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Humanism and Reform in Pre-Reformation English Monasteries

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It is commonly understood the old monastic order in England confronted the King’s Reformation unreformed: the houses of the Benedictines, Cistercians and Cluniacs were seemingly untouched by the spirit of renewal that charged continental congregations in the conciliar era, and their conventional patterns of observant life persisted in the face of a fast-changing world beyond the precinct walls. James Clark reexamines this view.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 1, 2024

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This video video challenges the traditional view of monasteries, particularly in the British Isles, as being disengaged and hostile to the intellectual currents and reforms of the late Middle Ages and the European Reformation. This video video perspective has been prevalent since the Reformation, where radical Protestant theologians portrayed monasticism as reactionary and opposed to new ideas. However, the author argues that this view is based on misconceptions and a lack of thorough examination of historical evidence.

The author emphasizes the need for a closer investigation of monastic records, many of which remain unpublished and inaccessible. Through their research, they found that monks in the early 15th century were actively engaging with humanist ideas, studying classical texts, and re-evaluating their own practices in light of these influences. Rather than being resistant to change, monastic writers demonstrated an eagerness to adapt and innovate within their traditions.

In particular, the author highlights how monastic communities began to embrace humanist ideals by changing their educational approaches and integrating a more worldly view into their writings and practices. They made significant contributions to universities like Oxford and Cambridge, embodying a humanist spirit and demonstrating that they were not merely passive institutions but active participants in the intellectual developments of their time.

The overarching conclusion is that many assumptions about monasticism's rigidity and resistance to reform should be reassessed, as the evidence suggests a much more dynamic and reform-minded reality during this critical historical period. The author advocates for further exploration of manuscript materials to deepen the understanding of this era and overturn longstanding misconceptions.

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00:00.145 --> 00:03.245
The prevailing view is that monasteries,

00:03.735 --> 00:06.525
especially in the British Isles, are

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entirely disengaged from the currents of reform

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and intellectual change that we see growing

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and spreading across Europe,

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especially mainland Europe coming out of, of Italy,

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especially, at the end of the 14th

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and into the 15th centuries.

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That the, this old

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monastic movement holds itself detached from innovation

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in ideas, in intellectual inquiry

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and in approaches to religion.

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That they are a reactionary traditional

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group, hostile to new ways of thinking,

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new ways of teaching and studying,

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but also in new forms of religious practice, they are,

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almost positioning themselves as, the

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opponents of novelty.

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That's the traditional view, a view, advanced

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above all by the movements in the European

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Reformation that's set about challenging monasticism.

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So radical Protestant,

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theologians and churchmen who wanted rid

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of the monastic movement anyway,

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and of course, painted them in the,

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worst possible colors as opponents of all of the

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currents of thinking, which had really

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driven forward reformation.

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Um, so that's, that's the traditional view,

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but it's based as, as so often characterizations,

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especially those that come straight out of,

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a historical moment.

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Um, these are characterizations based on, on,

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snap judgments, on, on reputation,

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on supposition, on rumor,

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rather than on a close examination of the evidence.

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Um, and in coming to this topic myself

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as a researcher, what I wanted to simply suggest to,

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historians is that, let's cut through the,

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almost the name calling that, has been

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present since the moment of the European Reformation

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Monastery is opponents to all that is novel

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and in innovative in thinking

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and in religious practice at the end of the Middle Ages,

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and actually see the reality.

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Let's see what their records tell us.

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Do they reveal them to be narrow minded opponents of

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intellectual change,

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or do their records reveal them

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to be rather different to that?

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Well, one of the difficult difficulties in

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Looking at monastery as the monastic movement at the end

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of the Middle Ages is that

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because of this longstanding reputation,

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that they are just a kind

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of reactionary force standing against all change.

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Um, the main consequence of that is,

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is a great deal of what they wrote.

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Um, what they thought their records

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had has been neglected for generations.

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So much of the material, that needs

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to be examined remains not very accessible.

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So in other words, as as always,

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for historians working in this early period of, of history,

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it means that most of their material is not,

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printed,

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and edited in a form that researchers can easily,

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make use of.

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So most of the, material relating

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to monasteries at the end of the Middle Ages remains in

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manuscript form.

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So in highly abbreviated Latin text

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in manuscripts that are scattered across,

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across the world in, in research libraries here and there.

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Um, and so actually working through that material,

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the mechanics of research is a real challenge.

04:15.745 --> 04:18.485
You can't, you can't just call up a few,

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tones from a university library, read them and,

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and draw your own conclusions.

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You actually have to do a fair amount of al almost sort of

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archival archeology, digging up some of this material

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to find what were the people

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who were monks in the late 14th, 15th

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and early 16th centuries.

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What were they thinking? What were they writing?

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What were they teaching?

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Is this characterization of their, their, their outlook

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as hostile to change?

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Is it, is it really fair?

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So the starting point for me was, was doing

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that archeological work, going around

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the United Kingdoms collections of manuscripts,

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but also further afield.

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Um, I've, I've worked in, the Biblio Te Sian in France

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and the, the Vasan Library, in, in Rome

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and on, material held in, in USA, libraries

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as well to try

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and draw together a better understanding of

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what it was they were actually thinking, writing, teaching,

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saying the, the most striking discovery

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that I've made in this work is, is that

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far from being suspicious of

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and hostile to these new currents

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of thought emerging across Europe, which we give the label

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humanism, this determination to cut through

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medieval methods of teaching, to return to the,

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the standards of learning that, were present in, in,

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classical antiquity to the, the fine,

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expressions of, of language

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and rhetoric of the, classical Roman writers.

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Um, that whole, intellectual project of the,

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the humanists that I found, monks who were deeply engaged in

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that, that humanist movement in the revival of

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classical antiquity that they were urging for,

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and who, didn't simply give it, lip service

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and passing attention, but were, as it were,

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rolling up their sleeves and wanting to study the work

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of the humanists, wanting to imitate the work they were

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sharing in this, this almost rediscovery of, the,

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the style, the rhetoric, the, the,

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the fine standards of, of Latin literature

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that the humanists were championing.

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Um, they shared in the humanist view that the,

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alongside the teachings of Christianity, it was important

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for scholars to celebrate the achievements of mankind,

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of, celebrating the deeds of historic figures.

07:16.325 --> 07:20.345
Um, humanists wanted to, to, like,

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like classical writers had done, had wanted to, create

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history as a, as a form of literature in its own right.

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And what I found was

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that monastic writers in the early

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15th century were doing the same.

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They were, undoubtedly aware of what

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humanists across Europe were beginning to argue.

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They were applying those,

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those outlooks to their own work.

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They were writing history in a different way.

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They were, learning that in language in a different way.

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They were, looking on public affairs

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even in a different way.

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We think of monks as of course,

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and closed, almost, almost opposed to the life of the world,

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but under the influence of humanism, what I was finding was,

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monks who, on the contrary, were opening themselves out

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towards thinking about the world.

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Um, one of the features I found was they were beginning

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to use the, the language of public affairs that you,

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that you find in the work of the humanists.

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The humanists often referred to the res publica.

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That is the, the state, if you like, the, the,

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the public community, the, and its political nation.

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And I was struck by the fact that monastic writers

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of this period, if we look at what they wrote,

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rather than just make assumptions about it, we find

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that they're sensitive to these, these new

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nuances, of language.

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So, they embrace humanism.

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They might be arguing, even, even champion it,

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and it leads them to reexamine the way

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that they live as mon.

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So they, it leads them to reexamine their own,

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values.

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And whether or not are they, if you like, the,

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the best monks they can be is have they got this, this

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centuries old tradition of living in religious institutions?

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Um, should it change if the humanists are arguing for,

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changing the way that we, we study, we teach,

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we apply knowledge in wider society,

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should those challenges also be applied in their own

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monastic traditions?

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And the answer that I was finding was that, that,

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that they think, yes, they should,

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and that they were, accepting of the,

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the need for, for change and for, innovation.

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We have to look at the monastic movement across Europe,

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subdivided into its different regional settings.

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Um, what I found, focusing on, on,

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England was that whilst, the English

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monastic network do not go as far as some of their,

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their mainland European counterparts in

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reorganizing their institutions,

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nonetheless in their own individual houses,

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their own individual communities, they are changing the way

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that they practice, in particular, in the way that they,

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train and educate their, membership,

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and in the communities of, of men, making much more

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of a firm commitment to university education.

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Um, and they've become, very,

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very prominent in the two English universities

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that exist at the time in Oxford and Cambridge,

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and create colleges, which are very much,

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influenced by this, this humanist notion of, a,

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a different form of education that

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that really is grounded in, knowledge

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and study of language before proceeding to,

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to more advanced, subjects.

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Um, so although they don't call themselves a new order

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or a new congregation,

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nonetheless, the way

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that they are organizing the, the lives

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of their memberships are, are, are very close to what some

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of the, what we call the reformed monastic congregations

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of mainland Europe are, are, are also doing.

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So what I was able to, to show I think in this,

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in this research was that, the assumption

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that the least reform-minded, least innovative, least,

11:50.705 --> 11:52.485

11:52.615 --> 11:57.485
Supportive of change section of medieval monastic Europe,

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England was in fact quite the contrary.

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Um, very minded towards, advancing,

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innovation in intellectual life and

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and reform, in religion,

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even though they never quite established themselves into

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formal, new congregations.

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I think the the implications are, are very clear here.

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And that is that when we do medieval history

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and early, early, early modern history,

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what you might call pre-modern history,

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whatever we might think, it's still the case that some

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of the richest

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and most significant source material remains

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unedited and inaccessible.

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It is not in printed volumes held in libraries

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or in papers published in academic journals,

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but it remains out there in 14th, 15th, 30,

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16th century manuscripts waiting to be transcribed,

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translated, edited.

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And if we are prepared

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to mobilize the technical expertise

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and the time to go to that manuscript material,

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find it in the first place

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because it's scattered, go to it, transcribe

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what is written there, translate it

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and analyze it, many

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of our longstanding assumptions about that world

13:33.445 --> 13:35.335
will come crashing down.

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It's just that much of

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what we know about this period remains, if you like, locked

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in manuscript form.

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And of course, the skills to read those manuscripts are,

13:49.355 --> 13:50.575
are not universal.

13:51.115 --> 13:55.655
Um, we live in a, in a teaching world where Latin is,

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is not widely taught today, where the ability

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to read a densely abbreviated handwritten text is,

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takes, takes, months if not years of training

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to understand it's like studying shorthand.

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Um, and

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consequently, we are are simply not studying

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this period of time using the material we have directly,

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and we, we are just carrying on making assumptions about it.

14:24.135 --> 14:27.115
So I think, yeah, there, there's a significant,

14:27.745 --> 14:31.955
message in research process, resulting from,

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from this piece of work, which is, the more we can get

14:36.465 --> 14:40.275
back to the, the material that still survives,

14:40.375 --> 14:44.395
but is not being read, then,

14:44.405 --> 14:47.435
there is no doubt we will draw fresh insights,

14:47.855 --> 14:51.125
new understandings of, of this critical time period.

00:00 - The prevailing view is that monasteries, especially in the British Isles, are entirely disengaged from the currents of reform and intellectual change that we see growing and spreading across Europe, especially mainland Europe coming out of, of Italy,

00:20 - especially, at the end of the 14th and into the 15th centuries. That the, this old monastic movement holds itself detached from innovation in ideas, in intellectual inquiry and in approaches to religion. That they are a reactionary traditional group, hostile to new ways of thinking, new ways of teaching and studying, but also in new forms of religious practice, they are,

00:58 - almost positioning themselves as, the opponents of novelty. That's the traditional view, a view, advanced above all by the movements in the European Reformation that's set about challenging monasticism. So radical Protestant, theologians and churchmen who wanted rid of the monastic movement anyway, and of course, painted them in the, worst possible colors as opponents of all of the

01:37 - currents of thinking, which had really driven forward reformation. so that's, that's the traditional view, but it's based as, as so often characterizations, especially those that come straight out of, a historical moment. these are characterizations based on, on, snap judgments, on, on reputation, on supposition, on rumor, rather than on a close examination of the evidence.

02:09 - and in coming to this topic myself as a researcher, what I wanted to simply suggest to, historians is that, let's cut through the, almost the name calling that, has been present since the moment of the European Reformation Monastery is opponents to all that is novel and in innovative in thinking and in religious practice at the end of the Middle Ages, and actually see the reality. Let's see what their records tell us.

02:44 - Do they reveal them to be narrow minded opponents of intellectual change, or do their records reveal them to be rather different to that? Well, one of the difficult difficulties in Looking at monastery as the monastic movement at the end of the Middle Ages is that because of this longstanding reputation, that they are just a kind of reactionary force standing against all change.

03:12 - the main consequence of that is, is a great deal of what they wrote. what they thought their records had has been neglected for generations. So much of the material, that needs to be examined remains not very accessible. So in other words, as as always, for historians working in this early period of, of history, it means that most of their material is not, printed,

03:42 - and edited in a form that researchers can easily, make use of. So most of the, material relating to monasteries at the end of the Middle Ages remains in manuscript form. So in highly abbreviated Latin text in manuscripts that are scattered across, across the world in, in research libraries here and there. and so actually working through that material, the mechanics of research is a real challenge.

04:15 - You can't, you can't just call up a few, tones from a university library, read them and, and draw your own conclusions. You actually have to do a fair amount of al almost sort of archival archeology, digging up some of this material to find what were the people who were monks in the late 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries. What were they thinking? What were they writing? What were they teaching?

04:42 - Is this characterization of their, their, their outlook as hostile to change? Is it, is it really fair? So the starting point for me was, was doing that archeological work, going around the United Kingdoms collections of manuscripts, but also further afield. I've, I've worked in, the Biblio Te Sian in France and the, the Vasan Library, in, in Rome and on, material held in, in USA, libraries

05:15 - as well to try and draw together a better understanding of what it was they were actually thinking, writing, teaching, saying the, the most striking discovery that I've made in this work is, is that far from being suspicious of and hostile to these new currents of thought emerging across Europe, which we give the label humanism, this determination to cut through medieval methods of teaching, to return to the,

05:51 - the standards of learning that, were present in, in, classical antiquity to the, the fine, expressions of, of language and rhetoric of the, classical Roman writers. that whole, intellectual project of the, the humanists that I found, monks who were deeply engaged in that, that humanist movement in the revival of classical antiquity that they were urging for, and who, didn't simply give it, lip service and passing attention, but were, as it were,

06:33 - rolling up their sleeves and wanting to study the work of the humanists, wanting to imitate the work they were sharing in this, this almost rediscovery of, the, the style, the rhetoric, the, the, the fine standards of, of Latin literature that the humanists were championing. they shared in the humanist view that the, alongside the teachings of Christianity, it was important for scholars to celebrate the achievements of mankind, of, celebrating the deeds of historic figures.

07:16 - humanists wanted to, to, like, like classical writers had done, had wanted to, create history as a, as a form of literature in its own right. And what I found was that monastic writers in the early 15th century were doing the same. They were, undoubtedly aware of what humanists across Europe were beginning to argue. They were applying those, those outlooks to their own work.

07:44 - They were writing history in a different way. They were, learning that in language in a different way. They were, looking on public affairs even in a different way. We think of monks as of course, and closed, almost, almost opposed to the life of the world, but under the influence of humanism, what I was finding was, monks who, on the contrary, were opening themselves out towards thinking about the world. one of the features I found was they were beginning

08:14 - to use the, the language of public affairs that you, that you find in the work of the humanists. The humanists often referred to the res publica. That is the, the state, if you like, the, the, the public community, the, and its political nation. And I was struck by the fact that monastic writers of this period, if we look at what they wrote, rather than just make assumptions about it, we find that they're sensitive to these, these new nuances, of language.

08:44 - So, they embrace humanism. They might be arguing, even, even champion it, and it leads them to reexamine the way that they live as mon. So they, it leads them to reexamine their own, values. And whether or not are they, if you like, the, the best monks they can be is have they got this, this centuries old tradition of living in religious institutions? should it change if the humanists are arguing for,

09:18 - changing the way that we, we study, we teach, we apply knowledge in wider society, should those challenges also be applied in their own monastic traditions? And the answer that I was finding was that, that, that they think, yes, they should, and that they were, accepting of the, the need for, for change and for, innovation. We have to look at the monastic movement across Europe, subdivided into its different regional settings.

09:50 - what I found, focusing on, on, England was that whilst, the English monastic network do not go as far as some of their, their mainland European counterparts in reorganizing their institutions, nonetheless in their own individual houses, their own individual communities, they are changing the way that they practice, in particular, in the way that they, train and educate their, membership, and in the communities of, of men, making much more

10:35 - of a firm commitment to university education. and they've become, very, very prominent in the two English universities that exist at the time in Oxford and Cambridge, and create colleges, which are very much, influenced by this, this humanist notion of, a, a different form of education that that really is grounded in, knowledge and study of language before proceeding to, to more advanced, subjects.

11:13 - so although they don't call themselves a new order or a new congregation, nonetheless, the way that they are organizing the, the lives of their memberships are, are, are very close to what some of the, what we call the reformed monastic congregations of mainland Europe are, are, are also doing. So what I was able to, to show I think in this, in this research was that, the assumption that the least reform-minded, least innovative, least,

11:50 - Supportive of change section of medieval monastic Europe, England was in fact quite the contrary. very minded towards, advancing, innovation in intellectual life and and reform, in religion, even though they never quite established themselves into formal, new congregations. I think the the implications are, are very clear here. And that is that when we do medieval history

12:29 - and early, early, early modern history, what you might call pre-modern history, whatever we might think, it's still the case that some of the richest and most significant source material remains unedited and inaccessible. It is not in printed volumes held in libraries or in papers published in academic journals, but it remains out there in 14th, 15th, 30, 16th century manuscripts waiting to be transcribed,

13:05 - translated, edited. And if we are prepared to mobilize the technical expertise and the time to go to that manuscript material, find it in the first place because it's scattered, go to it, transcribe what is written there, translate it and analyze it, many of our longstanding assumptions about that world will come crashing down.

13:35 - It's just that much of what we know about this period remains, if you like, locked in manuscript form. And of course, the skills to read those manuscripts are, are not universal. we live in a, in a teaching world where Latin is, is not widely taught today, where the ability to read a densely abbreviated handwritten text is, takes, takes, months if not years of training to understand it's like studying shorthand.

14:10 - and consequently, we are are simply not studying this period of time using the material we have directly, and we, we are just carrying on making assumptions about it. So I think, yeah, there, there's a significant, message in research process, resulting from, from this piece of work, which is, the more we can get back to the, the material that still survives, but is not being read, then, there is no doubt we will draw fresh insights,

14:47 - new understandings of, of this critical time period.

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