L'ancienne
porte d'entrée de la chapelle St Étienne à Alberbury
(Shropshire)This has
the distinction of being the most austere of the monastic orders to emerge from
the middle ages. In the fullness of time it has been claimed by both the Order
of St Benedict and the Canons Regular of St Augustine. In fact it owed allegiance
to neither of these religious groups and its members always professed to be
neither monks nor canons but hermits.
The date of its foundation has not been established precisely but it was around
the year 1078 that the founder, St Stephen of Thiers, established himself and
his followers in the forest of Muret some five leagues from the city of Limages
in the Limousin. The Order certainly pre-dates that of the Cistercians (1098)
and the Premonstratensian Canons (1120).
During the
lifetime of St Stephen the brethren followed a totally eremitical existence
inhabiting separate cells grouped around a small stone oratory which was modelled
on the simple rural churches prevalent in the region at the time. As the number
of followers multiplied, new foundations or 'cellae' were established in the
same area. The brethren adapted the cheapest and roughest cloth available for
clothing and were totally vegetarian in their diet.
Following the death of St Stephen in 1124, a dispute with the local Benedictine
monks over land rights forced the brethren to leave Muret. Bearing the body
of their founder they moved to a new site at Grandmont which become the mother
house of the Order until its suppression by Pope Clement XIV, less than twenty
years before the French Revolution closed all the monasteries of France. In
its early years the Order spread very rapidly, by the mid 13th century, point
of maximum expansion, close on 150 cellae had been founded. Only five of these
foundations were outside France, in addition to the three English houses there
were two in Spain.
By the mid 13th century the Order was affected by the monastic malaise prevalent
throughout Europe at the time. The numbers of religious declined, the life style
of the remainder became increasingly decadent and religious observance began
to be partially if not wholly neglected. The Order might well have sunk into
total oblivion if Pope John XXII had not taken a hand. In 1317 he reformed and
reconstituted it along more conventional monastic lines. Grandmont was raised
to the status of an abbey with William Pellicier, the 23rd prior, appointed
abbot. The remainder of the houses which had previously been known as 'cells',
henceforth became 'priories' whilst their rulers, previously called'correctors'became'priors'.
A system of annual visitation was instituted and priors were required to report
regularly at the annual general chapter held at Grandmont. The Order recovered
but its eremitical character disappeared forever and the Grandmontines began
to have more in common with regular canons than the group of hermits who had
left Muret for Grandmont.
The trials experienced by the Mother House continued throughout its history.
It was under siege during the Hundred Years' War and the brethren at one point
were forced to flee before the army of the Black Prince. It suffered subsequently
at the hands of marauding bandits, was pillaged by the Huguenots and reduced
to dire financial straits by a succession of commendatory abbots.
The 17th century witnessed the spread of a monastic reform movement in France.
The Grandmontines found their equivalent of the Cistercian reformer Abbot de
Rancé in Dom Charles Frémon, and in common with the Cistercians
the Order was split into two groups representing the 'strict' and 'traditional'
observance. This unfortunate division hastened the final disbanding of the Order.
By 1767 the number of professed religious at Grandmont was down to nine and
in 1772, Pope Clement XIV on the advice of the French Religious Commission ordered
its total suppression. The great abbey of Grandmont was dismantled, the bulk
of it being carted away to build a prison at Limoges. However, the picus local
people managed to save sufficient stones to bnild the tiny chapel of St John
the Baptist which alone identifies the site today.
GRANDMONTINE LIFE AND CUSTOM
Prior to the reorgan is ati on of the O rder un der Pope John
XXII and the subsequent relaxation of the strict observance, the Grandmontines
led a life which took austerity to the limits of human endurance. Their Rule
was defined under the fourth prior of Grandmont and based on the maxims of St
Stephen, orally transmitted. St Stephen anticipated the teaching of St Francis
of Assisi in his insistence that there is no rule but the Gospel. Poverty and
implicit obedience are the key words of this document. which represents more
of a spiritual treatise than a practical constitution for a life lived in community.
Some of the more practical considerations are as follows: the 'cells' were to
be sited in solitary places but never too far from a main thoroughfare, for
the brethren were dependent upon alms for their livelihood, being barred from
owning land outside the actual boundaries of the monastery. In addition, they
had always to seek the natural enclosure afforded by woodland areas.
Although they were permitted to receive rents from lands by way of alms, should
the heir of a donor discontinue such payments the brethren were forbidden to
invoke the law in order to claim their rights. They were not allowed to main
tain he rds in the manner of the Cistercians as the need for pasture m ight
cause people to say: 'Would that these hermits had never come here, for they
increase their possessions and are a nuisance to us'. They were forbidden to
minister as priests except to the dying in cases of extreme necessity when an
alternative priest could not be found.
The pattern of the daily life lived by a Grandmontine hermit is shown to us
through 'The Mirror of Grandmont', the work of the seventh prior, Gérard
Ithier. From this document we learn that each 'cell' had a senior lay brother,
the 'curiorus', who was responsible for all temporal administration. He it was
who distributed food, clothing and other necessities as required and he was
also entrusted with the care of the sick. Unlike the Cistercian lay brothers
who were provided with separate quarters, the Grandmontines recognised no distinction
between the separate classes of 'clerk' and 'conversus'. Both groups shared
the same choir, cloister and chapter house, ate in the one frater and slept
in the communal dorter. Neither was there any distinction to be made in dress
or appearance -- the Cistercian lay brothers were bearded and were assigned
different attire from the clean shaven choir monks. All Grandmontine brothers
wore sackcloth next to the skin covered by a brown tunic and round hooded scapular;
they were also prescribed woollen gaiters and leather shoes. In church they
all wore surplices; a tradition which later led to them being mistakenly classed
as canons rather than monks. In the matter of diet, the 'Mirror' tells us that
meat and lard were strictly prohibited even to the sick. From September 15th
to Easter they fasted except on Sundays and Christmas Day. From Septuagesima
until Easter they also abstained from eggs and cheese but between Easter and
September they were permitted two meals a day. The hours set aside for prayer
were long. In company with other religious orders, they recited the hours of
the Divine Office, retiring to bed at sunset after the Office of Compline and
rising in the night to celebrate Nocturns. Unlike other orders, however, the
ritual in their churches was uncomplicated; their small single-aisled churches
did not allow for any elaborate processions and ceremonial. They maintained
one distinctive liturgical feature: three times daily they processed solemnly
through a specially constructed passage to the cemetery behind the church, where
they recited the Office of the Dead.
The superior or 'corrector' of each 'cell' was elected by the common consent
of the brethren, as was a senior lay brother, the 'curiosus'. A distinctive
feature of the Order lay in the fact that the 'curiosus' held a position of
seniority at least equal if not actually superior to that of the 'corrector'.
The Rule likens the functions and status of choir and lay brethren to Mary and
Martha in the Gospel. We nowhere read that Mary held sway over Martha or vice
versa. Ultimately the lay brethren did succeed in gaining the upper hand with
unfortunate consequences for the Order. There was a serious crisis in 1186 when
the lay brethren beat up the choir monks and expelled the prior from the Mother
House. An interesting account of the resentment which led to this incident is
given by Guiot de Provins, a soldier who participated in the third Crusade.
When he returned to France early in the 13th century he resolved to become a
monk and circulated the monasteries of the various orders in the course of deciding
which to join. His satirical account of his travels praises the church services
of the Grandmontines together with their cuisine which included garlic soup
and spicy sauces. He deplores, however, the relationship between choir and lay
brothers. The choir monks, he relates, dared not commence a church service until
the lay brothers gave their consent, and if they did, could expect severe beatings
by way of punishment. The situation was resolved only when Pope Honorious III
decreed that the ruler of each 'cell' be a choir monk and that the 'curiosus'
be responsible to him in all things.
The sleeping arrangements in a Grandmontine 'cell' required a common dorter
which was divided into separate cubicles by wainscotting. This semiprivacy was
subject to some criticism as representing luxury, but in fact it was all that
remained of the primitive 'laurae' in which the founding hermit monks lived
at Muret.
L'ancienne
porte d'entrée de la chapelle St Étienne à Alberbury
(Shropshire)
Craswall is one of three foundations established in England by
the French Order of Grandmont in the first half of the 13th century; the others
are in Yorkshire and Shropshire respectively. Grosmont, near Whitby in Yorkshire
has disappeared almost without trace. It was the first house to be established
and the last to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536. Alberbury in Shropshire
was confiscated as an 'alien' priory by Henry VI in 1441 and gifted to All Souls
College, Oxford whose property it remains and who lease it as a farm. Only the
presbytery of the church together with the north chapel remain. Utilised centuries
ago for living accommodation, these areas have been subjected to numerous alterations
and their present day aspect is typical of a late Victorian farm house. In common
with Alberbury, Craswall was confiscated by the Crown in 1441 and gifted in
turn to God's House later united with Christ's College, Cambridge. Although
it is in an appalling state of ruin, the fact that it has been allowed to simply
moulder has saved it from the alternative and worse fate suffered by Alberbury
and it has retained its unique Grandmontine ground plan. In this respect it
rivals in importance the numerous French sites of the order which, like Alberbury,
have been altered and mutilated for various purposes but principally to adapf
them for use as farm buildings. Craswall is exceptional in that whilst it has
suffered from centuries of weathering it has been spared the even more damaging
onslaughts of man.
The ruins of sanctuary at Craswall
THE
CRASWALL GRANDMONTINE SOCIETY
1984 saw the foundation of this society which has, as one of
its main aims the preservation of the ruins of this unique priory . The City
of Hereford Archaeology Committee was strongly in favour of this project and
the two organisations approached the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission
and obtained a small grant towards essential clearance work which went ahead
in 1985.
The extensive remains of the priory at Craswall can now be fully appreciated
and the extent of the deterioration of the fabric since the 1904 - 6 clearance
can be assessed. Much stone has fallen during this eighty year period. The internal
faces and the framework of the north and south chapel doorways have disintegrated,
leaving only the corework. Walls which still survive in places to the departure
of the vaulting, are leaning precariously.
Craswall Priory, the only Grandmontine house in England with substantial remains,
is a unique site where the complete unconserved remains of a small medieval
priory are now exposed to view for the first time in three quarters of a century.
The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission are being pressed to extend
the scheduled area, fo undertake selective clearance of the rubble, record the
masonry as it is exposed and to consolidate the remains so that they can be
appreciated by future generations.
While it is Hereford based, the Craswall Grandmontine Society has a membership
distributed throughout the United Kingdom and France. It is affiliated with
the Association of the Abbey of Grandmont near Limoges. Members everywhere are
united in their determination to save this important historic monument from
extinction but time is running out.
The Craswall Grandmontine
Society is a registered charity No. 515118.
Map : Ordnance Survey - Landranger 161 - Abergavenny and the Black Mountains
- 1/50.000 - long. 3 04' - lat. 52 02' .
The second phase of the restoration, costing 182 938.82 euros should start soon. We are still trying to raise enough money for this next project which includes the vaulting of the choir, the roof and the restoration of the monks' entry. Any money raised will go towards the conservation of the church.
Rauzet has been the subject of several presentations at various venues: Le Centre de Recherches Historiques et Archéologiques Médiévales de l'Université de Limoges, at the Sociétés Historiques du Limousin, de la Charente, de la Creuse, de la Charente Maritime and at a Combined research programme ( PCR) de l'Université de Poitiers. We had a special visit from the members de l'Association du prieuré grandmontain des Bronzeaux, ARABEL.
Rauæt was again the centre of attention at a special party in Combiers last autumn. This year there will be an Epicurian Visit on the 30th of August 2002 and the Open Days on September 21 and 22. The annual General Meeting will be on September 21st at 2.30 P.M.
Book :The hermit monk of Grandmont - Carole a. Hutchison - Cistercian Publications n 118 St Joseph's Abbey - Spencer, Massachusetts 01562 - (508) 885 - 7011.