Rievaulx Abbey and its Social Context, 1132-1300: Memory, Locality, and Networks

Description

Rievaulx abbey was one of the most prominent houses of white monks (Cistercians) in England, and became in the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries an important feature of the ecclesiastical and social landscape of Yorkshire. The present work is the first in-depth study devoted to Rievaulx's social history. The abbey's once extensive archives were largely destroyed after the Dissolution, but the surviving late-twelfth-century cartulary provides a fascinating insight into the process of creating institutional memory, preserving and shaping information about various neighbours of the abbey, and creating a 'map' of social networks that developed around Rievaulx. The complex picture of building and sustaining connections between the abbey and its lay patrons, benefactors and neighbours forms a core to this book. This study also examines how Rievaulxco-existed with other religious institutions in the area, and particularly the practical dimension of friendships between abbots, declarations of mutual support between monastic communities, and how these were reconciled with a fierce competition for land and donations. Contacts between Rievaulx abbey and the nearby archbishops of York and bishops of Durham were intense and these contacts demonstrate how important these prelates were as potential supporters, and how broader ecclesiastical issues influenced their relationships with Rievaulx. Whilst exploring the case of one particular monastery this book is an important contribution to the current debate on the shaping of Cistercian practice, and particularly the mechanisms for the interaction between laity and monastic communities, during the High Middle Ages. Acknowledgements vii List of Maps and Tables ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 Sources 6 Key Debates, Questions, and Approaches 9 Chapter 1: The Rievaulx Cartulary: The Patron, Locality, and Collective Memory 19 Rievaulx Abbey and its Patron: Foundation and its Memory 28 Building Relationships: Family and Locality 41 Chapter 2: Good Neighbours: Benefactors and Supporters 57 Aristocratic Families and Rievaulx Abbey 62 Knightly Families and Rievaulx Abbey 93 Chapter 3: Bad Neighbours: Disputes and Conflict Resolution 111 Conflicts and their Mechanisms 111 The 'Bad' Patron 123 Chapter 4: Rievaulx Abbey and the Monastic World 131 Close Neighbours 140 Houses Sharing the Same Founder 146 Other Cistercian Houses 149 Augustinian Houses 152 Contacts with the Order of Sempringham 157 Chapter 5: Rievaulx Abbey and the Ecclesiastical World 165 The Archbishops of York and Rievaulx Abbey 170 The Bishops of Durham and Rievaulx Abbey 184 Archdeacons, Chapters, Deans, and Canons and their Connections with Rievaulx Abbey 191 Chapter 6: Friendship and Commemoration 203 Conclusion 219 Bibliography 225 Index 241