High Medieval Monks Contemplate their Merovingian Past

Monks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries looked at the Merovingian age as strange and far away, yet also of vital significance for Benedictine houses that were founded then. Using examples from Burgundy, this article analyses how high medieval monks sought to come to terms with their distant past...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bouchard, Constance Brittain 1948- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brepols [2012]
In: The journal of medieval monastic studies
Year: 2012, Volume: 1, Pages: 41-62
IxTheo Classification:KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages
KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages
KCA Monasticism; religious orders
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:Monks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries looked at the Merovingian age as strange and far away, yet also of vital significance for Benedictine houses that were founded then. Using examples from Burgundy, this article analyses how high medieval monks sought to come to terms with their distant past, sometimes through forging charters that they were surprised to find missing (especially foundation charters). Even when working strictly from available evidence, as they generally did, the monks attempted to embed their houses in royal Frankish history, suggested that their houses were older and more highly-regarded in the past than were other regional monasteries, and underscored the current regularity of their houses by creating a whole history of successive destructions and refoundations.
ISSN:2034-3523
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of medieval monastic studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1484/J.JMMS.1.102736