi) Fontevrault. 336 (vii)The orders of friars. 337 Nap and Tables VII,1 - VII,13. 339 Chapter VIII The style and significance of royal patronage. I The political importance of royal 352 patronage. 2 The siting of royal monasteries. 35k Maps VIII,i - VIII,5. 357 3 The style of royal monasteries. 363 vii Page k The repercussions of royal patronage 368 upon the monastic orders. 5 Royal patronage after £.1 270. 372 Appendix I Royal Foundations, England and France, 377 c.1100-1270. Appendix II Some mausolea of great nobles and ecciesiastics 382 in France. Appendix III Transcripts of royal charters. 385 Bibliography and abbreviations. I MSS +O5 II Printed books and articles, with +O9 abbreviated references. 1 Chapter I TIlE IDEAS, THE NATURE AND THE FUNCTIONING OF ROYAL PATRONAGE OF TEE RELIGIOUS ORDERS 1. The Study and the Sources. Geoffrey of Beaulieu wrote of Louis IX of France: 'quis enarrare sufficeret, quam largas et frequentas elemosinas Pius rex assidue erogaret pauperibus religiosis ac conventibus plurirnis tam sanctimonialium quam viroruni, similiter hospitalibus pauperum, ac domibus leprosaruin, et aliorum collegiis pauperum, tainquam specialis pater eorum? Sane, cuni inter caetera pietatis opera singulis annis solitus esset circa principi.um hiemis conventibus fratrum minoruxn et fratrun3 praedicatorurn Parisiensiuni summain pecuniae elargiri pro suis necessitatibus providendis et eb ineunte aetate domus et monazte?a religiosoruin coepit aedificare' • 1 Hagiographers have used such royal largesse as evidence of the sanctity of Saint Louis, but historians have rarely examined in a wider context the gifts of this kind made by kings to the religious orders. This study attempts to remedy the lacuna in a relatively limited field. It is concerned with the interest in and the favour shown towards the monastic orders, the hospitals and the friars by the English and the French kings in the period c. 1130-1270. The question of which orders were favoured by individual kings is an important one, because the reasons for this favour can reveal a great deal about the politics and the characters of individual kings, and its benefits greatly affected the orders themselves. The account is based mainly upon the foundations and refoundations made by these kings together with important donations, safeguards and pensions as additional evidence. Charters and royal administrative records provide the basic material here, but contemporary chronicles, letters, hagiographical literature and poetry are drawn upon widely in its interpretation. Furthermore the 1. N. Bouquet, Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France, ed. L. Delisle, 2k vols, Paris, 1 869-190k (= H.Fr.), XX, 11. 2 monastic houses themselves provide valuable evidence both in their siting and their plan and appearance. The architecture of royal monastic foundations and of other royal buildings is thus given considerable emphasis. These diverse elements, charters, chronicles and buildings, can give wide and varied insights into the patronage relationship, its expectations and manifestations, its problems, and the rewards for both sides. All these questions are given general analysis based on the core of the study, which is a treatment of the degree of favour shown by individual kings to the different orders. The special nature of royal patronage is heightened by general contrast with non-royal patronage and by a statistical analysis of the rate of foundation of houses for the different orders during the period, compared with the pattern of creation of the royal houses. In addition, the development of a special kind of royal monastery, the mausoleum, is traced in some detail, and draws upon examples from Spain, Sicily, Portugal and Scotland, as well as England and France.