![Religieux de l'ordre de Grandmont](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Religieux_de_l%27ordre_de_Grandmont.jpg)
Grandmontines were the monks of the Order of Grandmont, a
religious order founded by
Saint Stephen of Thiers, towards the end of the 11th century. The order was named after its motherhouse, Grandmont Abbey in the eponymous village, now part of the commune of
Saint-Sylvestre, in the department of
Haute-Vienne, in
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. They were also known as the ''
Boni Homines The name Boni Homines ('Good men' in Latin) or Bonshommes (the same in French) was popularly given to at least three religious orders in the Catholic Church:
Grandmontines
The Order of Grandmont, were an austere order founded by St. Stephen of ...
'' or ''Bonshommes''.
Founding
The exact date of the foundation of the order is very uncertain. The traditional story involves serious chronological difficulties, and is based on a bull of
Gregory VII,
[ now known to be a forgery The founder, St. Stephen of Muret (Étienne in French; also called 'of Thiers') was so impressed by the lives of the ]hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
s whom he saw in Calabria that he desired to introduce the same manner of life into his native country.[
Stephen, being ordained, in 1073 obtained the Pope's permission to establish an order. He is said to have settled in Muret near Limoges in 1076,][ where he made himself a hut of branches of trees and lived there for some time in complete solitude. A few disciples gathered round him, and a community was formed.][ The Order of Grandmont has been claimed by both Benedictines and ]Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...
as a branch of their respective institutes, although the Grandmontines always maintained that they were hermits.["The Order of Grandmont"]
Craswall Priory, June 2017
They tended to seek out woodlands and uplands to situate their monasteries. The architecture of the order of Grandmont is notable for its simplicity. A single barrel vaulted nave with a slightly wider apse. Three windows at the east and one at the west.[ The entry to the church, in most surviving cases, is in the northwest side.
]
The Rule
The so-called "Rule of St. Stephen" was compiled at the request of the fourth prior, Étienne de Liciac, by Hugh of Lacerta, and embodies the customs of Grandmont some twenty or thirty years after St. Stephen's death in 1124. The founder himself left no authentic writings. His maxim was "There is no rule save the Gospel of Christ"; as this was the basis of all rules, to practise its morality was to fulfil all the duties of a good religious.[ The life was eremitical and very severe in regard to silence, diet and bodily austerities; it was modelled after the rule of the Camaldolese, but various regulations were adopted from the ]Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
canons. The superior was called the ''Corrector
A corrector (English plural ''correctors'', Latin plural ''correctores'') is a person or object practicing correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.
The word is originally a Roman title, ''corrector'', derived from the Latin verb '' ...
''.[ The early Grandmontines were noted for their extreme austerity. Poverty was most strictly observed; the rule forbade the possession of lands, cattle, revenue, or impropriate churches.][ So concerned were the Grandmontines regarding simoniacal entry that in the customary composed about 1170, it was forbidden to ask a candidate seeking to join, about bringing money, or buying clothes, or equipment for a horse. Begging was only permitted when there was no food in the house, and even then the local bishop was first to be informed of their state.][ Although discipline was severe, the rule of silence was relatively lenient.][Sheldrake, Philip. "Grandmontine Spirituality", ''The New Westminster Dictionary of Christian Spirituality'']
Westminster John Knox Press, 2005,
They developed a reputation for simplicity of life and generosity to the poor, along with an emphasis on hospitality.[ They acquired the nickname the ''Bonshommes''.][Hutchison, Carole A. "Grandmontines", ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'']
(William A. Johnston, ed.), Routledge, 2013,
Zenith
After the founder's death in 1124, sometime around 1150, having been compelled to leave Muret due to disputed ownership, the hermits settled in the neighboring desert of Grandmont
Grandmontines were the monks of the Order of Grandmont, a religious order founded by Saint Stephen of Thiers, towards the end of the 11th century. The order was named after its motherhouse, Grandmont Abbey in the eponymous village, now part of ...
, whence the order derived its name.[ The influence of the Grandmontines reached its height in the twelfth century. Under Étienne de Liciac the order spread rapidly, and in 1170 numbered sixty monasteries, mostly in ]Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
, Anjou Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
* County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
**Duk ...
and Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Under his successor, Bernard de Boschiac, eighty new foundations were made, and the "bons hommes" were to be found in nearly every diocese of France.[ Hunter-Blair, Oswald. "Boni Homines." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 May 2018[
Their holy austerity roused the admiration of all beholders, and the kings of England and France vied with one another in bestowing favours upon them. ]Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
had the monastery rebuilt, and King St. Louis IX of France erected a Grandmontine house at Vincennes
Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
near Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.[ There were three Grandmontine monasteries in England: Alberbury in Shropshire, Craswall in Herefordshire, and Grosmont Priory in North Yorkshire.
The system of lay brothers was introduced on a large scale, and the management of the temporals was in great measure left in their hands; the arrangement did not work well.][
]
Decline
The golden age of Grandmont however lasted only sixty years after the founder's death. After then, the history of the order is an almost uninterrupted series of disputes, as quarrels between two categories of monks were a constant source of dissension. Even in the twelfth century, the ill-defined position of the lay brother
Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...
s caused troubles. They were far more numerous than the choir-monks, and were given entire control of all temporalities so the latter might be free to carry on spiritual duties. Gradual relaxation of the rules of poverty led to great possessions, and thus increased the importance of the lay brothers, who now claimed equality with the choir-monks. This led to scandalous scenes. The political situation embittered these dissensions, the order being divided into two parties, French and English. Successive popes tried to restore peace, but in vain. In 1219 the prior of Grandmont and forty monks were again expelled by the rebellious lay brothers. In 1244 the papal delegate
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
s advised a union of the order with the Cistercians as a means of ending the disputes. This threat and the expulsion of a large number of monks produced a certain degree of peace. Numbers, however, declined; about 1150, the order had over 1200 members, but towards the beginning of the fourteenth century only 800. Moreover, a relaxation of the rule (1224) led finally to the cessation of all observance.[
In 1317 Pope John XXII, sometimes said to have been a Grandmontine monk, issued the papal bull ''Exigente debito'' to save the order from complete destruction. Its organization was altered and certain mitigations were approved. The number of houses was reduced from 149 to 39. The prior of Grandmont was made an ]abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
, and the superiors of the dependent houses, who had hitherto been known as "Correctors," were for the future to bear the title of Prior.[ The Abbot of Grandmont was to be elected by his own community, and not, as before, by the deputies of the whole order. A ]general chapter
A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings.
Name
The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the re ...
, to be attended by the prior and one monk from each dependent house, was to be held annually.[
These vigorous measures brought about a slight recovery, but in spite of the vigilance of the Holy See and the good administration of the first abbots, the improvement was of short duration. The order suffered severely during the Hundred Years' War. From 1471 until 1579 Grandmont was held by commendatory abbots;][ shortly after the latter date there were only eight monks in the monastery. On one occasion, the abbey was seized by the ]Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, but in 1604 these were expelled by Abbot Rigaud de Lavaur.[
]
The Strict Observance
In 1643 Abbot Georges Barny (1635–1654) held a general chapter, the first for 134 years, at which Dom Charles Frémon was authorised to found the Strict Observance of the Order of Grandmont. This new branch, which remained under the jurisdiction of the abbot, was conspicuous for the primitive austerity of its observance, but never numbered more than eight houses.[
By the beginning of the eighteenth century the two Observances together numbered only about 150 members, but the quarrels were as frequent and as bitter as ever. Grandmont was one of the first victims of the Commission des Réguliers. The monks of the Strict Observance were dispersed in 1780, but the struggle for existence was prolonged until 1787, when the last abbot died.][ The monastery was finally destroyed at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and nothing but a few fragments of wall now remains.][
]
Legacy
Grandmont never produced any writers of importance. Apart from a number of lives of St. Stephen, the most important work issuing from Grandmont was Gérard Ithier's treatise "De institutione novitiorum"—a favourite spiritual work in the Middle Ages, usually but erroneously attributed to Hugh of St. Victor
Hugh of Saint Victor ( 1096 – 11 February 1141), was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology.
Life
As with many medieval figures, little is known about Hugh's early life. He was probably born in the 1090s ...
.[
The original ]habit
A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. of Grandmont was a coarse tunic
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
with scapular and hood, brown in the early days but changed later to black. The monks gradually laid aside the humble scapular and hood in favour of rochet
A rochet () is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern churches. The rochet in its Roman form is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower. In its Angl ...
and biretta. The original habit was resumed by the Strict Observance. The founder had expressly forbidden the reception into the order of houses of religious women, nevertheless four small monasteries of women in the Diocese of Limoges
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Cr ...
were admitted.[
Outside France the order only possessed five houses: two in Navarre (Spain) and three cells in England up to the middle of the 15th century.][ These latter were ]Alberbury
Alberbury is a village in Shropshire, England, west of Shrewsbury on the B4393 road which travels from Ford to Lake Vyrnwy. It is on to the England-Wales border, marked by Prince's Oak.
The River Severn runs just north of the village, and mo ...
, Craswall
Craswall (historically also spelt Craswell, Crasswall and Crosswold) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. It lies in the far west of the county, in the foothills of the Black Mountains, close to the border with Wales.
Befor ...
and Grosmont Priories, and as usual in Grandmontine monasteries, were occupied by a very small number of monks.[
Later centuries witnessed mitigations and reforms in the life, and at last the order was suppressed just before the ]French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
.
In 1979 the former Grandmontine priory of Sainte-Trinité de Grandmont of Villiers was to become the home of a small group intent on restoring the Grandmontine life style; with the permission of the local bishop they began to attempt the restoration of the principles of S. Stephen's monastic life, in the modern world.(Hutchison, Carole A.)
The Grandmontines featured in an episode of the popular BBC TV drama ''Bonekickers
''Bonekickers'' is a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series.
It was written by '' Life on Mars'' and '' Ashes to Ashes'' creators Matthew Graha ...
'' entitled Army of God.
References
Sources
* Heimbucher, Max, ''Orden und Kongregationen'' (1896), i. 31
* Helyot, Pierre, ''Hist. des ordres religieux'' (17f4), vii. cc. 54, 55
* Wetzer and Welte, ''Kirchenlexicon'' (ed. 2)
Bibliography
* ''The Hermit Monks of Grandmont'', by Carole A. Hutchison, Cistercian Publications, 1989.
*
Die Klosteranlagen der Grammontenser – Studien zur französischen Ordensbaukunst des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts
', by Birgitt Legrand, Thesis, University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...
i. Br. (Germany) 2006.
*
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Catholic orders and societies
Catholic religious orders established in the 11th century
Christian religious orders established in the 11th century
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