William of Pagula’s "Speculum religiosorum, Abbas vel Prior" and Uthred of Boldon: The Authorship and Circulation of Two Fourteenth-Century Monastic Treatises

This article investigates the relationship between two important English monastic treatises, William of Pagula’s (d. c. 1332) Speculum religiosorum, and Abbas vel prior, a work sometimes attributed to Uthred of Boldon (c.1320-1397). The two works are guides to the monastic life, and they are both re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sharp, Tristan 1984- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Abbaye de Maredsous [2017]
In: Revue bénédictine
Year: 2017, Volume: 127, Issue: 2, Pages: 364-387
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B William, of Pagula -1332 / William, of Pagula -1332, Speculum religiosorum / Abbas vel prior / Boldon, Uthred de 1320-1397 / England / Religious life
IxTheo Classification:KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages
KBF British Isles
KCA Monasticism; religious orders
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This article investigates the relationship between two important English monastic treatises, William of Pagula’s (d. c. 1332) Speculum religiosorum, and Abbas vel prior, a work sometimes attributed to Uthred of Boldon (c.1320-1397). The two works are guides to the monastic life, and they are both remarkable for including substantial compendia of monastic law. Leonard Boyle demonstrated that all of the material in Abbas vel prior appears in the longer Speculum. Boyle argued that Abbas vel prior was a later abbreviation, perhaps the work of Uthred. This paper argues that Abbas vel prior was an earlier version of the Speculum, and that the attribution to Uthred should be rejected. While the legal material in these works has attracted scholarly attention, this paper argues that their other, more conventional, contents should not be ignored. The paper also examines the distribution of the two works: Abbas vel prior was copied almost exclusively at Durham Cathedral Priory, while the Speculum religiosorum was copied in many locations for a variety of readers. The paper includes appendices describing all extant manuscripts.
ISSN:0035-0893
Contains:Enthalten in: Revue bénédictine
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1484/J.RB.5.114643