Aims

In-depth study of an element of the history or institutions of the Western Church in the Middle Ages.

Main themes

Differing from year to year, the special question chosen by the instructor illustrates the conditions of study and research in this area.

Content and teaching methods

2001-2002 :

MONASTIC LIFE IN THE MEDIEVAL WEST
From St. Athanasia (the Life of St. Anthony) to the great Cluny expansion (11th century)
From hermits to monks and from East to West - St. Augustine and his (monastic) Rule - Monasticism in Gaul - The Rule of the Master - St. Gregory the Great and the Liber secundus dialogorum -St. Benedict and his Rule - Wilfrid of York and monastic life in Great Britain - The Peregrinatio pro Christo - The centuries of the Regula mixta -St. Boniface and the reform of The Frankish Church - Benedict of Aniana and the reform of Louis the Pious - The birth of Cluny and its first abbots.
The accent will be placed on complementarity between the regular clergy and the secular clergy (and notably the problem of possible tensions with the Ordinary, following privileges of exemption. An ongoing problem!) and on the position of the monk in medieval society.
Particular attention will be paid to the sources helping us approach the phenomenon (typology, heuristics). Large extracts will be commented on at each session.

NB :The second part of this course : "From the Gregorian Reform to the Council of Trent - 11th -16th c." will be given in 2003-2004.

Other credits in programs