Misplaced Pages

#864135

60-420: The Carthusian order was founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno of Cologne , and is an eremitic order, holding to the principle of withdrawal from the world to a life of silent contemplation and prayer . They are often viewed as hermits that live in common, having no active apostolate outside their Charterhouse. Carthusian life is dramatically different as compared to Benedictine Monasticism, the most prevalent form in

120-557: A skull that he holds and contemplates, with a book and a cross. He may be crowned with a halo of seven stars ; or with a roll bearing the device O Bonitas . Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( Latin : Urbanus II  ; c.  1035 – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery , was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He

180-622: A crusade to the Holy Lands, there are four extant letters written by Pope Urban himself: one to the Flemish (dated December 1095); one to the Bolognese (dated September 1096); one to Vallombrosa (dated October 1096); and one to the counts of Catalonia (dated either 1089 or 1096–1099). However, whereas the three former letters were concerned with rallying popular support for the Crusades, and establishing

240-565: A great influence on popular conceptions and misconceptions about the Crusades, so it is worth comparing the five composed speeches to Urban's actual words. Fulcher of Chartres has Urban saying that the Lord and Christ beseech and command the Christians to fight and reclaim their land. The chronicler Robert the Monk put this into the mouth of Urban II: ... this land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by

300-525: A large number of prelates and abbots. In 1075, Bruno was appointed chancellor of the Archdiocese of Reims , which involved him in the daily administration of the diocese. Meanwhile, the pious Bishop Gervais de Château-du-Loir , a friend to Bruno, had been succeeded by Manasses de Gournai , a violent aristocrat with no real vocation for the Church. In 1077, at the urging of Bruno and the clergy at Reims, de Gournai

360-595: A letter addressed to them makes clear. However, the will of Urban II kept him in Italy, near the papal court, to which he could be called at need. Bruno did not attend the Council of Clermont , where Urban preached the First Crusade , but seems to have been present at the Council of Benevento (March 1091). His part in history is effaced. The place for his new retreat, chosen in 1091 by Bruno and some followers who had joined him,

420-479: A little Hebrew and Greek; he was familiar with the Church Fathers , especially Augustine of Hippo and Ambrose . "His style", said Dom Rivet, "is concise, clear, nervous and simple, and his Latin as good as could be expected of that century: it would be difficult to find a composition of this kind at once more solid and more luminous, more concise and more clear." In Catholic art, Saint Bruno can be recognized by

480-592: A mountainous and uninhabited spot in the lower Alps of the Dauphiné , in a place named Chartreuse , not far from Grenoble . With Bruno were Landuin, Stephen of Bourg, Stephen of Die (canons of St. Rufus), Hugh the Chaplain and two laymen, Andrew and Guerin, who afterwards became the first lay brothers . They built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from each other where they lived isolated and in poverty, entirely occupied in prayer and study, for these men had

540-512: A much larger force to retake Jerusalem. Urban II refers to liberating the church as a whole or the eastern churches generally rather than to reconquering Jerusalem itself. The phrases used are "churches of God in the eastern region" and "the eastern churches" (to the Flemish), "liberation of the Church" (to Bologna), "liberating Christianity [Lat. Christianitatis]" (to Vallombrosa), and "the Asian church" (to

600-467: A reputation for learning, and were frequently honoured by the visits of Hugh of Châteauneuf who became like one of themselves. At the time, Bruno's pupil, Eudes of Châtillon, had become pope as Urban II (1088). Resolved to continue the work of reform commenced by Gregory VII and being obliged to struggle against Antipope Clement III and Emperor Henry IV, he was in dire need of competent and devoted allies and called his former master to Rome in 1090. It

660-518: A unified defense against them. The most important effect of the First Crusade for Urban himself was the removal of Clement III from Rome in 1097 by one of the French armies. His restoration there was supported by Matilda of Tuscany . Urban II died on 29 July 1099, fourteen days after the fall of Jerusalem , but before news of the event had reached Italy; his successor was Pope Paschal II . Urban

SECTION 10

#1732851874865

720-490: Is best known for convening the Council of Clermont which ignited the series of Christian military expeditions known as the Crusades . Pope Urban was a native of France and was a descendant of a noble family from the French commune of Châtillon-sur-Marne . Before his papacy, Urban was the grand prior of Cluny and bishop of Ostia . As pope, he dealt with Antipope Clement III , infighting of various Christian nations, and

780-496: Is difficult to assign the place which Bruno occupied in Rome, or his influence in contemporary events, because it remained entirely hidden and confidential. Lodged in the Lateran with the pope himself, privy to his most private councils, he worked as an advisor but kept to the background, apart from the fiercely partisan rivalries in Rome and within the curia. Shortly after his arrival in Rome,

840-420: Is known of his early years, except that he studied theology in the present-day French city of Reims before returning to his native land. His education completed, Bruno returned to Cologne, where he was most likely ordained a priest around 1055 and provided with a canonry at St. Cunibert's. In 1056 Bishop Gervais recalled him to Reims, where the following year he found himself head of the episcopal school, which at

900-471: Is the will of God!" Within Fulcher of Chartres account of pope Urban's speech there was a promise of remission of sins for whoever took part in the crusade. All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. It is disputed whether the famous slogan "God wills it" or "It

960-641: Is the will of God" ( deus vult in Latin, Dieu le veut in French) in fact was established as a rallying cry during the Council. While Robert the Monk says so, it is also possible that the slogan was created as a catchy propaganda motto afterwards. Urban II's own letter to the Flemish confirms that he granted "remission of all their sins" to those undertaking the enterprise to liberate the eastern churches. One notable contrast with

1020-533: The cullagium tax), and the emperor and his antipope. He facilitated the marriage of Matilda , countess of Tuscany, with Welf II , duke of Bavaria . He supported the rebellion of Prince Conrad against his father and bestowed the office of groom on Conrad at Cremona in 1095. While there, he helped arrange the marriage between Conrad and Maximilla , the daughter of Count Roger of Sicily , which occurred later that year at Pisa ; her large dowry helped finance Conrad's continued campaigns. The Empress Adelaide

1080-675: The Carthusian Martyrs of London , were beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII ; three of these ( Augustine Webster , John Houghton and Robert Lawrence ) were canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI with other English martyrs as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales . In 1572 during the Dutch Revolt the Charterhouses of Delft and Roermond were attacked, resulting in the deaths of Dom Justus van Schoonhoven and at least two others. During

1140-591: The Council of Piacenza , where, in March 1095, Urban II received an ambassador from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos asking for help against the Turkish tribes who had taken over most of formerly Byzantine Anatolia . The Council of Clermont met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian , and French bishops . All of the sessions except the final one took place either in the cathedral of Clermont or in

1200-535: The Diocese of Langres , together with a band of other hermits , who were later on (in 1098) to form the Cistercians . However, he soon found that this was not his vocation. After a short stay, he went with six of his companions to Hugh of Châteauneuf , Bishop of Grenoble. The bishop, according to the pious legend, had recently had a vision of these men, under a chaplet of seven stars, and he installed them himself in 1084 in

1260-460: The Fatimids , Pope Urban II died before he could receive this news. He also set up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the Church. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 14 July 1881. Urban, baptized Eudes (Odo), was born to a family of Châtillon-sur-Marne. In 1050, he begun his studies at the nearby cathedral school of Reims . He was prior of

SECTION 20

#1732851874865

1320-657: The French Revolution numerous Carthusians were persecuted with other Catholic religious and lay persons. Claude Beguignot and Lazarus Tiersot were ordained Carthusians. As priests, they were required to take the anti-Papal oath of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy". At their refusal they were imprisoned along with eight other Carthusians in former slave ships anchored in the Charente River at Rochefort . Like most of 800 priests and clergy confined there, they died in 1794 due to

1380-701: The General Roman Calendar for celebration on 6 October. Saint Bruno has long been regarded as the patron saint of Calabria and one of the patron saints of Germany. A writer as well as founder of his order, Bruno composed commentaries on the Psalms and on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle . Two letters of his also remain, his profession of faith, and a short elegy on contempt for the world which shows that he cultivated poetry. Bruno's Commentaries reveal that he knew

1440-550: The Turkish invasions into Anatolia . In 1095 he started preaching the First Crusade (1096–1099). He promised forgiveness and pardon for all of the past sins of those who would fight to reclaim the holy land from Muslims and free the eastern churches. This pardon would also apply to those that would fight the Muslims in Spain. While the First Crusade resulted in occupation of Jerusalem from

1500-574: The abbey of Cluny , and Pope Gregory VII later named him cardinal-bishop of Ostia c.  1080 . He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms , especially as legate in the Holy Roman Empire in 1084. He was among the three whom Gregory VII nominated as papabile (possible successors). Desiderius , the abbot of Monte Cassino , was chosen to follow Gregory in 1085 but, after his short reign as Victor III, Odo

1560-813: The Blessed Virgin. Both the churches built by him in the desert were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin: Our Lady of Casalibus in Dauphiné and Our Lady Della Torre in Calabria; faithful to his inspirations, the Carthusian Statutes proclaim the Mother of God the first and chief patron of all the houses of the order, whoever may be their particular patron. He is also the eponym for San Bruno Creek in California . Bruno

1620-512: The Carthusians of Calabria, following a frequent custom of the Middle Ages, dispatched a roll-bearer, a servant of the community laden with a mortuary roll , a long roll of parchment, hung round his neck, who travelled through Italy, France, Germany, and England, stopping to announce the death of Bruno, and in return, the churches, communities, or chapters inscribed upon his roll, in prose or verse,

1680-574: The Catalan counts). Coincidentally or not, Fulcher of Chartres's version of Urban's speech makes no explicit reference to Jerusalem. Rather it more generally refers to aiding the crusaders' Christian "brothers of the eastern shore," and to their loss of Asia Minor to the Turks. It is still disputed what Pope Urban's motives were as evidenced by the different speeches that were recorded, all of which differ from each other. Some historians believe that Urban wished for

1740-563: The abbey. They broke into the monastery to arrest 32 partisans and Jews being sheltered in the monastery. Some of the refugees were able to escape. Of the more than sixty killed, twelve were Carthusians. Among the twelve Carthusians killed were two Germans, one Swiss, one Venezuelan, and one Spaniard. The remaining monks were also from diverse countries. Those killed were: Bruno of Cologne Bruno of Cologne , OCart ( German : Bruno von Köln ; Italian : Bruno di Colonia ; c.  1030 – 6 October 1101), venerated as Saint Bruno ,

1800-490: The chronicle account of the First Crusade called the Gesta Francorum (written c. 1101), which includes a version of it. Fulcher of Chartres was present at the Council, though he did not start writing his history of the crusade, including a version of the speech until c. 1101. Robert the Monk may have been present, but his version dates from about 1106. As a better means of evaluating Urban's true motives in calling for

1860-422: The controversy, although Bertrade remained active in attempting to see her sons succeed Philip instead of Louis . ) Urban further authorised itinerant preachers such as Robert of Arbrissel to spread the knowledge of Christian faith and promote the ideas of the reform movement, contributing to the mass phenomenon of spirituality at the end of the 11th century. Urban II's movement took its first public shape at

Carthusian Martyrs - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-519: The desires of all who were present, that they cried out "It is the will of God! It is the will of God!". When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, [he] said: "Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.' Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered

1980-480: The expression of their regrets, with promises of prayers. Many of these rolls have been preserved, but few are so extensive or so full of praise as those about Bruno. 178 witnesses, many of whom had known him, celebrated the extent of his knowledge and the fruitfulness of his instruction. Strangers to him were above all struck by his great knowledge and talents. His disciples praised his three chief virtues — his great spirit of prayer, extreme mortification, and devotion to

2040-477: The fierce opponent of Pope Gregory VII . On the verge of being made bishop himself, Bruno instead followed a vow he had made to renounce secular concerns and withdrew, along with two of his friends, Raoul and Fulcius, also canons of Reims. Bruno's first thought on leaving Reims seems to have been to place himself and his companions under the direction of an eminent solitary, Robert of Molesme , who had recently (in 1075) settled at Sèche-Fontaine, near Molesme in

2100-691: The future King of Sicily. But more often Roger went into retreat with his friends, where he erected a simple house for himself. Through his generosity, the monastery of St. Stephen was built in 1095, near the original hermitage dedicated to the Virgin. At the turn of the new century, the friends of Bruno died one after the other: Urban II in 1099; Landuin, the prior of the Grande Chartreuse , his first companion, in 1100; Count Roger in 1101. Bruno followed on 6 October 1101 in Serra San Bruno . After his death,

2160-559: The inhumane conditions. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995. In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War , Carthusians were affected by the widespread anti-clericalism; two of these, from the Charterhouse of Montalegre , have so far been recognized. In September 1944, monks from the charterhouse at Certosa di Farneta opened their doors to troops from the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division, who said they came bearing gifts for

2220-462: The letters to Bologna and Vallombrosa he refers to the crusaders' desire to set out for Jerusalem rather than to his own desire that Jerusalem be freed from Seljuk rule. It was believed that originally that Urban wanted to send a relatively small force to aid the Byzantines, however after meeting with two prominent members of the crusades Adhemar of Puy and Raymond of Saint-Guilles, Urban decided to rally

2280-474: The new archbishop of Canterbury fled England. Likewise, despite the importance of French support for his cause, he upheld his legate Hugh of Die 's excommunication of King Philip over his doubly bigamous marriage with Bertrade de Montfort , wife of the Count of Anjou . (The ban was repeatedly lifted and reimposed as the king promised to forswear her and then repeatedly returned to her. A public penance in 1104 ended

2340-559: The objectives, his letters to the Catalonian lords instead beseech them to continue the fight against the Moors , assuring them that doing so would offer the same divine rewards as a conflict against the Seljuks. It is Urban II's own letters, rather than the paraphrased versions of his speech at Clermont, that reveal his actual thinking about crusading. Nevertheless, the versions of the speech have had

2400-606: The outskirts of Vienna , Austria , was plundered and set on fire by Ottoman troops during the 1529 Siege of Vienna , and was again targeted by the Ottomans during the 1683 Battle of Vienna , though there seems no precise record of the names of monks killed in either assault. In 1537 during the English Reformation the London Charterhouse was dissolved and its members imprisoned and later executed. Eighteen of these,

2460-402: The papal party was forced to evacuate to the south by the arrival of Henry IV with his own antipope in tow. Bruno resisted efforts to name him Archbishop of Reggio Calabria , deferring instead in favour of one of his former pupils nearby in a Benedictine abbey near Salerno . Instead, Bruno begged to return again to his solitary life. His intention was to rejoin his brethren in Dauphiné , as

Carthusian Martyrs - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-520: The people to wrest the Holy Land , and the eastern churches generally, from the domination of the Seljuks. This was the speech that triggered the Crusades . There exists no exact transcription of the speech that Urban delivered at the Council of Clermont. The five extant versions of the speech were written down some time later, and they differ widely from one another. All versions of the speech except that by Fulcher of Chartres were probably influenced by

2580-592: The rebel Duke of Swabia and again excommunicated the emperor. Henry finally took Rome in 1084 and installed Clement III in his place. Urban took up the policies of Pope Gregory VII and, while pursuing them with determination, showed greater flexibility and diplomatic finesse. Usually kept away from Rome, Urban toured northern Italy and France. A series of well-attended synods held in Rome , Amalfi , Benevento , and Troia supported him in renewed declarations against simony , lay investitures , clerical marriages (partly via

2640-671: The recent "triumph" of the Pisans over Saracen forces. Urban received vital support in his conflict with the Byzantine Empire , Romans and the Holy Roman Empire from the Norman of Campania and Sicily . In return he granted Roger I the freedom to appoint bishops (the right of lay investiture ), to collect Church revenues before forwarding to the papacy, and the right to sit in judgment on ecclesiastical questions. Roger I virtually became

2700-603: The reunification of the eastern and western churches, a rift that was caused by the Great Schism of 1054 . Others believe that Urban saw this as an opportunity to gain legitimacy as the pope as at the time he was contending with the antipope Clement III. A third theory is that Urban felt threatened by the Seljuk conquests in Europe and saw the crusades as a way to unite the Christian world into

2760-535: The road to the Holy Sepulchre ; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves ... God has conferred upon you above all nations great glory in arms. Accordingly undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven . Robert continued: When Pope Urban had said these ... things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose

2820-407: The same cry. For, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war-cry in combats, because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It

2880-544: The same remission of sin for those that fought in Spain and discouraged those that wished to travel east from Spain. A similar line is taken by Erdmann, who views the conflict in Iberia as being premeditated by the Mahdia campaign of 1087 conducted by Pope Victor III due to the granting of an indulgence. This campaign, Erdmann argues, was considered a success because of the elevation of the see of Pisa in 1092 in which Urban acknowledges

2940-430: The seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder one another, that you wage war, and that frequently you perish by mutual wounds. Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon

3000-508: The speeches recorded by Robert the Monk, Guibert of Nogent , and Baldric of Dol is the lesser emphasis on Jerusalem itself, which Urban only once mentions as his own focus of concern. In the letter to the Flemish he writes, "they [the Turks] have seized the Holy City of Christ, embellished by his passion and resurrection, and blasphemy to say—have sold her and her churches into abominable slavery." In

3060-414: The suburban church of Notre-Dame-du-Port. Though the Council was primarily focused on reforms within the church hierarchy, Urban II gave a speech on 27 November 1095 at the conclusion of the Council to a broader audience. The speech was made outside in the open air to accommodate the vast crowd that had come to hear him. Urban II's sermon proved highly effective, as he summoned the attending nobility and

SECTION 50

#1732851874865

3120-533: The time included the direction of the schools and the oversight of all the educational establishments of the diocese. For eighteen years, from 1057 to 1075, he maintained the prestige which the school of Reims attained under its former masters, Remi of Auxerre, and others. Bruno led the school for nearly two decades, acquiring an excellent reputation as a philosopher and theologian. Among his students were Eudes of Châtillon, afterwards Pope Urban II , Rangier, Cardinal and Bishop of Reggio, Robert, Bishop of Langres, and

3180-620: The west. Today the Carthusians are a small order comprising 25 houses worldwide with just 350 male and 75 female members. During the Hussite Revolution in Bohemia in the 15th century Carthusian houses, as with other Catholic institutions, came under attack. In 1419 the charterhouse in Prague was burned down. Dom Andreas, prior of Žiče Charterhouse , was captured during an Ottoman raid and martyred on March 3, 1529. The Mauerbach Charterhouse on

3240-577: Was elected by acclamation at a small meeting of cardinals and other prelates held in Terracina in March 1088. From the outset, Urban had to reckon with the presence of Guibert , the former bishop of Ravenna who held Rome as the antipope "Clement III". Gregory had repeatedly clashed with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over papal authority. Despite the Walk to Canossa , Gregory had backed

3300-432: Was buried in the little cemetery of the hermitage of Santa Maria. In 1513, his bones were discovered with the epitaph "Haec sunt ossa magistri Brunonis" ('these are the bones of the master Bruno') over them. Since the Carthusian Order maintains a strict observance of humility, Saint Bruno was never formally canonized . He was not included in the Tridentine calendar , but in the year 1623 Pope Gregory XV included him in

3360-421: Was encouraged in her charges of sexual coercion against her husband, Henry IV. He supported the theological and ecclesiastical work of Anselm , negotiating a solution to the cleric's impasse with King William II of England and finally receiving England's support against the Imperial pope in Rome. Urban maintained vigorous support for his predecessors' reforms, however, and did not shy from supporting Anselm when

3420-450: Was in the Diocese of Squillace , in a small forested high valley, where the band constructed a little wooden chapel and cabins. His patron there was Roger I of Sicily , Count of Sicily and Calabria and uncle of the Duke of Apulia, who granted them the lands they occupied, and a close friendship developed. Bruno went to the Guiscard court at Mileto to visit the count in his sickness (1098 and 1101), and to baptize his son, Roger (1097),

3480-432: Was involved in Iberia from the very beginning of his time as pontiff. Of his involvements in Iberia there were two main engagements, namely the: Urban here gave support to the crusades in Spain against the Moors there. According to Chevedden, Urban was concerned that the focus on the east and Jerusalem would neglect the fight in Spain. He saw the fight in the east and in Spain as part of the same crusade so he would offer

3540-430: Was suspended at a council at Autun . Manasses responded, in typical eleventh-century fashion, by having his retainers pull down the houses of his accusers. He confiscated their goods, sold their benefices, and even appealed to the pope. Bruno discreetly avoided the cathedral city until in 1080 a definite sentence, confirmed by popular riot, compelled Manasses to withdraw and take refuge with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor ,

3600-399: Was the founder of the Carthusians . He personally founded the order's first two communities. He was a celebrated teacher at Reims and a close advisor of his former pupil, Pope Urban II . His feast day is 6 October. Bruno was born in Cologne about the year 1030. According to tradition, he belonged to the family of Hartenfaust, or Hardebüst, one of the principal families of the city. Little

#864135