Mapping a Monastic Network: Peter Damian and Fonte Avellana in the Eleventh Century By Kathryn L. Jasper Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Maureen C. Miller, Chair Professor Susanna Elm Professor Rosemary Joyce Spring 2012 Abstract Mapping a Monastic Network: Peter Damian and Fonte Avellana in the Eleventh Century By Kathryn L. Jasper Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Maureen C. Miller, Chair Mapping a Monastic Network examines a “grassroots” reform movement in the Italian Marches, the monastic congregation of Fonte Avellana, how it functioned as a communications network, and how interactions between individuals and with the landscape produced a compelling and politically potent vision of personal and institutional change. In a new take on "history from the bottom up," I have used two strategies to rewrite the prehistory of the papal revolution of the late eleventh century usually called the Gregorian Reform and the Investiture Conflict. One is, literally, to look at the ground: by mapping the spread of this monastic network with Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and site surveys, I have reconstructed relations among communities within the congregation and considered the impact of topography on religious ideals and political relations. Second, having discovered and utilized documentation from the daughter houses of Fonte Avellana, I have reconsidered the center from the periphery, recovering the contributions of those who collaborated with the congregation's charismatic prior, the theologian, cardinal, and papal polemicist, (Saint) Peter Damian (1007-1072). The result is a more dynamic and inclusive portrait of how and why ecclesiastical reform convulsed European society at the end of the eleventh century. 1 Acknowledgements This dissertation would have been impossible without the guidance, support, and invaluable insights of Maureen Miller. She tirelessly assisted me in every step of development of the dissertation, from the research to the writing stages, even going so far as to hike the Apennines with me to see the hermitage of Gamogna. I owe her a debt I can never repay, and I am profoundly grateful and honored to be her student. I want to thank also Susanna Elm for her constant encouragement, and for her expert perspective on Late Antique ascetic movements, and Rosemary Joyce for introducing me to the central theories governing the archaeological components of the project. Without her help I could not have undertaken the investigative survey of Gamogna and Acereta. I am ingratiated to Alan Bernstein, whose 2003 seminar on faith and finance led me to a greater interest in patronage and resource management in religious institutions, and who inspired me to pursue study in the discpline of history in the first place. To David Devore, Tyler Lange, Jeff Miner, Stephanie Nadalo, John Scholl, Corey Tazzara, Jesse Torgerson, and Eli Weaverdyck, I am indebted to you all for reading various versions of the following text and for providing excellent feedback. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have you as colleagues and friends. I want to express my thanks to my family members for their steadfast support over the past seven years. To my mother, thank you for providing such a superb professional academic model. To my father, your unwavering pride in me has truly motived my resolve to complete this dissertation. Lastly, to my husband, Luca Benevento, thank you for your patience and advice. Che cosa farei senza di te? i Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: A BRIDGE BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT 1 I. THE ECONOMICS OF REFORM 2 II. PETER DAMIAN AND FONTE AVELLANA 13 III. COMMUNICATIONS, NETWORKS, PLACES 16 CHAPTER 2: SPIRITUAL NETWORKING: THE CONGREGATION OF FONTE AVELLANA 22 I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONGREGATION 24 II. THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONGREGATION 28 III. THE FRATERNAL NETWORK OF PETER DAMIAN 37 CHAPTER 3: THE COMMUNICATION OF REFORM 52 I. MONASTERIES: BEACONS OF REFORM 54 II. CRISIS IN THE MARCHES 58 III. CENTERS OF REFORM 69 IV. LAY FRIENDSHIPS 74 V. NETWORKS OF REFORM 80 CHAPTER 4: THE MONASTIC LANDSCAPE 82 CHAPTER 5: ECONOMIES AND POLITICAL ECONOMIES OF REFORM 98 I. THE ECONOMY OF THE ITALIAN MARCHES 101 II. FONTE AVELLANA’S ECONOMIC PRACTICES 106 III. THE ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY 112 IV. FONTE AVELLANA IN CONTEXT 118 CHAPTER 6: MAPPING A MONASTIC NETWORK 128 I. REFORM “ON THE GROUND” 128 II. FONTE AVELLANA POST-1072 131 APPENDIX 136 FIGURE 1: TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF THE CONGREGATION OF FONTE AVELLANA C. 1070 136 FIGURE 2: FLOORPLAN OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST IN ACERETA 137 FIGURE 3: SURFACE MAP OF THE SITE UPON WHICH THE HERMITAGE OF SAINT BARNABAS AT GAMOGNA WAS CONSTRUCTED 138 FIGURE 4: SURFACE MAP OF THE CULTIVATED LANDS ADJACENT TO THE MONASTERY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST IN ACERETA 138 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 139 ii Abbreviations Die Briefe des Petrus Damiani, volumes 1-4. Reindel, Briefe Edited by Kurt Reindel. Munich: Monumenta Germaniae historica, 1988-1993. The Letters of Peter Damian, volumes 1-6 Blum, Letters Edited by Owen J. Blum. Washington, DC: Catholic University Press, 1989-2005. Archivio di San Lorenzo, Biblioteca Laurenziana, ASL Florence, Italy. Archivio di Stato, Florence, Italy. ASF Carte di Fonte Avellana ( 975 -1139) , volume 1. Carte Volume IX, no. 1 in Thesaurus Ecclesiarum Italiae. Edited by Celestino Pierucci and Alberto Polverari. Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1972 Transactions of the Royal Historical Society TRHS iii 1 A Bridge Between Past and Present Some historians have characterized eleventh-century Church reform as a “papal revolution.” Harold Berman argued over three decades ago that modern Western legal traditions emerged during this period as a result of papal initiatives.1 Karl Leyser later described the conflict between popes and emperors as a revolution for the sake of both institutional and ideological change.2 Revolution it surely was, but the predominance of the papacy in advancing change has been questioned over recent years. Scholars now emphasize local reform efforts, but as yet their studies fall short of explaining how these myriad localized initiatives became a European-wide movement under papal leadership. In the early decades of the eleventh century, popes and emperors cooperated to address clerical transgressions such as of the buying and selling of Church offices (simony) and clerical marriage (nicolaitism). However, by the second half of the century liberating the Church from lay control also became part of the papal reform agenda. Church reform then erupted into a violent struggle between papal and imperial supporters during the late 1070s. The work of previous popes opened the door for Pope Gregory VII to redefine ecclesiastical authority radically in the final quarter of the century, asserting that lay powers were subservient to spiritual authorities. Consequently, he clashed with lay rulers and with the German emperor, Henry IV, in particular. Historians have studied reform polemics extensively, but we know little about how these ideas spread and how they were interpreted. This study explores the actual processes of reform by studying its communication through networks and its relationship to practices in land tenure. It focuses upon one protagonist, (Saint) Peter Damian (1007-1072), and the wider network of institutions that grew up through his influence. Peter Damian not only wrote treatises on reform, but also implemented his ideas at the hermitage of Fonte Avellana from 1043 until his death in 1072. While early scholarship represented reform as a uniform, papal-directed effort, “Mapping a Monastic Network” critiques more recent emphasis on highly localized changes by interrogating communications among institutions, revealing the movement of both people and ideas. This dissertation demonstrates that a congregation of reform monasteries and hermitages in central Italy functioned as a network, communicating local strategies – particularly regarding economic practices – to Rome and beyond. It also shows how eremitic spirituality interacted with regional topographies and economic resources to link specific places with highly charged universal polemics about the liberty of the Church. It argues that the sacralization of monastic properties and their economic resources forged tangible connections between local economies and more abstract papal rhetorics of reform. Lastly, this study contends that beyond epistolary correspondence, the personal presence of Peter Damian contributed to the success of personal and institutional networks. The overwhelming dependence of these networks on Damian also shows the limits of that success and the importance of charismatic individuals to the reform movement. 1 Harold J. Berman, Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983). 2 Karl J. Leyser, Medieval Germany and its Neighbours, 900-1250 (London: Hambledon Press, 2004). Professor Leyser’s book was published posthumously. 1 I. The Economics of Reform3 “Mapping a Monastic Network” identifies new economic practices and personal connections as part of reform. As such, this project speaks to larger historiographical problems in explaining the rise of reform and concomitant institutional change. The classic interpretations of Church reform espoused a top-down explanation of change, and their