DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.69837#0500
English Summary of Part III
499
English Summary of Part III
The third major part, which also forms the thesis's second case study, explores the
so-called 'Benedictine reform movement' which was active in England roughly
in the second half of the tenth and the first half of the eleventh Century. It begins
with a critical review of recent scholarship (III.l.l.) by identifying two main
aspects that have recently become the focus of debate: the Status of the different
reforming impetus as a unified movement and the applicability of the modern
term 'reform' to denote these historical practises and their overall perception.
Instead of following the critique outlined, the chapter proposes a different subject
for debate by questioning the identification of these reforms as 'Benedictine',
since the agenda as well as the means employed reached far beyond cloistered
walls. Although some scholars have pointed out the wider ambitions of the
reformers' agenda in society as a whole, the labelling as 'Benedictine' has never
been questioned seriously so that the focus, implicitly or explicitly, remained on
aspects of monasticism. This broader impetus of the reform forms the leading
principle for its analysis, and, thus, the term 'Benedictine' is only used in quo-
tation marks throughout the study.
The next two introductory chapters deal with the chronology of the reforms
as well as the body of sources. They thus address more practical issues that pave
the way for the analysis itself. First (III. 1.2.), the difficulties of the reform's
timeline are addressed, especially its unclear initiation and discontinuation, since
these chronological comerstones cannot be established with any certainty. The
chapter argues that this relative uncertainty highlights the significance of the so-
called 'second generation' of reformers for the Stabilisation and, thus, (modern)
perception of the impetus. This importance is further stressed by the Latin prose
vitae, whose composition can be firmly associated with the reform context, since
all of the relevant works - Lantfred's Translatio et miracula Sancti Swithuni, Abbo's
Passio Sancti Eadmundi, Wulfstan's Vita Sancti /Ethelwoldi, B.'s Vita Sancti Dunstani,
Adelard's Lectiones in depositione Sancti Dunstani, Byrhtferth's Vita Sancti Oswaldi
and Vita Sancti Ecgwini - were written by representatives of the second gen-
eration. After a short Characterisation of the corpus and a brief outline of previous
scholarship in general, each of the eight vitae is introduced in detail (III.1.3.).
Although each of them is directed at a specific, mostly monastic community, it is
clearly shown that these works form an intertextual discourse on the reform's
ideals.
The outline of the analysis itself follows the one used for the first case study -
the Alfredian reforms - to ensure comparability of the findings. The first, larger
chapter (III.2.) provides a catalogue of the values and norms negotiated in the
eight vitae and is, thus, further subdivided by the respective categories: obedi-
ence (III.2.1.), justice (III.2.2.), repentance (III.2.3.), piety (III.2.4.), chastity
(III.2.5.), sociability (III.2.6.), humility (III.2.7.), generosity (III.2.8.), mercy
(III.2.9.), agonality (III.2.10.), and productivity (IIL2.il.). The overall impression
emerging is far more complex than the label 'Benedictine' might at first suggest,
for the boundaries of monastic virtues are offen transcended. The ideal portrayed
499
English Summary of Part III
The third major part, which also forms the thesis's second case study, explores the
so-called 'Benedictine reform movement' which was active in England roughly
in the second half of the tenth and the first half of the eleventh Century. It begins
with a critical review of recent scholarship (III.l.l.) by identifying two main
aspects that have recently become the focus of debate: the Status of the different
reforming impetus as a unified movement and the applicability of the modern
term 'reform' to denote these historical practises and their overall perception.
Instead of following the critique outlined, the chapter proposes a different subject
for debate by questioning the identification of these reforms as 'Benedictine',
since the agenda as well as the means employed reached far beyond cloistered
walls. Although some scholars have pointed out the wider ambitions of the
reformers' agenda in society as a whole, the labelling as 'Benedictine' has never
been questioned seriously so that the focus, implicitly or explicitly, remained on
aspects of monasticism. This broader impetus of the reform forms the leading
principle for its analysis, and, thus, the term 'Benedictine' is only used in quo-
tation marks throughout the study.
The next two introductory chapters deal with the chronology of the reforms
as well as the body of sources. They thus address more practical issues that pave
the way for the analysis itself. First (III. 1.2.), the difficulties of the reform's
timeline are addressed, especially its unclear initiation and discontinuation, since
these chronological comerstones cannot be established with any certainty. The
chapter argues that this relative uncertainty highlights the significance of the so-
called 'second generation' of reformers for the Stabilisation and, thus, (modern)
perception of the impetus. This importance is further stressed by the Latin prose
vitae, whose composition can be firmly associated with the reform context, since
all of the relevant works - Lantfred's Translatio et miracula Sancti Swithuni, Abbo's
Passio Sancti Eadmundi, Wulfstan's Vita Sancti /Ethelwoldi, B.'s Vita Sancti Dunstani,
Adelard's Lectiones in depositione Sancti Dunstani, Byrhtferth's Vita Sancti Oswaldi
and Vita Sancti Ecgwini - were written by representatives of the second gen-
eration. After a short Characterisation of the corpus and a brief outline of previous
scholarship in general, each of the eight vitae is introduced in detail (III.1.3.).
Although each of them is directed at a specific, mostly monastic community, it is
clearly shown that these works form an intertextual discourse on the reform's
ideals.
The outline of the analysis itself follows the one used for the first case study -
the Alfredian reforms - to ensure comparability of the findings. The first, larger
chapter (III.2.) provides a catalogue of the values and norms negotiated in the
eight vitae and is, thus, further subdivided by the respective categories: obedi-
ence (III.2.1.), justice (III.2.2.), repentance (III.2.3.), piety (III.2.4.), chastity
(III.2.5.), sociability (III.2.6.), humility (III.2.7.), generosity (III.2.8.), mercy
(III.2.9.), agonality (III.2.10.), and productivity (IIL2.il.). The overall impression
emerging is far more complex than the label 'Benedictine' might at first suggest,
for the boundaries of monastic virtues are offen transcended. The ideal portrayed