A Short History of Monks and Monasteries Alfred Wesley Wishart The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Short History of Monks and Monasteries by Alfred Wesley Wishart This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: A Short History of Monks and Monasteries Author: Alfred Wesley Wishart Release Date: August 17, 2004 [EBook #13206] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF MONKS AND MONASTERIES *** Produced by Christine Gehring, Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. A SHORT HISTORY OF MONKS AND MONASTERIES _By_ ALFRED WESLEY WISHART Sometime _Fellow_ in _Church History_ in _The University of Chicago_ ALBERT BRANDT, PUBLISHER TRENTON, NEW JERSEY MDCCCC 1900 PREFACE The aim of this volume is to sketch the history of the monastic institution from its origin to its overthrow in the Reformation period, for although the institution is by no means now extinct, its power was practically broken in the sixteenth century, and no new orders of importance or new types have arisen since that time. A little reflection will enable one to understand the great difficulties in the execution of so broad a purpose. It was impracticable in the majority of instances to consult original sources, although intermediate authorities have been studied as widely as possible and the greatest caution has been exercised to avoid those errors which naturally arise from the use of such avenues of information. It was also deemed unadvisable to burden the work with numerous notes and citations. Such notes as were necessary to a true unfolding of the subject will be found in the appendix. A presentation of the salient features of the whole history was essential to a proper conception of the orderly development of the ascetic ideal. To understand the monastic institution one must not only study the isolated anchorite seeking a victory over a sinful self in the Egyptian desert or the monk in the secluded cloister, but he must also trace the fortunes of ascetic organizations, involving multitudes of men, vast aggregations of wealth, and surviving the rise and fall of empires. Almost every phase of human life is encountered in such an undertaking. Attention is divided between hermits, beggars, diplomatists, statesmen, professors, missionaries and pontiffs. It is hoped the critical or literary student will appreciate the immense difficulties of an attempt to paint so vast a scene on so small a canvas. No other claim is made upon his benevolence. There is a process of writing history which Trench describes as "a moral whitewashing of such things as in men's sight were as blackamoors before." Religious or temperamental prejudice often obscures the vision and warps the judgment of even the most scholarly minds. Conscious of this infirmity in the ablest writers of history it would be absurd to claim complete exemption from the power of personal bias. It is sincerely hoped, however, that the strongest passion in the preparation of this work has been that commendable predilection for truth and justice which should characterize every historical narrative, and that, whatever other shortcomings may be found herein, there is an absence of that unreasonable suspicion, not to say hatred, of everything monastic, which mars many otherwise valuable contributions to monastic history. The author's grateful acknowledgment is made, for kindly services and critical suggestions, to Eri Baker Hulbert, D.D., LL.D., Dean of the Divinity School, and Professor and Head of the Department of Church History; Franklin Johnson, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Church History and Homiletics; Benjamin S. Terry, Ph.D., Professor of Medieval and English History; and Ralph C.H. Catterall, Instructor in Modern History; all of The University of Chicago. Also to James M. Whiton, Ph.D., of the Editorial Staff of "The Outlook"; Ephraim Emerton, Ph.D., Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History in Harvard University; S. Giffard Nelson, L.H.D., of Brooklyn, New York; A.H. Newman, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Church History in McMaster University of Toronto, Ontario; and Paul Van Dyke, D.D., Professor of History in Princeton University. A.W.W. Trenton, March, 1900. CONTENTS Page PREFACE, . 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY, . 13 I MONASTICISM IN THE EAST, . 17 The Hermits of Egypt, . 33 The Pillar Saint, . 51 The Cenobites of the East, . 57 II MONASTICISM IN THE WEST: ANTE-BENEDICTINE MONKS, 340-480 A.D., . 71 Monasticism and Women, . 106 The Spread of Monasticism in Europe, . 115 Disorders and Oppositions, . 124 III THE BENEDICTINES, . 131 The Rules of Benedict, . 138 The Struggle Against Barbarism, . 148 The Spread of the Benedictine Rule, . 158 IV REFORMED AND MILITARY ORDERS, . 173 The Military Religious Orders, . 197 V THE MENDICANT FRIARS, . 205 Francis Bernardone, 1182-1226 A.D., . 208 The Franciscan Orders, . 226 Dominic de Guzman, 1170--1221 A.D., . 230 The Dominican Orders, . 241 The Success of the Mendicant Orders, . 242 The Decline of the Mendicants, . 253 VI THE SOCIETY OF JESUS, . 258 Ignatius de Loyola, 1491-1556 A.D., . 261 Constitution and Polity of the Order, . 265 The Vow of Obedience, . 266 The Casuistry of the Jesuits, . 272 The Mission of the Jesuits, . 276 Retrospect, . 284 VII THE FALL OF THE MONASTERIES, . 286 The Character of Henry VIII., . 290 Events Preceding the Suppression, . 293 The Monks and the Oath of Supremacy, . 301 The Royal Commissioners and their Methods of Investigation, . 308 The Report of the Commissioners, . 316 The Action of Parliament, . 319 The Effect of the Suppression Upon the People, . 322 Henry's Disposal of Monastic Revenues, . 328 Was the Suppression Justifiable? . 331 Results of the Dissolution, . 347 VIII CAUSES AND IDEALS OF MONASTICISM, . 354 Causative Motives of Monasticism, . 355 Beliefs Affecting the Causative Motives, . 365 Causes of Variations in Monasticism, . 371 The Fundamental Monastic Vows, . 375 IX THE EFFECTS OF MONASTICISM, . 386 The Effects of Self-Sacrifice Upon the Individual, 390 The Effects of Solitude Upon the Individual, . 393 The Monks as Missionaries, . 398 Monasticism and Civic Duties, . 399 The Agricultural Services of the Monks, . 403 The Monks and Secular Learning, . 405 The Charity of the Monks, . 410 Monasticism and Religion, . 412 APPENDIX, . 425 INDEX, . 433 * * * * * LIST OF PORTRAITS SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, DYING, is CONVEYED TO THE CHURCH OF SAINTE MARIE DE PORTIUNCULE, . _facing title_. After the painting by J.J. Weerts. Originally published by Goupil & Co. of Paris, and here reproduced by their permission. [Jean Joseph Weerts was born at Roubaix (Nord), on May 1, 1847. He was a pupil of Cabanel, Mils and Pils. He was awarded the second-class medal in 1875, was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884, received the silver medal at the Universal Exposition of 1889, and was created an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1897. He is a member of the "Societe des Artistes Francais," and is _hors concours_.] SAINT BERNARD, . 192 After an engraving by Ambroise Tardieu, from a painting on glass in the Convent of the R.P. Minimes, at Rheims. [Ambroise Tardieu was born in Paris, in 1790, and died in 1837. He was an engraver of portraits, landscapes and architecture, and a clever manipulator of the burin. For a time he held the position of "Geographical Engraver" to the Departments of Marine, Fortifications and Forests. He was a member of the French Geographical and Mathematical Societies.]--_Nagler_. SAINT DOMINIC, . 230 From a photograph of Bozzani's painting, preserved in his cell at Santa Sabina, Rome. Here reproduced from Augusta T. Drane's "History of St. Dominic," by courtesy of the author and the publishers, Longmans, Green & Co., of London and New York. ["Although several so-called portraits (of St. Dominic) are preserved, yet none of them can be regarded as the _vera effigies_ of the saint, though that preserved at Santa Sabina probably presents us with a kind of traditionary likeness."]--_History of St. Dominic_. [In the "History of St. Dominic," on page 226, the author credits the portrait shown to "Bozzani." We are unable to find any record of a painter by that name. Nagler, however, tells of a painter of portraits and historical subjects, Carlo Bozzoni by name, who was born in 1607 and died in 1657. He was a son of Luciano Bozzoni, a Genoese painter and engraver. He is said to have done good work, but no other mention is made of him.] IGNATIUS DE LOYOLA, . 261 After the engraving by Greatbach, "from a scarce print by H. Wierz." Originally published by Richard Bentley, London, in 1842. [W. Greatbach was a London engraver in the first half of the nineteenth century. He worked chiefly for the "calendars" and "annuals" of his time, and did notable work for the general book trade of the better class.] [A search of the authorities does not reveal an engraver named "H. Wierz." This is probably intended for Hieronymus Wierex (or Wierix, according to Bryant), a famous engraver, born in 1552, and who is credited by Nagler, in his "Kuenstler-Lexikon," with having produced "a beautiful and rare plate" of "St. Ignaz von Loyola." The error, if such it be, is easily explained by the fact that portrait engravers seldom cut the lettering of a plate themselves, but have it engraved by others, who have a special aptitude for making shapely letters.] BIBLIOGRAPHY ADAMS, G.B.: Civilization during the Middle Ages. ARCHER, T.A., and KINGSFORD, CHARLES L.: The Crusaders. BARROWS, JOHN H., (Editor): The World's Parliment of Religions. BLUNT, I.J.: Sketches of the Reformation in England.