The+Monastary

During the years of peril and strife that characterized the early Middle Ages, a bright light of hope came to the attention of many lost souls. The light of hope was the Christian faith which provided the knowledge of redemption to all, helping the men and women of the time protect themselves from this dark age. Because of the darkness and deception, sacred groups of Christian men, known as monks formed homes or orders for all who wished to isolate themselves from the temptations of the secular world. The monastery, as it was called, became a refuge of worship and work for Christian men fleeing the evil of the time. During the Middle Ages many monastic orders arose, but two of the important ones include: the order of St. Benedict and the order of St. Francis, both having similar laws with variations.

The rules of St. Benedict's order were designed to provide an alternative to the solitary life of a hermit and the life of a layman. The rules were so specific that they regulated the way the monks slept, ate, and drank. Two of the important rules are Rule thirty-three forbidding personal possessions and Rule forty-eight about the necessity of daily work. Both of these rules provide the basis on which of the monastery operates. The reason this order of monks forbid the possession of personal items is to prevent the monks from falling into the sinful nature of the secular world. The forty-eighth rule states, “idleness is the enemy of the soul,” clearly providing proof that the monks should be constantly working. Constant manual labor will keep the monks' minds centered on God and not on the outside world. There will not be time for daydreaming; therefore there will not be any unholy thought, ultimately keeping the men loyal to the monastery and free from sin. The order of St. Francis had similar rules with those of St. Benedict. The Franciscan's believed in manual labor and the absence of personal possessions. Franciscan Rule five reads, “ God has given the [brothers] the ability to work, [and they] shall work faithfully and devotedly.” Every Franciscan will work and work to his full potential. After their daily work, the Franciscans are given items of necessity, not items of luxury. The work is for God and not the individual. Franciscan Rule six forbids the monks from the possession of anything. Each monk was to live as “pilgrims and strangers in this world.” They believed in serving God with poverty and humility. The Order believed that all men in the monastery were “heirs and kings of the Kingdom of Heaven,” because they lived without ownership in any worldly sense. Although the orders of St. Benedict and St. Francis had similarities, they differed in what they emphasized. For example, the rule of St. Francis forbids a monk from talking to any women unless he is given special permission by the “Apostolic Chair,” while the order of St. Benedict does not even mention women. The order of St. Benedict had rules on how one is to sleep in the monastery. Every monk, except for the senior and younger brethren, slept in his own bed. The senior monks slept with the younger ones to show the proper way to sleep and provide supervision over the younger monks to make sure no immoral or inappropriate acts took place. St. Francis did not have regulations on how the monks were to sleep, nor did St. Francis' order regulate food and drink like St. Benedict's. The Rule of St. Benedict regulated the intake of food and drink the monks had each day. Every monk was only allowed one pint of wine and only ate one meal each day. These rules prevented the Benedictine monks from becoming gluttonous and inebriated.

During the Middle Ages, both the Franciscan and Benedict orders shared similar rules but had different ones as well. Both believed in manual labor and forbidding any monk from the possession of anything. These two orders were different in that the Rule of St. Benedict had certain sleeping arrangements and regulated the food and drink intake daily, while the Rule of St. Francis forbid even the slightest word to a woman. Together the orders provided a safe and secure place for Christian men to escape the world of turmoil during the Middle Ages.

Posted by Shakespeare