Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul

Abstract

This study is the first to attempt a thorough investigation of the activities of the Columbanian congregation, which played a significant role in the development of Western monasticism. This was a new form of rural monasticism, which suited the needs and aspirations of a Christian elite eager to express its power and prestige in religious terms. Contrary to earlier studies, which viewed Columbanus and his disciples primarily as religious innovators, this book focuses on the political, economic, and familial implications of monastic patronage and on the benefits elite patrons stood to reap. While founding families were in a privileged position to court royal favour, monastic patronage also exposed them to violent reprisals from competing factions. Columbanian monasteries were not serene havens of contemplation, but rather active foci of power and wealth, and quickly became integral elements of early medieval statecraft.

The admission of former slaves into churches and monasteries: reaching behind the sources

“…Balthild similarly founded and supported a number of houses as queen and later as regent for her son, Chlothar III. 67 The seventh century was overall a prodigious one for monastic foundation in Gaul, and redeemed captives may also have filled the role of manumitted tenant-labourers on these new foundations, as Eligius sought to do with his own uernaculi at Solignac. 68 In contrast to the story of Librán, most often Irish hagiography frames the redemption of captives by churches or churchmen with a frequency and lack of detail that does suggest its use as a trope synonymous with saintly charity.…”

The Pursuit of Salvation. Community, Space, and Discipline in Early Medieval Monasticism

“…The wave of monastic foundations after Columbanus' death seems to have been sustained primarily by a number of aristocratic families whose members acted as founders, leaders, and members of various monastic communities under the regula Columbani. 2145 Faremoutiers was the first female foundation among these family projects. Abbess Burgundofara's brother Chagnoald shares in the teaching of the regula to the nuns of Faremoutiers.…”