Benedictines

In 529 The Benedictine Order was founded by St Benedict (480-543) at Mount Cassino and 51 years later the Mount Cassino monastery was sacked by the Lombards thus fulfilling a prophecy of Benedict. The monks took refuge in Rome and started to spread knowledge of Benedictine rule. The Benedictine movement within the next few centuries became a key source for the conversion of Germany and England to Roman Christianity.
The Benedictine order arrived in England in 597 when a monastery was built in
Canterbury by the Benedictine prior St Augustine. Other Benedictine missionaries
completed the conversion of England to Roman Christianity. A century later the
English Benedictines, Saints Willibrord and Boniface successfully evangelized Germany and from there it spread northwards to Scandinavia and southwards to Spain. In 816 the Benedictine monastic order was imposed on the Holy Roman Empire. By this time the Benedictine had become the only form of monastic life throughout the whole of Western Europe, excepting Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, where the Celtic form of
Christianity remained prevalent.
A typical Benedictine day in England in the ninth century was : 12.00 Laud and Mass. Back to bed. 7.00 Service (prime) and mass. Breakfast. Discuss day’s business. 12.00 Work. 5.00 Vespers then relaxation. 6.30 Supper. 7.00 Compline then bed.
A typical Benedictine day in England in the ninth century was : 12.00 Laud and Mass. Back to bed. 7.00 Service (prime) and mass. Breakfast. Discuss day’s business. 12.00 Work. 5.00 Vespers then relaxation. 6.30 Supper. 7.00 Compline then bed.
In 910 The Benedictine Abbey of Cluny was founded in France by the Abbot Berno as a
reaction to the corruption and lack of zeal in the Benedictine Order. It became the
headquarters of the Cluniac order, who were noted for their strict adherence to the rule of St Benedict. From here monastic reforms were spread and Cluny became the leader of western monasticism from the later 10th century.
The Benedictine rule is a monument of wisdom that has survived the centuries. At its peak forty thousand monasteries were following it in the west.