CAPÍTULO I.
CHAPTER I. surveys the arrival and spread of two great religious movements in England during the reign of Henry I: the Austin (Augustinian) canons regular, and the Cistercian monks.…
Austin Canons in England Under Henry I
The Austin canons, as they were commonly called, made their way across the Channel at the beginning of Henry I’s reign.…
The Priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate
In 1108 Queen Matilda—the “Maude the good queen” of grateful tradition—founded the order’s first English priory in the soke of Aldgate, just within the eastern wall of London.…
S. Bartholomew’s Priory and Rahere
Some fifteen years after the Aldgate foundation, Rahere, the king’s minstrel, gave up his post at court to become the head of an Austin priory which he built on waste marshy groun…
Merton Priory and Thomas Becket
Another famous Augustinian house was Merton in Surrey, where the brotherhood devoted itself to educational work.…
Kirkham Priory Founded by Walter Lespec
At the other end of England, Walter Lespec, described as the noblest lay baron of his time, found comfort for the loss of his only son by “making Christ his heir”—devoting the her…
Austin Canons Raised to the Episcopate
Before the close of Henry’s reign, the Austin canons had grown so important that two of their number were raised to the episcopate, one even to the primacy of all Britain.…
Carlisle Bishopric and Eadwulf
Henry I’s own spiritual adviser was Eadwulf, prior of the Augustinian house at Nostell in Yorkshire—whose name marks him of English birth, even amid the king’s general preference…
Origins of the Cistercian Order
Meanwhile a mightier influence than the Augustinians’ was regenerating the Western Churches—England among them.…
Stephen Harding and the Founding of Citeaux
After long and anxious chapter debates the abbot of Molêmes appointed two learned and pious brethren to examine the original rule and declare its content.…
Spread of the White Monks to England
From Burgundy and Champagne the “White Monks,” as the Cistercians were called from the color of their habit, soon spread over France and Normandy.…
The Foundation of Fountains Abbey
The story of Fountains, another famous Yorkshire house, repeats that of Citeaux itself. Thirteen monks of the Benedictine convent of S.…
The Character of Cistercian Influence
The influence of the Cistercians differed in kind from that of the earlier monasticism. The Benedictine life, “in the world though not of it,” sought tranquillity and accessibilit…
CAPÍTULO I.
Chapter I traces the spiritual and literary revival within the English Church under Norman rule, using the life of S. Godric of Finchale as its central narrative thread.…
Birth and Boyhood of S. Godric
S. Godric was born in the last years of William the Conqueror or the earliest years of Henry I at Walpole, a village in the marshlands of north-western Norfolk, where his parents…
Godric as a Wandering Chapman
As a young man Godric began an independent life as a wandering chapman, trudging from village to village selling small wares to country folk as poor as himself.…
Life as a Merchant and Sailor
Entering partnership with other young men, Godric acquired a fourth share in one trading vessel and half of another, and was soon made captain of the ship.…
Pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome
At last Godric took the cross and made his way on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On his return, weary of independence, he entered the household of a rich man as steward and managed all…
Withdrawal into the Northumbrian Wilderness
It was in the wild Northumbria of Wilfrid and Benedict, with its trackless moors and great forests, that Godric at last found refuge from the world.…
Settlement at the Hermitage of Finchale
Seeking a place of retirement within easy reach of S. Cuthbert’s shrine, Godric was led to Finchale by the chance words of a shepherd to his comrade—“Let us go water our flocks at…
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