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The initiation of a knight in the days of chivalry was a solomn religious ceremony.
1. Of all the institutions that existed in early England, the monasteries were the most important, for it was they alone, which kept the torch of civilisation burning. They were the schools and libraries, the hospitals and pioneers of industry. They were the clubs in which the young manhood received its first direction, the offices in which the first newssheets of the day were written and the colleges in which administrative ability was developed. They were the only havens of peace in an age of perpetual war, and largely it was they that showed a better way of life in an age of greed and selfishness and cruelty and it is to the monks of Saxon England that we owe our earliest treasures in literature and art, for through their art we know what the Anglo-Saxon people looked like. |
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2. The life of the monks was not all fasting and meditation. Much useful work was done, and it s true to say that the inmates of the monasteries were the cleverest and best agricultural workers, the most skilful fisherman, the most scientific gardeners and the only doctors of their day. |
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3. These men were pioneers in reclaiming waste lands, in draining swamps, in cutting down virgin forests, and it has been well said of many of the monks that no labour was too hard and no toil too rough for them. The monastery in the early days was the only refuge for the sick and destitute. From its hospital doors, no stranger was ever turned away. Food was provided for the hungry and starving and the sick could always be sure of their attention. The monastery provided the sick and destitute not only with food but with clothing and it was they who erected wooden houses for those unfortunate people stricken with leprosy. Hospitals developed from the monk’s custom of offering hospitality to travellers, some of who were sick. | |
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"Not Angles but Angels" said the good monk Gregory (Pope Gregory) as he looked at English children for sale in a Roman slave-market.
4. Monastic life was hard, and the routine varied depending on which order they belonged to, but at Beauchief Abbey the monks rose at 2:00 am and during the course of the day they attended seven services, the last being at 8:00 pm. There was a rule that they had to be bled six times a year, which was welcomed by the brethren because it meant a stay in the warmth of the infirmary and better food. On the days of religious festivals and Sundays there was no work, but they had to spend time in reading and meditation.
(Beauchief Abbey was endowed by one of the men who killed Thomas O’ Becket as a form of penance. What was it that made Hallamshire and Sheffield so special to medieval man?) |
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Children of the nobility being taught by the monks.
5. The monks mixed with their fellow men and undertook many social duties, such as making clearings in the forest, bringing waste lands into cultivation, repairing roads and bridges, catching and storing fish, gathering and growing herbs, and apparently searching for minerals. They also taught and preached for the benefit of those who lived within reach, or for the wayfarers who passed by. They would tend the sick and dying and in various other ways employ themselves in promoting the good of the few neighbours amongst whom they lived. |
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The Venerable Bede translating the Gospel of St. John into English on his death bed.
6. An outstanding example of a monk of fine character was the Venerable Bede (673-735), He is said to have studied all the learning of the times. He knew Latin and Greek and had read at least some of the old poets and philosophers whom scholars love to read now. He knew as much as could be known at that time of astronomy, physical science, arithmetic, grammar, and medicine. He was also very fond of music, singing, and poetry. They had a real spirit of sacrifice and the monks gave ungrudging service to the sick and suffering, and it was this, that later gave rise to the spirit of chivalry. | |
