Cluny
Cecile Boisson
Introduction
The
monks were important actors of the Middle-age, with many essential functions
(office). Their first mission was to pray: for their relatives (parents), for
the laymen and for their benafactors. The monks served as intermediaries
between the heavenly world and the ground life. From the IXth
in the Xth century, the monastic institutions had suffered
the invasions. In the XIth century, all the monastic orders, sets
up Cluny. On September 1107, Guillaume, nicknamed Pickets, duke
Aquitaine bases Cluny. He imposes two constraints to the first abbot
Bernon: observed the rules of Sanctimonious saint and after Bernon's death the
monks can choose freely their abbot. This brief article proposes a parallel
enters Cluny III's architecture and history of order.
The
life of the monks, the life dedicated to the prayer.
Prayer and architecture
Importance of the church in the plan.
The
accommodation facilities are considerable: among Cluny II and Cluny III, it
passes from 200 to 1316 monks. The monk of Cluny lives in this architectural
frame which is familiar to him: a sober solid and functional, stony frame. A
house was adapted to the prayer, their main activity. The architectural
ambition expresses the ideal monk of Cluny. The churches are intended to
celebrate the masses by a luxurious and ostentatious liturgy. One celebrates
there the religious holidays and the memory of the deaths. On the liturgical
plan, Cluny innovated little. They opt for the manners of the Empire (of Xth
century in the first half of the XIth century) and of the Holy seat
(2nde half of the XIth century). The liturgy contains a
very long preparatory part with hymns, lessons, prayers, purificatoires acts,
then a second more silent part. Several prayers punctuate the day with the
monks: offices of the night-( 1h30 / 3h ), "matines" ( 3h30 / 5h ),
"vespers" ( 16h / 18h ) and "complies" in the
bedtime(sunset), as well as the offices of premium, third, sexte, none all its
3 a hours. All this ends in an in a sense perpetual prayer which is the first
mark deliberately wanted by Clluny. The office grows longer and "clunisiens"
sings up to 215 psalms a day while the rule Benedictine prescribed it only 40.
The reproduction of chapels.
Besides
the extraordinary dimension of Cluny III, the reproduction of chapels
contributes to the immoderation this building. Cluny II counted 2 directed
chapels and a head sorting conch. Cluny III counts on the whole 15 chapels.
This explains himself partially by the function(office) of the monks which was
to pray for the deaths.
Place of the monks within the convent.
This
building is adapted to the monastic life and to the hierarchy of Cluny. There
is a different convent for the monks and for the novices, as well as the other
various buildings for these 2 categories. They are all gathered only at the
single moment: the mass.
Place
of the laymen..
The laymen in the clunisienne liturgy.
The
monks of Cluny prayed for the deaths at request of the laymen, in return of
donations. However it is difficult to know of which manners the laymen
perceive this mass. Clunisiens had a taste for the grand ceremony but the
laymen had no place in the liturgy. All the rites come true without they are
really invited to the prayer and to the consideration. The monks take
practically care never of the pastoral of the laymen. Nave is at first
conceived to welcome the pilgrims in the daytime of solemnity.
The hospitality.
Against
the nave is situated the house of the hosts or hotel business. The hospitality
is one of the monastic virtues, one practises it so to Cluny. The hotelkeeper
is in charge of welcoming and of treating the leading hosts and the on
horseback paying pilgrims while the modest clerks, the pilgrims on foot and
the deprived are confided to the chaplain. The hotel business forms to Cluny a
specific building of about 50 metres long on 10 metres wide in which is fitted
out a dormitory for the men, woman having similar premises in another part.
The
infirmary.
Under
Odilon, the infirmary consists to Cluny of 6 rooms. The male nurse has a
specific, at the same moment material, moral and religious task which gives it
a relatively eminent place. He assures the administrative and financial
responsibility of the service under the control of the "cellérier"
and the "chambrier". Besides he assists spiritually the patients. He
officiates for them in a special chapel generally dedicated to the Virgo.
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Cluny's
brilliance.
French
brilliance and at the beginning the expansion clunisienne.
Architecture.
Fin
XIth century, Cluny III's basilica was a work where comes true the
Romanic art. Cluny is a major creation which directed the Burgundy
experiments. We possess indirect testimonies, proposed by Romanic churches of
Burgundy, having imitated in their structures or their decoration certain
peculiarities of Cluny III's abbey church: "Paray le Monial";
"la Charité sur Loire", "Saint Lazare d' Autun". Cluny
was thought according to the French experiences : ambulatory with radiant
chapels as everywhere in France, double transept as to Sanctimonious Saint on
the Loire, doubles low sides as Toulouse and in "la Charité sur
Loire". The plan of piles consists of 4 engaged elements as in most of
the French churches. It is a vaulting in cradle. There is nothing which feels
the establishment. Cluny is implanted on the French territory and his
architectural party feels the effects of it. There is no equivalent in West,
only the Holy basilica Sophie of Constantinople gets closer to it at the level
of the dimensions but the plan is totally different ( centred plan) more she
is situated in East.
Expansion
of Cluny through the girls of
Cluny
Thanks
to the boldness and to saint Mayeul's authority one sees the establishment of
the order on the territory of Burgundy and the next territories. Cluny
hesitated for a long time to spread the network of its possessions too much
far from the head office and outside France of the South which constituted its
natural environment. In 994-1048, before Cluny III, Cluny's possessions formed
3 groups: Burgundian, Provencal and "poitevin-saintongeais". At the
architectural level, Cluny, even in the highlight of its power never tried to
impose a particular type of church on the establishments which had embraced
the customs. In most of the monastic networks, the solutions adapted in abbey
are more often inspired local models. Then clunisiens goes out of their first
domain, they "conquer" the southwest of France, Spain, settles down
in the North of the Loire, reaches England and Italy. The abbey mother watches
her subsidiaries, abbeys which she tries to distribute systematically in the
realm and beyond in all the West.
International
brilliance
The abbot of Cluny is one of the most important
persons of the West.
The
financing
It
is "international". One knows that king Ferdinand of Castile as well
as order he even participated. The progress of the construction is vague one
notes some slowing down, notably around 1100 in 1120 : several texts show that
there is a slowing down can be due to the financing. Abbots thanks to the
wealth of the order participate in the financing also.
Some
figures
Fin
XIth century, Cluny controlled 1000 abbey in Europe is 200 monks.
Environment(middle) xiith
century, this figure passed to 1500 French, Spanish and Germanic convents.
Roma's
Importance
Cluny is under the patronage of holy Pierre and
holy Paul so from its inscription it is implicitly placed under authority of
the Pope. Abbey integrated in church is included in the diocese of
"Macon". Eminent owners of Cluny, in the name of saint Pierre and
saint Paul, the popes are going to be too called to act because Clunisiens
seeks them to confirm them possessions and properties which increase
considerably. Somewhere else, Cluny possesses a political and diplomatic force
which allows IT to intervene in the "investiture quarrel". Cluny
take naturally position for the Pope. But Cluny shines ofEmpire until Roma,
what makes possible such an intervention.
Cluny's
wealth
In
972, Cluny is already one rich abbey. Three factors add up to make this
accumulation of wealth possible.
-
the
multiplication of donations to an order which pray for the deaths.
-
the immunity
of the possessions registers in the charter of foundation
-
finally the
protection of Rome.
Cluny
III's company is a proof of it. The power and the dynamism of the order confer
it an indisputable influence on all those which are in connection with him.
Cluny marks certain sectors of the West. As regards the spiritual domain, its
houses shine as much in connections established with the nobility as those
with the peasant world.
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The decline
of Cluny
Limits
Architecture
Cluny
directs the Burgundian experiences but does not influence them. Later one will
resume its architectural structures such as the clunisien head (hierarchical
organization of the volumes). Cluny III is only a prototype, in spite of the
European reach of his order, in spite of his extraordinary dimensions, in
spite of the dimension of this building, one will not see multiplying "
small Cluny " in all Europe.
Why?
The wish of a building in the important dimensions (the vault rose as high as
30 metres) implies exploit and technical innovations at the level of the
construction, which will not be enough mastered to be to re-use in the other
buildings. Indeed, the bosses of work act in precursors when they employ of
the big device (instead of the small device). The use of the big device allows
to reach more important heights and better distribution of the pushes. Anne
Baud (professor of archaeology in university of Lyon) defines Cluny, certainly
with caution as the " Gothic prematurely ". But the bosses of works
did not still master the size of the big device. Cluny stays so an isolated
case.
Neglect
in the rule
Normally
the monks sleep in dormitories but very fast appear abnormalities, they have
small single rooms which they can lock. Although meats are prohibited,
qualities of the dishes is remarkable, and the guests are amazed to see fishes
in sauce, far from characterizing the austerity so waited. It's the same for
their clothes which should observe a strict sobriety and they should have
nothing of comfortable. But the monks give fast evidence of clothing coquetry,
appear lively complexions, tissues of better qualities, leather bootees,
sticked in winter.
The
last starts and at the end of the clunisien empire
Some
of abbots are going to try to put back(hand) Cluny in the right(straight)
road.
Odilon
(994-1049) adapts Cluny to the feudal society, as Odon he remains very
attached(fastened) to the liturgical prayer, and insists on the necessity of
the poverty. Pierre le Venerable and Hughes v
act too against the abuses. In the 1050's, the clunisien order found its
prestige, after the crisis of 1120 and meets in all the circles a real
respect. This balance is maintained up to the xiii
definitively to fall.
The
irreparable end
In
saint Mayeul's ( 994 ) death, Cluny's order was really born and installed. But
since Oton's death Big (973), the monastic building crumbles off in the
Peninsula. Cluny's political role is in factor of its brilliance and cause of
its decline. In the South of the Loire, when there is no more solid authority,
distribution of the violence and the insecurity, looter, professional men at
arms, warrior ravage campaign and set themselves it especially in churches and
in convents badly forbidden by the official defenders. It will not be not the
first cause of the end of the order clunisien but it proves the weakness. From
1157 till 1319 one sees succeeding one another 22 abbots (over 162 years)
while for the previous 248 years only 9 abbots "steered" Cluny. The
average duration of an "abbatiat" passed so from 27 years and 6
months to 7 years and 10 months. If Cluny owes its brilliance has strong men:
Mayeul, Odilon, powerful Odon, abbot's absence in the long abbatiat
destabilizes and weakened the order. Cluny gets out of breath. Opposite
Cistercian, Carthusian monk, "Prémontrés" bring on the contrary a
spiritual renewal and a generous heat. At the end of the xii
the strength of its orders is superior to that of Cluny. In 1210/1220,
Dominique and François d' Assise base the begging orders which have "
the advantage " to be with the poor men. Their establishment was
especially in suburbs, rapidly expanding. These orders adapt themselves easily
to this new urban and social context.
Conclusion
The
reasons of Cluny's brilliance are going fast to be the cause of its decline:
its claim, its pride were against the first purpose wanted by Guillaume d'
Aquitaine and the abbot Bernon. When Cluny loses his(her) defenders the abbey
loses its force. If Cluny iii is the symbol of the highlight of the order
it(he) lets guess the fall of a "empire".
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