EARLY DOUBLE MONASTERIES A Paper read before the Heretics' Society on December 6th, 1914 BY CONSTANCE STONEY NEWNHAM COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL & CO. , LIMITED. LONDON: G. BELL & SONS, LIMITED. 1915 EARLY DOUBLE MONASTERIES. The system of double monasteries, or monasteries for both men and women, is as old as that of Christian monasticism itself, though the phrase"monasteria duplicia"[1] dates from about the C6. The term was alsosometimes applied to twin monasteries for men; Bede uses it in thissense with reference to Wearmouth and Yarrow, while he generally speaksof a double monastery as "monasterium virginum. " The use of the word "double" is important. The monastery was not mixed;men and women did not live or work together, and in many cases did notuse the same Church; and though the chief feature of the system wasassociation, there was in reality very little, when compared with theamount of separation. In time, the details of organisation varied, such, for example, as whether an abbot or an abbess ruled the whole monastery, though it was generally the latter. Details of the rule of the communitynaturally altered at different times and in different places, but theessential character remained the same. As to the object of such an arrangement, opinions differ. Some haveregarded it as a sort of moral experiment; others have seen in it onlythe natural outcome of the necessity for having priests close at hand tocelebrate Mass, hear confessions and minister in general to thespiritual needs of the nuns. There is, too, the practical side of theplan--namely, that each side of the community was economically dependanton the other, as will be seen later. However this may be, the practiceof placing the two together under one head seems to be as ancient asmonasticism itself. The double monastery in its simplest form was that organisation said tohave been founded in the C4 by S. Pachomius, [2] an Egyptian monk. Hesettled with a number of men, who had consecrated themselves to thespiritual life, at Tabenna, by the side of the Nile. About the sametime, his sister Mary went to the opposite bank of the Nile, and beganto gather round her women disciples. This settlement soon became a proper nunnery under the control of thesuperior of the monks, who delegated elderly men to care for itsdiscipline. With the exception of regulations concerning dress, bothmonks and nuns observed the same rule which S. Pachomius wrote forthem[3]. It was very simple. There were to be twelve prayers saidduring the day, twelve at twilight, twelve at night, and a psalm at eachmeal. Mass was celebrated on Saturday and Sunday. Meals were to be eatenall together and the amount of food was unlimited. A monk could eat orfast as he pleased, but the more he ate, the more work must he do. Theywere to sleep three in a cell. No formal vows were to be taken, but theperiod of probation before entry into the community, was to be threeyears. The men provided the food, and did the rough work for the women, building their dwellings, etc. , while the women made clothes for themen. When a nun died her companions brought her body to the river bankand then retired; presently some monks fetched away the body, rowed backacross the Nile, and buried it in their cemetery. [4] That the communities of S. Basil and his sister Macrina (also in the C4)were of this type, may be seen from the rule of S. Basil. Thecommunities, like those of Pachomius, were on opposite banks of ariver--in this case, the Iris; and Macrina's nunnery is supposed to havebeen in the village of Annesi, near Neo-Caesarea, and founded 357 A. D. In her nunnery lived her mother and her younger brother Peter, whoafterwards became a priest. The life of this saintly family and therelation between the two communities may be learned from the charminglywritten Life of S. Macrina by her brother Gregory of Nyssa. [5] The Rule of S. Basil is written in the form of question and answer, andmuch of it refers to the relations between monks and nuns, while allimpress upon the religious the duty of giving no occasion to the enemyto blaspheme. "May the head of the monastery speak often with theabbess? May he speak with any of the sisters other than the abbess, onmatters of faith? May the abbess be angry if a priest orders the sistersto do anything without her knowledge? If a sister refuses to sing thepsalms, is she to be compelled to do so?" All the answers urge bothparts of the community to avoid giving ground for scandal. The nuns, inthis case, seem to have had a separate church, for Gregory speaks of the"Chorus of Virgins" who awaited him when he came to visit his sisterMacrina on her death bed. There were, too, schools for boys and girlsattached to S. Basil's house, for he makes regulations concerning theireducation. There is practically no evidence for double monasteries in the C5, butat the opening of the C6 we find them again. In the West the earliestmonastic communities had been founded by S. Martin of Tours, first atMilan in 371 and afterwards in Gaul, which from then became the chiefmonastic centre. It is here, then, that another brother and sister figure as the foundersof a double monastery. S. Caesarius, Bishop of Arles, [6] persuaded hissister Caesaria to leave Marseilles, where she was in a convent, andjoin him at Arles to preside over the women who had gathered there tolive under his guidance; and the rule which he afterwards wrote forthese nuns is the first Western rule for nuns, and was afterwardsfollowed in many double monasteries. [7] He arranged it, as he himselfsays, according to the teachings of the fathers of the Church. Hestipulates that all joining the community shall, on their entry, renounce all claims to outside property. Only those women are to enterwho accept the rule of their own accord and are prepared to live inperfect equality and without servants. Much attention is paid in therule to the instruction of the nuns; they were to devote considerabletime to music, as being an art through which God could fittingly bepraised; to be taught reading and writing; to practice cooking, andweaving both of Church vestments and their own clothing. They were to attend to the sick and infirm, and above all they were notto quarrel. They were not entirely cut off from the outside world, sincethey were permitted to entertain women from other convents; but, saysthe Rule, "Dinners and entertainments shall not be provided forchurchmen, laymen and friends. " We have only indirect evidence thatArles was a double monastery. The confusion, for example in Caesarius'swill between his two foundations of S. John's and S. Mary's, resolvesitself, if we suppose that the monks were at the one, and the nuns atthe other, and that they associated in the great church in themonastery, described by the authors of the Life of S. Caesarius, asbeing dedicated to S. Mary, S. John and S. Martin. [8] Such anarrangement was common in later double monasteries. Another famous C6 monastery in Gaul now supposed to have been double wasthat of S. Rhadagund at Poitiers about 566. [9] S. Rhadagund was marriedto King Clothair against her will, and their life together was a seriesof quarrels. She was so devoted to charitable work, we are told, thatshe often annoyed the King by keeping him waiting at meals, left himwhenever possible and behaved in such a way that the king declared thathe was married to a nun rather than a queen. Finally the murder of heryoung brother, at the instigation of the king, determined her to leavethe court, and flying to the protection of Bishop Medardus, shedemanded to be consecrated a nun. [10] After some natural hesitation on the part of the Bishop, she was made aDeaconess--a term applying to anyone who, without belonging to anyspecial order, was under the protection of the Church. [11] She devotedherself to the relief of every kind of distress, bodily and spiritual;and at length the desire came to her to provide permanently for the menand women who came to her for help. So, on an estate which she owned atPoitiers, she founded a nunnery dedicated to the Holy Name, and, probably at the same time, the house for men, separated from the conventby the town wall and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was in S. Mary's that Rhadagund was buried and after her death, her name was addedto the dedication. Beside this evidence of association between the twohouses, the only other is the correspondence of Rhadagund and the AbbessAgnes with the poet Fortunatus, who was probably a monk of S. Mary's. Hecertainly seems to have been the director and counsellor of the nuns, and to have been often engaged in business for them; but he did not livein the same house with them for in one of his letters he laments thefact. His letters and verses addressed to the two women throw a stronglight on the friendship, and real affection which existed among thethree friends. He says that he will work day and night for Rhadagund, draw the water, tend the vines and the garden, cook, wash dishes, anything, rather than that she should do the heavy and menial work ofthe house. He begs the abbess Agnes to talk often of him with thesisters that he may feel more really that she is his mother. He sendsgifts of flowers for their sanctuary, and baskets which he has plaited;and with a basket of violets he sends the following charming verses. [12](I give a translation which must necessarily be inadequate. ) "If the season had yielded me white lilies, according to its wont, orred roses with sweet smelling savour, I had plucked them from thecountryside, or from the turf of my little garden, and had sent them, small gifts for great ladies! But since I lack the first, I e'en pay thesecond, for he presents roses in the eyes of love, who offers onlyviolets. Yet, these violets I send are, among perfumed herbs, of noblestock, and with equal grace breathe in their royal purple, whilefragrance with beauty vies to steep their petals. May you, likewise, both have each charm that these possess, and may the perfume of yourfuture reward be a glory that blooms everlastingly. " The nuns of Ste. Croix, too, seem not to have been lacking ingenerosity. Fortunatus frequently thanks them for gifts of eggs, fruit, milk, etc. ; and on one occasion he receives more dishes than one servantcould carry. He must have stood in some official relation to Rhadagund, for such freedom of intercourse to be possible; and if his versessometimes suggest the courtier rather than the monk, it must beremembered that they are the work of a poet who had first been a friendof princes and was among the most fashionable men of letters of his dayin Ravenna; and that they are addressed to a woman who was, after all, aqueen. In 587 Rhadagund died and Bishop Gregory of Tours tells how greatly shewas mourned by the whole community, and how some 200 women crowded roundher bier, bewailing their loss. One of them, the nun Baudonivia, severalyears afterwards, cannot, she says, even speak of the death of Rhadagundwithout being choked with sobs. [13] It will be seen from these examples, that in all probability, theorigin of the double monastery need not be sought, as has been supposed, in Ireland, since it seems to have been known in Gaul before S. Columbanus and his Irish disciples landed there and preached a greatreligious revival, at the end of the C6. Indeed, though there arescattered notices in the lives of the Irish saints, which seem tosuggest that there were double monasteries in Ireland in very earlytimes, there is no definite evidence until the description inCogitosus's "Life of S. Bridget, " of one at Kildare, probably in the C8. The monasteries actually founded by S. Columbanus himself, were all formen. On the other hand, the double monastery seems always to have flourishedwherever the fervour of the Irish missionaries penetrated. Perhaps, asMontalembert[14] suggests, the ideal atmosphere of divine simplicity andsingle-mindedness which characterised them, was particularly favorableto the growth of such an institution. S. Columbanus dedicated Burgundofara, or Fara, as a child, to thereligious life; and she afterwards founded the monastery of Brie to thesouth-east of Paris, which we learn from Jonas, who was a monk there, and from Bede, was a double monastery. It is clear that this house was one of those ruled by an abbess, forJonas says that no distinction was recognised between the sexes, andthat the abbess treated both alike. The discipline here, however, seemsto have been very severe, for he adds that some of the new nuns tried toescape by ladders from the dormitory. Brie is interesting to us asforming one of the links between Continental and English monasticism atthis time. Bede says of the daughter of Erconberht, King of Kent, "Shewas a most virtuous maiden, always serving God in a monastery in France, built by a most noble abbess, Fara by name, at a place called Brie; forat that time, but few monasteries being built in the country of theAngles, many were wont, for the sake of monastic conversation, to repairto the monasteries of the Franks or Gauls; and they also sent theirdaughters there to be educated and given to their Heavenly Bridegroom, especially in the monasteries of Brie, Chelles, and Andelys. "[15] He adds that two daughters of King Anna of East Anglia, "thoughstrangers, were for their virtue made abbesses of the monastery ofBrie. " Little is known of Andelys, except that it was founded by QueenClotilda. At Chelles, founded by Queen Bathilda in 662, ten miles fromParis, on the river Marne, many famous persons, both men and women, received their education. Among them was a Northumbrian princess, Hereswith, whose sister was Hild, the most famous of English abbesses. The prevalence and influence of the double monastery in England mayperhaps be better understood by a reference to the position of womengenerally in Anglo-Saxon society. Nothing astonished the Romans morethan the austere chastity of the Germanic women, and the religiousrespect paid by men to them, and nowhere has their influence been morefully recognised or more enduring than among the Anglo-Saxons. This factlargely accounts for the extreme importance attached by them to marriagealliances, particularly those between members of royal houses. [16] Theseunions gave to the princess the office of mediatrix; in Beowulf she iscalled Freothowebbe, "the peace-weaver. "[17] From this rose the highposition held by queens. Their signatures appear in acts of foundation, decrees of councils, charters, etc. Sometimes they reigned with fullroyal authority, as did Seaxburg, Queen of the West Saxons, after thedeath of her husband. [18] From the beginning of Christianity in England, the women, and particularly these royal women, were as active andpersevering in furthering the Faith, as their men. "Christianity, " saysMontalembert, [19] "came to a people which had preserved the instinctand sense of the necessity for venerating things above, " and "they atleast honoured the virtue which they did not themselves alwayspractise. " Consequently, when the young Anglo-Saxon women, having been initiatedinto the life of the cloister abroad, returned to England to foundmonasteries in their own land, they were received by their countrymenwith reverence and respect. This respect soon expressed itself in thenational law, which placed under the safeguard of severe penalties thehonour and freedom of those whom it called the "Brides of God. " Princesses, royal widows, sometimes reigning queens, began to foundmonasteries, where they lived on terms of equality with the daughters ofceorls and bondmen; and perhaps it is fair to say that it was not thelowest in rank who made the greatest sacrifice. But the influence of these women did not cease with their retirement tothe cloister. When one of them, by the choice of her companions, or thenomination of the bishops, became invested with the right of governingthe community, she was also given the liberties and privileges of thehighest rank. Abbesses often had the retinue and state of princesses. They were present at most great religious and national gatherings, andoften affixed their signatures to the charters granted on theseoccasions. [20] I have already referred to one of the greatest of these abbesses, Hildof Whitby. She was the grandniece of Edwin, the first Christian King ofNorthumbria and had been baptised with her uncle at York in 627 by theRoman Missionary Paulinus. [21] Bede says that, before consecrating herlife to religion, "she had lived thirty-three years very nobly among herfamily. " When she realised her vocation, she went into East Anglia whereher brother-in-law was king, intending to cross over to the continentand take the veil at Chelles. She spent a year here in preparation, butbefore she could accomplish her purpose, Bishop Aidan invited her to thenorth, to take charge of the double monastery of Hartlepool, which hadbeen founded by Heiu, the first nun in England. "When, " says Bede, "shehad for some years governed this monastery, wholly intent uponestablishing the regular life, it happened that she also undertook theconstruction or arrangement of a monastery in the place which is calledStreonesheal (Whitby), and diligently accomplished the work enjoinedupon her. For in this monastery, as in the first, she established thediscipline of the regular life, and indeed, she taught there also, justice, piety, chastity, and other virtues, but especially the guardingof peace and charity; so that, after the example of the primitivechurch, no one there was rich and none poor, all things were common toall and no one had property. So great was her prudence, moreover, thatnot only ordinary persons in their necessity, but even kings and princessought and received counsel of her. She made those who were under herdirection give so much time to the reading of the Divine Scriptures, andexercise themselves so much in the works of righteousness, that manycould readily be met with there, who were fit to take up ecclesiasticaloffice, that is, the service of the altar. " Bede goes on to mention sixmen from Hild's monastery, who afterwards became bishops. The mostfamous was perhaps S. John of Beverley, who was first bishop of Hexham, and afterwards of York, and who was noted for his piety and learning. Aetta held the see of Dorchester for a time. Bosa, another scholarlydisciple of Hild, became Archbishop of York, and Tatfrith was electedbishop of the Hwicce, though he died before his consecration. None of these, however, have a greater claim to be remembered than thecow-herd Caedmon, the first English poet, and the story as given by Bedeis perhaps one of the most charming in his Ecclesiastical History. [22]Apart from the literary interest attaching to the story, his life showssome of the details in outward organisation of these great doublemonasteries. Before his entry into the monastery, says Bede, he wasadvanced in years, and yet had so little skill in music that he wasunable to take his turn at feasts in singing and playing on the harp, anaccomplishment common to high and low among the Anglo-Saxons and kindrednations. The story is familiar: on one occasion when the feast was over, he leftthe hall as soon as he saw the harp being passed, according to custom, from hand to hand. He went out to the cattle-sheds, tended the beastsand lay down to sleep. In a dream he heard a voice, "Caedmon, sing mesomething. " He answered, "I know not how to sing; and for this cause Icame out from the feast and came hither because I knew not how. " Againhe who spoke with him said, "Nevertheless, thou canst sing mesomething. " Caedmon said, "What shall I sing?" He answered, "Sing me theCreation. " Then Bede relates how the cow-herd sang songs before unknownto him, in praise of "the Creator, the Glorious Father of men, who firstcreated for the sons of earth, the heaven for a roof, and then themiddle world as a floor for men, the Guardian of the Heavenly Kingdom. "When the abbess Hild heard of the miracle, she instructed him in thepresence of many learned men to turn into verse a portion of theScriptures. He took away his task and brought it to them again"composed in the choicest verse. " Thereupon the abbess, says Bede, "embracing and loving the gift of God in the man, entreated him to leavethe secular, and take upon him the monastic life, and ordered him to beinstructed in sacred history. " So he was received into Whitby monasterywith all his family "and, " continues the story, "all that he could learnhe kept in memory, and like a clean beast chewing the cud, he turned itall into the sweetest verse, so pleasant to hear, that even his teacherswrote and learned at his lips. " The story throws a good deal of light on the way in which a large doublemonastery was organised. One gathers from it that not only isolatedmonks and nuns were received into the community but sometimes wholefamilies. Caedmon entered "cum omnibus suis, " which is generally takento mean that his whole family were received with him. We see from it, too, how earnest was the desire of the superiors of the monasteries toinstruct the ignorant; how rich and poor alike in the C7 might aspire tothe monastic life, the only passport being the honest desire to serveGod in the best possible way. Again in the latter part of the story, dealing with Caedmon's sicknessand death, there is evidence of how the aged, the sick and the dyingwere tended with special care. Whitby was not only an important religious but also political centreand the abbesses took by no means a small part in controversy. At theSynod of Whitby[23] held here in 664, when the respective claims ofIrish and Roman ecclesiastical discipline were discussed, Hild took theside of the Irish Church; while her successor, Aelflæd, interestedherself in the doings of her brother, King Egfrith. Hild reigned thirtyyears at Whitby and died after many years of suffering, during which shenever failed to teach her flock, both in public and in private. All thatwe know of her character, indicates a strong and vivid personality, amind keenly alive to the necessities of the age, and a will vigorousenough to be successful in providing for them where opportunityoccurred. She had a worthy successor in Aelflæd, a friend of the holy S. Cuthbert. Bede says of her that "she added to the lustre of her princelybirth the brighter glory of exalted virtue, " and that she was "inspiredwith much love toward Cuthbert, the holy man of God. "[24] On one occasion she had fallen seriously ill, and expressed a wish thatsomething belonging to S. Cuthbert could be sent to her. "For then, " shesaid, "I know I should soon be well. " A linen girdle was sent from theSaint, and the abbess joyfully put it on. The next morning she couldstand on her feet and the third day she was restored to perfect health. Later, a nun was cured of a headache by the same girdle, but when nextit was wanted, it could nowhere be found. Bede argues quaintly that itsdisappearance was also an act of Divine Providence, since some of thesick who flocked to it might be unworthy, and, not being cured, mightdoubt its efficacy, while in reality, their own unworthiness was toblame. "Thus, " he concludes, "was all matter for detraction removed fromthe malice of the unrighteous. " A contemporary of Hild's was Aebbe, a princess of the rival dynasty ofBernicia, and sister of the royal saint, King Oswald, and of Oswy, thereigning king. Her brother intended to give her in marriage to the kingof the Scots, but she herself was opposed to the alliance. Her familyhad embraced the Christian religion in exile, and she determined tofollow the monastic life. Accordingly, she built a double monastery, apparently in imitation ofWhitby, at Coldingham on the promontory still called S. Abb's Head. Shedoes not seem, however, to have maintained, like Hild, the disciplineand fervour of which she herself gave an example; for Bede notes here arare example of those disorders of which there were certainly far fewerin England at this time than anywhere else. [25] Aebbe was apparently inignorance of the relaxation of discipline in her monastery until shewas warned of it by an Irish monk of her community, named Adamnan. As he was walking with the abbess through the great and beautiful housewhich she had built, he lamented with tears, "All that you see here sobeautiful and so grand will soon be laid in ashes!" The astonishedabbess begged an explanation. "I have seen in a dream, " said the monk, "an unknown one who has revealed to me all the evil done in this houseand the punishment prepared for it. " And what, one naturally asks, are these crimes for which nothing shortof total destruction of the splendid house is a severe enough visitationfrom Heaven? Adamnan continues "The unknown one has told me that hevisited each cell and each bed, and found the monks, either wrapt inslothful sleep, or awake, eating irregular meals and engaged insenseless gossip; while the nuns employ their leisure in wearinggarments of excessive fineness, either to attire themselves, as if theywere the brides of men, or to bestow them on people outside. " One mustadmit that here and there in the writings of the period, there arereferences to this worldliness in some monasteries; but whatever mayhave been the state of things at a later date, there does not seem to beevidence of graver misdeeds in these early years of monasticism inEngland. Bede uses perhaps unnecessary severity in speaking of renegademonks and nuns so-called, since he is admittedly speaking from hearsayand not about disorders which came under his own observation. Whateverthe sins of Coldingham may have been, the community at a later dateatoned for them, for in the C9, when the Danes invaded Northumbria, andkilled the men of this monastery, among others, the nuns are said tohave mutilated their faces in order to escape the marauders. The Danes, in fury at the loss of their prey, burned the monastery to the ground, and all that remains to mark the site is a small ruined chapel. At Ely there was also a double monastery founded by Aethelthryth, [26]later known as S. Awdrey. She was the daughter of Anna, King of the EastAngles, and therefore a niece of the great abbess Hild. She was married, for the second time, probably for political reasons, when over thirtyyears old to King Egfrith of Northumbria, then a boy of fifteen. Afterliving with him for twelve years, she left him and went to Coldingham, where she received the veil. Whether Egfrith agreed to this or not, itis impossible to say. There are reasons for believing that he was, atany rate, unwilling; for Bede says that she had long requested the kingto permit her to lay aside worldly cares and serve God in a monasteryand that she at length, with great difficulty, prevailed. She remained at Coldingham for a year and then went to Ely, the islandin the fens given to her by her first husband; and there she built amonastery, of which she became abbess. She renounced all the splendours and even ordinary comforts of herformer royal life. Bede says that from the time that she entered themonastery, she wore no linen, but only woollen garments, rarely washedin a hot bath, unless just before any of the great festivals, such asEaster, Whitsuntide, and the Epiphany; and then she did it last of all, after having, with the assistance of those about her, first washed theother nuns. After presiding over the monastery six or seven years, she died of atumour in her throat, which she used to say was sent as a punishment forher excessive love of wearing necklaces in her youth. Hence the "tawdreylace" of "The Winter's Tale" and elsewhere, which was a necklace boughtat S. Awdrey's Fair, held on the day of her festival, October 17th. Shewas succeeded by her sister, Seaxburh, the widow of Erconberht, King ofKent, who had founded a double monastery at Sheppey, of which she wasthe first abbess. There is no mention of monks as well as nuns beforeher reign. Her daughter, Ermengild, succeeded her as Abbess of Sheppey, and at her mother's death, of Ely. Ermengild's daughter, Werburh (thefamous S. Werburh of Chester), also became abbess of Sheppey and Ely insuccession. In the same way, Minster in Thanet remained in the family of itsfoundress, Eormenburg or Domneva, as she is sometimes called, the wifeof the Mercian prince Merewald. According to tradition she received theland from Egbert of Kent, as wergild for the murder of her two brothers. She asked for as much land as her tame deer could cover in one course, and she thus obtained about ten thousand acres, on which she built hermonastery. Her daughter, Mildred, who succeeded her as abbess, acquiredgreater fame. She was educated at Chelles, and was there cruellyill-treated by the abbess, who was inappropriately named Wilcona, orWelcome. She wished to marry Mildred to one of her relatives, and whenthe girl refused, she put her into a furnace. When that punishmentfailed, she pulled her hair out. Mildred adorned her psalter with theravished hair and sent it to her mother. Finally she escaped andreturned home. Her name is among the five abbesses who signed a chartergranting church privileges at a Kentish Witanagemot. [27] Her successor, Eadburg, or Bugga, built a splendid new church in the monastery, whichis described in a poem attributed to Aldhelm. [28] The high altar washung with tapestries of cloth of gold, and ornamented with silver andprecious stones. The chalice, too, was of gold, and set with jewels;there were glass windows, and from the roof there hung a silver censer. Mention is made of the united singing of the monks and nuns in thechurch. Eadburg and her mother, a certain Abbess Eangyth, were both friends ofBoniface, the great English missionary bishop of Mainz, the "Apostle ofGermany. " Eangyth writes to him of her troubles as abbess of a doublemonastery, of the quarrels among the monks, the poverty of the house, and the excessive dues which had to be paid to the king and hisofficials. In one letter Boniface thanks Eadburg for books and clothes, and asks if she will write out for him in gold letters the Epistles ofS. Peter, that he may have the words of the Apostle before his eyes whenhe preaches. Repton was another double monastery under an abbess, though nothing isknown of its foundation. Some information about it is gained from theLife of S. Guthlac by Felix. Guthlac was a noble of Mercia, and in hisyouth a great warrior; but at the age of twenty-four, he went to Reptonand received the tonsure under the abbess Aelfthryth. Her rule wasapparently very strict, for we find Guthlac getting into trouble forbreaking a rule by _not_ drinking wine. Several chapters in Bede's Ecclesiastical History are devoted to storiesof the double monastery at Barking, which was one of the most famous. Itwas founded by Erconwald, who afterwards became bishop of London. Hebuilt one for himself at Chertsey, and one for his sister Aethelburg atBarking, and, as Bede says, "established them both in regular disciplineof the best kind. " This monastery included both a hospital and a school, under the energetic rule of its first abbess. Hildelith succeeded Aethelburg, and it was for her and her companionsthat the scholar Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, wrote his work, "DeLaudibus Virginitatis. "[29] He speaks of the nunnery as a hive where thenuns work like little bees, for they collect everywhere material forstudy. Their industry is not confined to the study of Holy Scripture. Hespeaks of them as searching carefully into the writers of history, ashaving a knowledge of ancient law and chronography, and in writing, ofthe rules of grammar and orthography, punctuation, metre, together withthe use of allegory and tropology; all of which goes to prove that thefield of secular knowledge was not particularly limited for nuns inthose days. Aldhelm enlarges on the charms of their peaceful life in thenunnery, and the opportunities for thought and study it affords them. Herecommends the works of Cassian and Gregory for their reading, and warnsthem against pride, a special temptation to those who have adopted thereligious life. Again there comes the warning against worldliness in both monk and nun. Some of the men, he says, contrary to the rule of the regular life, wear gay clothing. "The appearance of the other sex, too, corresponds:a vest of fine linen of hyacinth blue is worn, and above it a scarlettunic with hood and sleeves of striped silk; on the feet are littleshoes of red leather; the locks on the forehead and temples are wavedwith a curling-iron; the dark grey head-veil has given place to whiteand coloured head-dresses, the folds of which are kept in place byfillets and reach right down to the feet; the nails are pared toresemble the talons of a falcon. " Aldhelm condemns all this, but hastensto add that of course he is addressing no one in particular. The workcloses with an affectionate greeting to those whom he calls the Flowersof the Church, Pearls of Christ, his monastic sisters and scholarlypupils, whose prayers he always desires. In Wessex the double monastery of Wimborne was the most important of itstime, and most famed for its literary activity. According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, [30] it was founded by Cuthburg, sister of Ine, king of Wessex. Most of our knowledge of the community comes from theLife of S. Lioba[31] ('the beloved'), who was educated there during thereign of the Abbess Tetta, another sister of the royal founder. Theauthor of S. Lioba's Life describes the arrangement at Wimborne. He saysthat there were two monasteries there, one for clerks and the other forwomen. The two houses were surrounded by high walls and the monasterywas well endowed. No nun could obtain permission to go to the monks'house, and no man might enter the nuns' convent, except the priests whocame to celebrate in their church. One gathers from this that there wasnot a common church for both sides of the community, as was often thecase. The abbess gave any necessary orders to the monks through awindow. No woman was admitted to the community unless she undertook notto attempt to leave it except for very urgent reasons and by permissionof the abbess. Some idea of its size may be gathered from the fact that there were fivehundred nuns at Wimborne. That strength and tact were needed to rulethem is shown by one amusing if lamentable episode. A very religious virgin was placed in authority over the novices, andshe was so hated by them on account of her severity that even after herdeath the young nuns could not forget; and rushing out, they trampledupon her grave, with curses, until the mound became a hole half a footdeep. The abbess Tetta rebuked them for their unchristian behaviour, andordered a three days' fast and penance, after which the culpritsapparently recovered their senses. Lioba herself seems to have had an attractive personality, and to havegained the affection both of the abbess and the other nuns. A littleletter of hers is extant, wherein she writes to Boniface recallingherself to his mind and claiming relationship with him through hermother. She also encloses some Latin verse for his criticism. She says, "This too, I ask, that you will correct the mistakes of this letter, andsend me a few words as a proof of your goodwill. I have composed thelittle verses written below, according to the rules of prosody, not frompride, but from a desire to cultivate the beginnings of a slendergenius, and because I wanted your help. I learnt the art from Eadburga, my mistress, who devotes herself unceasingly to searching Divine Law. " When Boniface was establishing religious houses in Germany he sent toAbbess Tetta, asking that Lioba might be allowed to come over and helphim. She went, and Boniface put the monastery of Bischofsheim on theTauber, a tributary of the Main, under her care. Here she carried on thetraditions of Wimborne, for she taught and encouraged learning in everyway. Her rule was sane and wise. Her biographer says of her, "She wascareful always not to teach others what she herself did not practise. Neither conceit nor overbearing found any place in her disposition; butshe was gentle and kind to everyone without exception. She was beautifulas an angel and her conversation was charming. Her intellect wasrenowned, and she was able in counsel. She was catholic in faith, mostpatient in hope, and of widespread charity. Though her face was alwayscheerful, she never broke into hilarious laughter. No one ever heard anill-natured remark fall from her lips, and the sun never went down uponher wrath. Though she provided food and drink with the greatestliberality for others, she was very moderate herself; and the cup fromwhich she used to drink was called by the sisters, on account of itssize, 'darling's little mug. '" She knew that a heedful mind is necessary for both prayer and study, andso she insisted upon moderation in holding vigils. She allowed herself, and the sisters under her, a short rest after dinner, especially in thesummer time; and would never willingly allow people to stay up late; forshe maintained that loss of sleep meant loss of intelligence, especiallyin reading. Her methods were undoubtedly successful, for Rudolf saysthat among the other convents for women in Germany, there was scarcelyone which had not teachers trained under Lioba, so eagerly sought afterwere her pupils. Here this account of some early double monasteries must end. In Englandthey probably existed right up to the Danish invasions of 870, anddisappeared in the general devastation of the country during thesucceeding years. The organisation, however, appears again in thiscountry in the C12, and even as late as the C15. The order of S. Gilbertof Sempringham in the C12 was a double one, and the only order whichactually had birth in England. It was, however, entirely lacking in thatintellectual activity which was a special feature of the earlier doublemonasteries, among both men and women, and which, from the secular pointof view, gave to the Anglo-Saxon nunneries a place not incomparable withthe women's colleges of the present day. The latest double monastery inEngland was that of S. Bridget of Sion, near Isleworth, on the Thames. Reference has been made only to the more important early doublemonasteries in England; but there are others which may or may not comeunder this category. Of these some are Whitern in Galloway, Carlisle, Caistor in Northamptonshire, Gloucester, Strenshall in Staffordshire, and Lyminge in Kent. It is uncertain whether Bischofsheim, in Germany, under the abbessLioba, was a double monastery, but the arrangement is known to haveexisted in Germany in the C8 and later. There are also traces of them inItaly, and considerable evidence for the same sort of system in Spain, but time does not allow of dealing with them here. Finally, the double monastery did not flourish or find much favour inthe more sophisticated ages of Christianity, but generally followed anoutburst of religious enthusiasm in the earlier centuries of the Faith. "It was, " says Montalembert, "a peculiarity belonging to the youth ofthe church, which, like youth in all circumstances, went through all thedifficulties, dangers, and storms of that age, and which in maturertimes gave way before a more practical, if less ideal, outlook onlife. "[32] FOOTNOTES: [1] "Monasteria duplicia ut appellantur. " Corp. Jur. Civ. (Krueger)Codex I. Iii. , 43. [2] Vita Pachom. Migne, Pat. Lat. , tom. 73, cap. 28, col. 248. Paris, 1849. [3] Regula S. Pachomii. Gallandius Bib. Vet. Pat. , tom. 4, p. 718. Venice, 1765. [4] Vita Pachom. Migne, Pat. Lat. , tom. 73, cap. 28, col. 248. Paris, 1849. [5] Lives of Women Saints. Translated by an early author (unknown)probably 1610-1615. Edited by C. Horstmann (E. E. T. S. ), 1886. [6] Migne, Pat. Lat. , tom. 67, col. 1001. [7] Bateson, Mary, "Origin and Early History of Double Monasteries. "Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. XIII. , p. 141. [8] Bateson, Mary, op. Cit. , p. 143. [9] Gregorius Turon, Hist. Franc. , Lib. 3, cap. 7. [10] Nisard, Vie de Fortunat, chap. 52. Paris, 1887. [11] Eckenstein, Lina, Woman under Monasticism. Page 54. Cambridge, 1896. [12] Tempora si solito mihi candida lilia ferrent Aut speciosa foret suave rubore rosa, Haec ego rure legens aut caespite pauperis horti Misissem magnis munera parva libens; Sed quia prima mihi desunt, vel solvo secunda, Profert qui violas, fert et amore rosas. Inter odoriferas tamen has quas misimus herbas Purpureae violae nobile germen habent, Respirant pariter regali murice tinctae Et saturat foliis hinc odor, inde decor. Hae quod utrumque gerunt pariter habeatis utraque Et sit mercis odor flore perenne decus. (Nisard, Poésies de Fortunat, Lib. 8, vi. Paris, 1887. ) [13] Gregorius Turon, De Gloria Confessorum, cap. 106. [14] Moines d'Occident. Tom. V. , cap. 4. Paris, 1867. [15] Bede, Hist. Eccles. , Lib. III. , cap. 8. Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [16] This applies to the Germanic peoples generally. [17] Line 1942. Ed. F. Holthausen. Heidelberg, 1906. [18] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under 672. Ed. C. Plummer. 1892. [19] Moines d'Occident. Tom. 5, page 241. Paris, 1860. [20] Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, iii. , 238. Abbesses Mildrith, Aetheldrith, Aette, Wilnoth, Hereswyth, sign the privilege granted tothe churches and monasteries of Kent, by King Wihtred, 696/716. [21] Bede, Hist. Eccles. , Lib. IV. , cap. 23. (Cp. II. 14. ) Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [22] Lib. IV. , cap. 24. Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [23] Bede, Hist. Eccles. , Lib. IV. , cap. 25. [24] Bede, Vita S. Cuthberhti, cap. 23. Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [25] Bede, Hist. Eccles. , Lib. IV. , cap. 25. Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [26] Bede, Hist. Eccles. , Lib. IV. , cap. 19. Ed. C. Plummer. Oxford, 1896. [27] Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, iii. , 238. [28] S. Aldhelmi opera. Migne, Pat. Lat. Tom. 89, col. 289. [29] S. Aldhelmi opera. Migne, Pat. Lat. Tom. 89, cols. 103-162. [30] Under 718. [31] By Rudolf of Fulda, a monk. He wrote about 836. A. SS. Boll. , Sept. 28. [32] Moines d'Occident. Tom. 5, page 320. Paris, 1860. Transcriber's Note: Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note. Punctuation has been normalised.