Lesson video

Hello, and thanks for joining me for another Oak Academy history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'll be guiding you through all of the resources and materials you need to be successful with this lesson.

So let's begin.

The lesson today forms part of the AQA GCSE History historic environment topic of Norman England.

In today's lesson, we'll be focusing on Cluniac monasteries, and by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to explain how Cluniac monasteries differed from Benedictine monasteries.

Now, our lesson today will use several keywords.

Let's take a look at those now.

The first word we'll come across is Cluniac.

Cluniac refers to an order of monks which focused on prayer and reflection.

We'll also use the word abbey, which is the building occupied by a community of monks or nuns.

We'll also use the word Benedictine.

Benedictine refers to monks following the Rule of St.

Benedict, who was a sixth century monk who wrote guidelines for how monks and nuns should live.

And finally, we'll use the word priory, which is a monastery or a nunnery under the control of an abbey and run by a prior.

The lesson today is going to be in three sections, so let's get started now with section one on the Cluny reforms. Castle Acre Priory belonged to the order of Cluniacs named after the French town of Cluny in Burgundy, where they were founded.

This had significant implications for how the priory was designed and for the life of the people who lived there.

Cluny Abbey was founded in 910 by the Duke of Aquitaine, a region in France, as a Benedictine monastery.

The duke was keen for the abbey to be as independent as possible, and so he wrote a charter, that's a legal document, that meant no one could seize any of the abbey's land or appoint a new abbot without the permission of the monks.

Together with this guarantee of independence, the duke provided the abbey with lots of land, which also put it in control of all the peasants who worked the land.

Here's a quick check of your understanding so far.

When was Cluny Abbey founded? Was it A, 860, was it B, 890, or was it C, 910? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said that the correct answer was C.

Cluny Abbey was founded in 910.

In return for their independence, all the Duke of Aquitaine asked for was that the monks prayed for him and his family.

He did hope also that it would allow the monks of Cluny Abbey to really follow the Rule of St.

Benedict.

Benedictine rule written in the sixth century was the guiding framework for Western monastic life.

However, over the centuries, many Benedictine monasteries no longer followed the rules strictly or rigorously.

St.

Benedict wanted monks to live spiritual lives away from ordinary secular life, and this was not at all the case in many 10th century monasteries.

Here's another question for you now.

Whose rules for monastic life did the monks of Cluny Abbey follow closely? Was it A, St.

Benedict, B, St.

Peter, or C, St.

Bartholomew? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

Well done if you said the correct answer was A, St.

Benedict.

Usually, local aristocrats and bishops had a lot of influence over monasteries that they had founded or supported.

This was not the case at Cluny, thanks to the Duke of Aquitaine's actions.

Given their independence from everyone except the pope, Cluny Abbey did return to strictly following the Rule of St.

Benedict, and in fact, they took it further.

The purpose of mediaeval monks was to intercede for the world through their prayers, which meant coming between the secular sinful world and God, and asking God for forgiveness on behalf of everyone else.

The Cluniac monks decided that the series of daily prayers and chants that mark the hours of the day needed to be stepped up to an increasingly complex form of worship with longer services and more elaborate and intricate rituals, all of which were carried according to detailed written rules.

The aim was to provide perpetual or constant prayer.

The Divine Office of Cluny Abbey took up so much time and space that Cluniac monks had little time for anything else.

The Cluniacs also believed that these elaborate and intense rituals should take place in the most beautiful surroundings so as to further enhance the power and devotion of their prayers.

As a result, art and decoration were also a key feature of the Cluniac order.

Here's another check of your understanding now.

True or false, the independence of Cluny Abbey allowed the monks to worship God in a more complex and spiritual manner.

Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer is true.

I'd like you to pause the video again whilst you explain why the answer is true.

You could have said the answer was true because Cluniac monks took a more spiritual approach to seeking God's forgiveness for sin, which involved the development of the ritual of constant prayer.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to attempt this question.

I'd like you to explain one reason why Cluny Abbey was able to follow the ideas of St.

Benedict more strictly than other monasteries.

On the screen, you'll find a way that you could start your answer, so press pause now to complete your work, and then press play to see what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer could have included some of the following.

One reason Cluny Abbey was able to follow the ideas of St.

Benedict more strictly than other monasteries was because its founder, the Duke of Aquitaine, gave the abbey its independence.

He produced a charter which protected the abbey's lands and ensured it only answered to the pope rather than local lords or Church leaders.

This allowed it to follow Benedictine rule more easily and without the influence of others.

We're ready now to move on to the second section of the lesson today.

In this section we'll be looking at Benedictine and Cluniac monasticism.

While both Cluniac and Benedictine monasticism shared the foundation of the Rule of St.

Benedict, there were differences.

For example, there was the length and the intricate nature of Cluniac services governed by a detailed system of rules compared to the shorter and simpler Benedictine standards.

Cluniac monasticism's love of art and decoration as an embellishment and enhancement of the worship of God was in contrast to the plainer, simpler, and more modest design of most Benedictine monasteries.

As the Cluniac order spread, Cluny Abbey maintained a strong authority of the network of new Cluniac priories.

Benedictine monasteries did not have the same central organisation, and individual monasteries were much more free to operate as their own abbot directed.

Time for another check of your understanding.

True or false, the Benedictine rule was upheld more rigidly in Cluniac priories than in Benedictine monasteries.

Press pause and when you're ready to hear the correct answer, press play.

You should have said that the correct answer is true.

I'd like you to press pause again and write an explanation as to why the answer is true.

As part of your explanation, you could have said that Cluniac monks were governed by a detailed system of rules that was tightly controlled, unlike Benedictine monks, who had simpler standards and more freedom to operate as their abbot directed.

Another interesting difference was that Cluniac monks did not do manual work, unlike Benedictine monks, who would work in gardens and do some of the domestic work required to keep the monastery running, such as beekeeping or brewing.

Cluniac monks instead devoted almost all their time to prayer.

That meant Cluniac priories needed to be near settlements, as the monks depended on a local workforce for all domestic tasks and food production.

This added to the complexity of designing Cluniac monasteries, as monks needs separation from these non-religious workers.

Here's another check now of your understanding.

Why did Cluniac priories need to be close to settlements? Was it A, the monks depended on the local workforce for domestic tasks and food production, B, the monks depended on the local village or town for entertainment, or C, the monks depended on a local forest to hunt for animals and to collect berries? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said that the correct answer was A, the monks depended on the local workforce for domestic tasks and food production.

Cluniac monks followed the Rule of St.

Benedict very strictly in regard to not owning any possessions of their own, but that did not mean that they lived very simply, especially at Cluny Abbey, which became extremely wealthy.

Rather than rough cloth robes, the monks wore fine linen and silk robes.

Instead of the potage and broth that most monks lived on, which was the same as most ordinary people at the time, the Cluniac monks ate and drank very well, including roast chicken, which was a significant luxury at the time, wine, and cheese.

The abbey also had fabulous treasures, such as gold chalices, a chalice is a cup used for religious services, and they had solid silver candlesticks and silk alter cloths, which were all used to glorify the constant religious devotions provided by the abbey.

Time for another true or false question now.

Cluniac monks did manual labour as set out for monks in the Rule of St.

Benedict.

Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

I'd like you to pause the video once more and write an explanation as to why the answer is false.

In your answer, you could have said that Cluniac monks did not undertake manual labour and relied on local people for domestic work and to grow food.

This was so that they could devote as much time as possible to prayer and worship.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to attempt this task.

Read Laura's statement and provide three examples to support it.

Let's read Laura's statement now.

Laura says, "There were important differences between Benedictine and Cluniac monasticism." Press pause now to complete the task and then press play to hear what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

You could have said that Benedictine monks did manual work, but Cluniac monks did not, spending their time in prayer instead.

Benedictine monks had plain, simple surroundings, but Cluniac monks had more elaborate abbeys.

And Benedictine monasteries had more individual freedom, but Cluniac priories were tightly governed.

We're now ready to move on to the final section of today's lesson.

In this section, we'll look at the expansion of the Cluniac order.

The Abbey of Cluny was very successful and its reforms fitted with wider movements within the Church.

Rich nobles hoping to reach heaven after their deaths began to choose Cluniac priories to set up or fund.

Cluny Abbey imposed a centralised system over this expansion.

Wherever Cluniac monks lived in Europe, they were considered monks of Cluny Abbey, and the abbot of Cluny was their leader.

New Cluniac houses were called priories for this reason.

A prior was below an abbot in the hierarchy of monasteries, so each priory had a prior as its head, but that prior reported to the abbot of Cluny, who had authority over all the new priories.

This was different from the typical Benedictine practise where each Benedictine monastery had operated under the authority of its own abbot.

Cluniac priories, therefore, kept close ties to Cluny Abbey, the mother house, and had to follow its practises.

The abbot of Cluny would not allow priories to follow different approaches.

Once a year, all the priors travelled to Cluny to give reports on their priories' activities and to receive instructions.

Nor would the abbot allow kings to have authority over Cluniac priories or to interfere in their practises.

Here's another quick question now.

When a new Cluniac priory was set up in a country, who was recognised as having authority over it? A, the abbot of Cluny, B, the leader of the church in that country, or C, the king or queen of that country? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

Well done if you said that the correct answer was A, the Abbot of Cluny was recognised as having authority over all Cluniac priories.

The expansion of the Cluniac order to England happened as a result of the Norman conquest and as a result of the campaign of William I and his Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc, to reform the English Church.

The Cluniac order was already popular in Normandy and its disciplined, rigorous, and culturally sophisticated approach to Christianity was precisely in line with both the pope's wishes for a reformed English Church and for Lanfranc's.

William I asked the abbot of Cluny to send monks from his order to England, seeing how this could revitalise and reform English monasticism.

However, the abbot knew of William's reputation for controlling the appointment of church leaders, so it was left to other members of the new Norman elite in England to bring the first Cluniac order to England.

The first Cluniac priory in England was founded at Lewes in Sussex around 1077 by William de Warenne, a close associate of William I.

Here's another true or false question again.

The King of England, William I, and his archbishop, Lanfranc, supported the Cluniac order.

Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer is true.

Press pause again to write an explanation of why the answer is true.

You could have said that they wanted to reform and revitalise English monasticism, and they believed that this could be brought about by the more disciplined and rigorous spiritual approach of the Cluniac order.

Finally in today's lesson, I'd like you to complete this task.

Write one paragraph explaining why the Cluniac order successfully expanded into England in the 11th century.

Try to include details on the following, how it was organised and controlled, why many people believed there was a need to reform and revitalise the English Church, who supported it, and what set it apart from the Benedictine order.

Press pause to complete your paragraph and then press play to see what you could have included.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer might have included some of the following.

The Cluniac order successfully expanded into England in the 11th century because the Abbot of Cluny had authority over all the new priories and could maintain an organised and consistent approach to expansion.

The more disciplined and spiritual Cluniac practises seemed to offer a solution to the problem of reviving and revitalising monasticism in England.

The introduction of Cluny priories was supported by King William I and Archbishop Lanfranc, who saw their benefits over the less centralised and more modest approaches of the Benedictine order.

We've now reached the end of today's lesson, so let's have a recap of everything you should have learned today.

Cluny Abbey was founded in 910 by the Duke of Aquitaine as a Benedictine monastery.

It was largely independent of local nobles and church leaders and was able to strictly follow the Rule of St.

Benedict.

The Cluniac order developed long and elaborate rituals so that prayers were perpetually being given to God.

This meant they relied on a local workforce to do all of their domestic work.

After the Norman Conquest, Cluniac priories were brought to England to revitalise English monasticism, but they remained under the strict control of the Abbot of Cluny Abbey.

Many thanks for all of your hard work in our lesson together today.

I hope you feel confident that you've met your learning objective, and I look forward to you joining me in a future Oak Academy history lesson.