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172-547: Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury , Somerset , England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument , are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was destroyed by a major fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. The abbey controlled large tracts of

344-457: A Quaker meeting house. Early in the 19th century, gunpowder was used to dislodge further stones and the site became a quarry. The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 stopped further damage to the site and led to the first historical and archaeological surveys. The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey were purchased by the Bath and Wells Diocesan Trust in 1908. The ruins are now the property of and managed by

516-498: A dwaitha philosopher. Jainism , founded by Mahavira c.  570 BC , had its own monasteries since 5th century BC. Islam discourages monasticism, which is referred to in the Quran as "an invention". However, the term "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term " Sufism " comes from "sf" meaning

688-681: A branch to Queen Anne , King James I's consort. Trees survive from earlier grafts to perpetuate the Glastonbury legend, among them two other Holy Thorns in the grounds of St John's Church in Glastonbury. The blossom sent to the Queen now comes from one of these. Monastery In English usage, the term monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing religious sisters . Historically,

860-530: A brawl at Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire . According to the post- Conquest chronicler, John of Worcester : While the glorious Edmund, king of the English, was at the royal township called Pucklechurch in English, in seeking to rescue his steward from Leofa, a most wicked thief, lest he be killed, was himself killed by the same man on the feast of St Augustine , teacher of the English, on Tuesday, 26 May, in

1032-447: A central role to the achievements of the tenth century English state". Trousdale comments that the period between the reigns of Æthelstan and Edgar has been comparatively neglected by historians: the reigns of Edmund, Eadred and Eadwig "are often lumped together as a sort of interim period between the much more interesting reigns of Æthelstan and Edgar". He argues that "King Edmund's legislation shows an ambition towards tighter control of

1204-480: A charter as an ealdorman in 932, and within three years of Edmund's accession he had been joined by two of his brothers as ealdormen; their territories covered more than half of England and his wife fostered the future King Edgar. The historian Cyril Hart compares the brothers' power during Edmund's reign to that of the Godwins a century later. Edmund's mother, Eadgifu, who had been in eclipse during her step-son's reign,

1376-493: A church owned by the crown at Bath . He may have had personal motives for his assistance, as the monks had given burial to his half-brother, Edwin , who had drowned at sea in 933, but the incident shows that Edmund did not see only one monastic rule as valid. He may also have granted privileges to the unreformed (non-Benedictine) Bury St Edmunds Abbey , but the charter's authenticity is disputed. Latin learning revived in Æthelstan's reign, influenced by Continental models and by

1548-551: A connection between the abbey and either Arthur's grave or Avalon. The fact that the search for Arthur's body is connected to Henry II and Edward I, both kings who fought major Welsh wars, has had scholars suggest that propaganda may have played a part as well. Gerald, a constant supporter of royal authority, in his account of the discovery clearly aims to destroy the idea of the possibility of King Arthur's messianic return: "Many tales are told and many legends have been invented about King Arthur and his mysterious ending. In their stupidity

1720-494: A convent denoted a house of friars (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a friary . Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways. The word monastery comes from the Greek word μοναστήριον , neut. of μοναστήριος – monasterios from μονάζειν – monazein "to live alone" from the root μόνος – monos "alone" (originally all Christian monks were hermits);

1892-539: A daughter of Ælfflæd. Edmund was a young child when his half-brother Æthelstan became king in 924. He grew up at Æthelstan's court, probably with two important Continental exiles, his nephew Louis , future King of the West Franks , and Alain , future Duke of Brittany . According to William of Malmesbury, Æthelstan showed great affection towards Edmund and Eadred: "mere infants at his father's death, he brought them up lovingly in childhood, and when they grew up gave them

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2064-661: A firm doctrinal basis to the Vishishtadvaita philosophy which had existed since time immemorial. He ensured the establishment of a number of mathas of his Sri Vaishnava creed at different important centres of pilgrimage. Later on, other famous Sri Vaishnava theologians and religious heads established various important mathas such as Nimbarka Sampradaya of Nimbarkacharya is popular in North, West and East India and has several important Mathas. Ashta matha (eight monasteries) of Udupi were founded by Madhvacharya (Madhwa acharya),

2236-758: A further list of Buddhist monasteries see list of Buddhist temples . Buddhist monasteries include some of the largest in the world. Drepung Monastery in Tibet housed around 10,000 monks prior to the Chinese invasion in 1950–1951. As of 2020 the relocated monastery in India houses around 8,000. According to tradition, Christian monasticism began in Egypt with Anthony the Great . Originally, all Christian monks were hermits seldom encountering other people. A transitional form of monasticism

2408-434: A high degree of family cooperation; initially Eadgifu attested first, but from sometime in late 943 or early 944 Eadred took precedence, perhaps reflecting his growing authority. Eadgifu attested around one third, always as regis mater (king's mother), including all grants to religious institutions and individuals. Eadred attested over half of his brother's charters. Eadgifu's and Eadred's prominence in charter attestations

2580-459: A highly elaborate style. Keynes comments: "It is only by dwelling on the glories and complexities of the diplomas drafted and written by Æthelstan A that one can appreciate the elegant simplicity of the diplomas that followed." A scribe known as Edmund C wrote an inscription in a gospel book ( BL Cotton Tiberius A. ii folio 15v) during Æthelstan's reign and wrote charters for Edmund and Eadred between 944 and 949. Most of Edmund's charters belong to

2752-465: A leading counsellor of Æthelstan and had helped to negotiate the return of Louis to France as king of the Franks in 936. Dunstan was to be a key figure in the reform and Archbishop of Canterbury, and according to his first biographer he was a leading figure at Edmund's court until his enemies persuaded Edmund to expel him, only for the king to have a change of heart after a narrow escape from death and give him

2924-471: A long time, and with them, their respective monasteries, called mathas . Important among them are the chatur-amnaya mathas established by Adi Shankara which formed the nodal centres of under whose guidance the ancient Order of Advaitin monks were re-organised under ten names of the Dashanami Sampradaya . Ramanuja heralded a new era in the world of Hinduism by reviving the lost faith in it and gave

3096-481: A monastery is called a wat . In Burma , a monastery is called a kyaung . A Christian monastery may be an abbey (i.e., under the rule of an abbot ), or a priory (under the rule of a prior ), or conceivably a hermitage (the dwelling of a hermit ). It may be a community of men ( monks ) or of women ( nuns ). A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order. In Eastern Christianity ,

3268-470: A monk named Notker of St Gall , and was spread to musicians throughout Europe by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary pilgrim travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make pilgrimages to monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate

3440-446: A murderer from coming into the neighbourhood of the king, unless he had done penance for his crime, reflected an increasing emphasis on the sanctity of kingship. Edmund was one of the few Anglo-Saxon kings to promulgate laws concerned with sorcery and idolatry, and the code condemns false witness and the use of magical drugs. The association between perjury and the use of drugs in magic was traditional, probably because they both involved

3612-666: A network of fortresses, and these helped him to frustrate renewed Viking attacks in the 890s with the assistance of his son-in-law, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians , and his elder son Edward , who became king when Alfred died in 899. In 909, Edward sent a force of West Saxons and Mercians to attack the Northumbrian Danes, and the following year the Danes retaliated with a raid on Mercia. While they were marching back to Northumbria, they were caught by an Anglo-Saxon army and decisively defeated at

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3784-588: A new style of the native square minuscule script, which was used in mid-century royal diplomas. Oda's school at Canterbury was praised by post-Conquest chroniclers, especially for the presence there of Frithegod , a brilliant Continental scholar and the most skilful poet in mid-tenth century England. The "Vatican" recension of the Historia Brittonum was produced in England in Edmund's reign, probably in 944. Edmund probably married his first wife Ælfgifu around

3956-457: A portion of their yearly crop to the resident monks in the monastery, just as they would to a feudal landlord. In Sri Lanka and in Tibetan Buddhism , the ownership of a monastery often became vested in a single monk, who would often keep the property within the family by passing it on to a nephew ordained as a monk. In Japan , where civil authorities permitted Buddhist monks to marry,

4128-457: A prime prize. William the Conqueror made Turstinus a Norman abbot there in 1086. Turstinus added to the church, unusually building to the east of the older Saxon church and away from the ancient cemetery, thus shifting the sanctified site. This was later changed by Herlewin, the next abbot, who built a larger church. Not all the new Normans were suitable heads of religious communities. In 1086, when

4300-448: A provision described by the legal historian Patrick Wormald as gruesome: "we have declared with regard to slaves that, if a number of them commit theft, their leader shall be captured and slain, or hanged, and each of the others shall be scourged three times and have his scalp removed and his little finger mutilated as a token of his guilt". The code has the first reference to the hundred as an administrative unit of local government in

4472-449: A provision requiring anyone who refuses to assist in the apprehension of a thief to pay 120 shillings to the king and 30 shillings to the hundred. Williams comments "In both the second code and the Colyton legislation, the functions of the four pillars of medieval society, kingship, lordship, family and neighbourhood, are clearly evident." Wormald describes the codes as "an object-lesson in

4644-901: A respected elder teacher. While the wandering lifestyle practised by the Buddha and by his disciples continues to be the ideal model for forest-tradition monks in Thailand , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and elsewhere, practical concerns - including shrinking wilderness areas, lack of access to lay supporters, dangerous wildlife, and dangerous border conflicts - dictate that increasing numbers of "meditation" monks live in monasteries, rather than wandering. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries or gompas are sometimes known as lamaseries , with their monks sometimes (mistakenly) known as lamas . Helena Blavatsky 's Theosophical Society named its initial New York City meeting-place "the Lamasery". Famous Buddhist monasteries include: For

4816-407: A royal estate at Glastonbury , including its abbey . Williams rejects the story because there is no evidence that he was influential in this period; his brother attested charters, but he did not. Edmund may have given Dunstan the abbey to keep him at a distance because he was too much of a disruptive influence at court. He was joined by Æthelwold, another future reform leader, and they spent much of

4988-409: A saint. Edmund had no known children by his second wife, Æthelflæd , who died after 991. Her father Ælfgar became ealdorman of Essex in 946. Edmund presented him with a sword lavishly decorated with gold and silver, which Ælfgar later presented to King Eadred. Æthelflæd's second husband was Æthelstan Rota , a south-east Mercian ealdorman, and her will survives. On 26 May 946, Edmund was killed in

5160-512: A series of acrimonious disputes between Glastonbury and the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral . The abbey required fish on Fridays , fast days and during Lent . As many as 5000 eels were landed in a typical year. In 1184, a great fire at Glastonbury destroyed the monastic buildings. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Lady Chapel , which includes the well, was consecrated in 1186. There

5332-629: A share in his kingdom". Edmund may have been a member of the expedition to Scotland in 934 as, according to the Historia de Sancto Cuthberto (History of Saint Cuthbert ), Æthelstan instructed that in the event of his death Edmund was to take his body to Cuthbert's shrine at Chester-le-Street . Edmund fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, and in a poem commemorating the victory in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ( ASC ), Edmund ætheling (prince of

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5504-611: A signatory to the Act of Supremacy that made Henry VIII the head of the church, resisted and was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor on 15 November 1539. After the Dissolution, two of the abbey's manors in Wiltshire were sold by the Crown to John Thynne and thereafter descended in his family, who much later became Marquesses of Bath . The Thynnes have preserved many of

5676-535: A similar ascetic discipline, and even their religious habit is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the apostolnik ). Unlike Roman Catholic monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world. Monasteries vary from

5848-473: A son in return for blessings. During the plagues , monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick. A Warming House is a common part of a medieval monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit. A number of distinct monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism: While in English most mendicant Orders use

6020-583: A very small monastic community can be called a skete , and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra . The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic , as opposed to the anchoretic (or anchoritic) life of an anchorite and the eremitic life of a hermit . There has also been, mostly under the Osmanli occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for

6192-551: A visit from Henry VII , who visited the abbot in a royal progress, as he visited any other great territorial magnate. The conditions of life in England during the Wars of the Roses became so unsettled that a wall was built around the abbey's precincts. The George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn was built in the late 15th century to accommodate visitors to the abbey. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building . The abbey also held lands outside

6364-511: A young man. Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria ( Wadi El Natrun ), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time. Eremetism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery. The idea caught on, and other places followed: The life of prayer and communal living

6536-455: Is a somewhat more specific definition of the term and many related terms. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara ( Pali language el). Viharas may be occupied by men or women, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple . In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa . In Cambodia , Laos and Thailand ,

6708-490: Is also open to the public, outside the walls, as part of the Somerset Rural Life Museum . The great church was 220 feet (67 m) in length and 45 feet (14 m) wide. The choir was 155 feet (47 m) long and the transept was 160 feet (49 m) long. St Joseph's chapel was 110 feet (34 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. The remaining portions are of the clerestory and triforium arcades, which were

6880-509: Is believed to have been to transport stone to build the abbey, but later it was used to transport produce, including grain, wine and fish, from the abbey's outlying properties. Much of the building stone came from the abbey's quarries at Doulting , accessed by way of the River Sheppey at Pilton . From the 11th century, the abbey was the centre of a large water-borne transport network as further canalisations and new channels were made, including

7052-524: Is described as "one of the best preserved medieval kitchens in Europe". The 14th century octagonal building is supported by curved buttresses on each side leading up to a cornice with grotesque gargoyles. Inside are four large arched fireplaces with smoke outlets above them, with another outlet in the centre of the pyramidal roof. The kitchen was attached to the 80 feet (24 m) high abbot's hall, although only one small section of its wall remains. The analysis of

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7224-477: Is evidence that, in the 12th century, the ruined nave was renovated enough for services while the great new church was being constructed. Parts of the walls of the aisle and crossing having been completed by 1189, progress then continued more slowly. Pilgrim visits had fallen and in 1191 the alleged discovery of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere 's tomb in the cemetery provided fresh impetus for visiting Glastonbury. A contemporaneous, though not an eyewitness, account

7396-441: Is further seen in provisions setting out the duties of lords to take responsibility for their followers and stand surety for them. III Edmund was also concerned to prevent theft, especially cattle rustling . The local community is required to cooperate in catching thieves, dead or alive, and to assist in tracking down stolen cattle, while trading had to be witnessed by a high reeve , priest, treasurer or port reeve . According to

7568-552: Is listed in laws of his grandson Æthelred the Unready as one of the wise law-givers of the past. The major religious movement of the tenth century, the English Benedictine Reform , reached its peak under Edgar, but Edmund's reign was important in the early stages, which were led by Oda and Ælfheah, both of whom were monks. Oda had strong connections with Continental centres of reform, especially Fleury Abbey . He had been

7740-575: Is not certain). The contemporary reformed soldier Saint Neot was sacristan at Glastonbury before he founded his own establishment in Somerset. The abbey church was enlarged in the 10th century by the abbot of Glastonbury, Dunstan , the central figure in the 10th-century revival of English monastic life , who instituted the Benedictine Rule at Glastonbury. He also built the cloisters. Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 946, King Edmund

7912-555: Is sceptical, arguing that the poem is not contemporary, and that it is doubtful whether contemporaries saw their situation in those terms. In the same year, Edmund granted large estates in northern Mercia to a leading nobleman, Wulfsige the Black, continuing the policy of his father of granting land in the Danelaw to supporters in order to give them an interest in resisting the Vikings. Guthfrithson

8084-486: Is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care, or evangelism . Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on

8256-542: Is the source for much of our knowledge of the abbey's early history but is far below William's generally excellent standards: his acceptance of the monks' forged charters and unsubstantiated early legends is apparent and even his list of the community's abbots cannot be reconciled with 10th-century originals subsequently discovered. These problems and the discrepancies between "On the Antiquity" and his own later histories has led many scholars to assume that William's original text

8428-460: Is unparalleled by any other West Saxon king's mother and male relative. The period from around 925 to 975 was the golden age of Anglo-Saxon royal charters, when they were at their peak as instruments of royal government, and the scribes who drew up most of Edmund's charters constituted a royal secretariat which he inherited from his brother. From 928 until 935, charters were produced by the very learned scribe designated by scholars as Æthelstan A in

8600-503: The Annales Cambriæ , he was killed by the English in 942. Between 942 and 950 his kingdom was conquered by Hywel Dda , the king of Deheubarth in south Wales , who is described by the historian of Wales Thomas Charles-Edwards as "the firmest ally of the English "emperors of Britain" among all the kings of his day". Attestations of Welsh kings to English charters appear to have been rare compared with those in Æthelstan's reign, but in

8772-494: The pallia graeca was probably an excellent Byzantine silk found in Cuthbert's tomb known as the "Nature Goddess silk". He also "granted peace and law better than any it ever had to the whole territory of St Cuthbert". Edmund's show of respect and support for the shrine reflected both the political power of the community of St Cuthbert in the north and southern reverence for him. According to William of Malmesbury, Edmund brought

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8944-567: The Anglican , Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The abbey site is visited by over 100,000 a year. The ruins of the great church, along with the Lady Chapel, are grade I listed buildings , and a Scheduled Ancient Monument . It is set in 36 acres (150,000 m) of parkland and open to the public. It is approached by the abbey gatehouse, which was built in the mid 14th century and completely restored in 1810. The 14th century abbey barn

9116-630: The Battle of Peonnum in 658. Saxons under Cenwalh of Wessex conquered Somerset as far west as the River Parrett , perhaps with the intention of gaining control of the abbey. Cenwalh allowed the British abbot, Bregored , to remain in power, a move perhaps intended as a show of good faith to the defeated Britons. After Bregored's death in 669, he was replaced by an Anglo-Saxon, Berhtwald , but British monks remained for many years. King Ine of Wessex enriched

9288-558: The Battle of Tettenhall , ending the threat from the Northumbrian Vikings for a generation. In the 910s, Edward and Æthelflæd , his sister and Æthelred's widow, extended Alfred's network of fortresses and conquered Viking-ruled eastern Mercia and East Anglia. When Edward died in 924, he controlled all England south of the Humber . Edward was succeeded by his eldest son Æthelstan , who seized control of Northumbria in 927, thus becoming

9460-541: The Domesday Book was commissioned, Glastonbury Abbey was the richest monastery in the country. About 1125, the abbot Henry of Blois commissioned a history of Glastonbury from the historian William of Malmesbury , who was a guest of the monks. His work "On the Antiquity of the Glastonese Church" was compiled sometime between 1129 and 1139 as part of a campaign to establish the abbey's primacy against Westminster . It

9632-571: The Great Heathen Army in 865. By 878, the Vikings had overrun East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, and nearly conquered Wessex, but in that year the West Saxons fought back under Alfred the Great and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington . In the 880s and 890s, the Anglo-Saxons ruled Wessex and western Mercia, but the rest of England was under Viking kings. Alfred constructed

9804-544: The University of Reading have demonstrated Roman and Saxon occupation of the site. In 1955 Ralegh Radford 's excavations uncovered Romano-British pottery at the west end of the cloister. The abbey was founded by Britons and dates at least to the early-7th century. Dark Age occupation of the site is evidenced by pieces of ceramic wine jars that were imported from the Mediterranean. A medieval Christian legend claimed that

9976-411: The hermeneutic style of the leading seventh century scholar and Bishop of Sherborne, Aldhelm. The revival continued in Edmund's reign, and Welsh book production became increasingly influential. Welsh manuscripts were studied and copied, and they influenced the early use of Carolingian minuscule script in England, although Continental sources are also important. Edmund's reign also saw the development of

10148-533: The sangha . Over the years, the custom of staying on property held in common by the sangha as a whole during the vassa retreat evolved into cenobitic monasticism , in which monks and nuns resided year-round in monasteries. In India , Buddhist monasteries gradually developed into centres of learning where philosophical principles were developed and debated; this tradition continues in the monastic universities of Vajrayana Buddhists , as well as in religious schools and universities founded by religious orders across

10320-437: The 20th-century archaeological investigations have recently been published along with the results of a new geophysical survey. The abbey library was described by John Leland , King Henry VIII's antiquary who visited it, as containing unique copies of ancient histories of England and unique early Christian documents. It seems to have been affected by the fire of 1184, but still housed a remarkable collection until 1539 when it

10492-449: The 940s for BC types. After the reign of Edward the Elder there was a slight decline in the weight of coins under Æthelstan, and the deterioration increased after around 940, continuing until Edgar's reform of the coinage in around 973. However, based on a very small sample, there is no evidence of a decline in the silver content under Edmund. His reign saw an increase in regional diversity of

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10664-489: The Bald , Bishop of Winchester . Government at the local level was mainly carried on by ealdormen, and Edmund made substantial changes in personnel during his reign, with a move from Æthelstan's main reliance on West Saxons to a greater prominence of men with Mercian connections. Unlike the close relatives of previous kings, his mother and brother attested many of Edmund's charters, suggesting a high degree of family cooperation. Edmund

10836-482: The British [i.e. Welsh, Cornish and Bretons] people maintain that he is still alive. Now that the truth is known, I have taken the trouble to add a few more details in this present chapter. The fairy-tales have been snuffed out, and the true and indubitable facts are made known, so that what really happened must be made crystal clear to all and separated from the myths which have accumulated on the subject." In 1197, Savaric FitzGeldewin , Bishop of Bath and Wells , traded

11008-613: The Buddhist world. In modern times, living a settled life in a monastery setting has become the most common lifestyle for Buddhist monks and nuns across the globe. Whereas early monasteries are considered to have been held in common by the entire sangha, in later years this tradition diverged in a number of countries. Despite vinaya prohibitions on possessing wealth, many monasteries became large landowners, much like monasteries in medieval Christian Europe. In Chinese Buddhism , peasant families worked monastic-owned land in exchange for paying

11180-578: The Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among Protestant denominations. The center of this movement was in the United States and Canada beginning with the Shaker Church, which was founded in England and then moved to the United States. In the 19th century many of these monastic societies were founded as Utopian communities based on the monastic model in many cases. Aside from

11352-401: The English guardian of kinsmen, beloved instigator of deeds, conquered Mercia, bounded by The Dore Whitwell Gap and Humber river broad ocean-stream; five boroughs: Leicester and Lincoln, and Nottingham likewise Stamford also and Derby. Earlier the Danes were under Northmen, subjected by force in heathens' captive fetters, for a long time until they were ransomed again, to

11524-612: The English' even at times when he did not control Northumbria. In charters, Edmund sometimes even called himself by the lesser title of "king of the Anglo-Saxons" in 940 and 942, and only claimed to be king of all Britain once he had gained full control over Northumbria in 945. He never described himself as Rex Totius Britanniae on his coinage. Edmund inherited overlordship over the kings of Wales from Æthelstan, but Idwal Foel , king of Gwynedd in north Wales , apparently took advantage of Edmund's early weakness to withhold fealty and may have supported Anlaf Guthfrithson, as according to

11696-524: The Glastonbury Abbey trust. On acquiring the site the trust appointed Frederick Bligh Bond to direct an archaeological investigation. Bond discovered the Edgar Chapel, North Porch and St Dunstan's Chapel, however relations with his employers turned sour when he revealed in his 1919 book, The Gates of Remembrance , that he had made many of his interpretations in collaboration with a psychic medium . He

11868-470: The Great , Duke of the Franks , who kept him prisoner. Edmund and Otto both protested and demanded his immediate release, but this only took place in exchange for the surrender of the town of Laon to Hugh. Edmund's name is in the confraternity book of Pfäfers Abbey in Switzerland , perhaps at the request of Archbishop Oda when staying there on his way to or from Rome to collect his pallium . As with

12040-660: The Holy Cross at St Augustine's House in Michigan is a Lutheran order of monks and there are Lutheran religious communities in Sweden and Germany. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children – these were operated on a communal form. There is a growing Christian neo-monasticism , particularly among evangelical Christians. In Hinduism, monks have existed for

12212-626: The Resurrection ), Nashdom Abbey ( Benedictine ), Cleeve Priory ( Community of the Glorious Ascension ) and Ewell Monastery ( Cistercian ), Benedictine orders, Franciscan orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St. Helena. Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, particularly Lutherans in Europe and North America. For example, the Benedictine order of

12384-655: The Shakers, there were the Amanna , the Anabaptists , and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of celibacy and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership. In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the Church of England , leading to the foundation of such institutions as the House of the Resurrection , Mirfield ( Community of

12556-479: The Viking kings of York. Eadred had to deal with further revolts when he became king, and York was not finally conquered until 954. Æthelstan had achieved a dominant position over other British kings and Edmund maintained this, perhaps apart from Scotland . The north Welsh king Idwal Foel may have allied with the Vikings as he was killed by the English in 942. The British kingdom of Strathclyde may also have sided with

12728-414: The Vikings as Edmund ravaged it in 945 and then ceded it to Malcolm I of Scotland . Edmund also continued his brother's friendly relations with Continental rulers, several of whom were married to his half-sisters. Edmund inherited his brother's interests and leading advisers, such as Oda , whom he appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 941, Æthelstan Half-King , ealdorman of East Anglia , and Ælfheah

12900-459: The Vikings invaded England. Æthelstan secured a decisive victory at the Battle of Brunanburh , cementing his dominant position in Britain. Benedictine monasticism had flourished in England in the seventh and eighth centuries, but it severely declined in the late eighth and ninth centuries. By the time Alfred came to the throne in 871, monasteries and knowledge of Latin were at a low ebb, but there

13072-506: The Vikings, and probably the Archbishop of Canterbury acting for the English. They arranged a treaty at Leicester which surrendered the Five Boroughs of Lincoln , Leicester, Nottingham , Stamford and Derby , to Guthfrithson. This was the first serious setback for the English since Edward the Elder began to roll back Viking conquests in the early tenth century, and it was described by

13244-493: The abbey and the bishops. The monks of Glastonbury objected to Savaric's plan, and sent an appeal to Rome, which was dismissed in 1196. But King Richard, no longer imprisoned in Germany, sided with the monks, and allowed them to elect an abbot, William Pica, in place of Savaric, who responded by excommunicating the new abbot. With the succession of John as king in place of his brother Richard in 1199, Savaric managed to force his way into

13416-541: The abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. This legend is intimately tied to Robert de Boron 's version of the Holy Grail story and Glastonbury's connection with King Arthur from the early-12th century. William of Malmesbury reports the terms of a grant of land made by King Gwrgan of Damnonia to the "old church" at Glastonbury in AD 601 in the time of Abbot Worgret. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after

13588-403: The abbey's Wiltshire records at Longleat up to the present day. The ruins of the abbey itself was stripped of lead and dressed stones hauled away to be used in other buildings. The site was granted by Edward VI to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset who established a colony of Protestant Dutch weavers on the site. When Seymour was attainted in 1551, the abbey site reverted to the crown, but

13760-402: The abbot of Glastonbury that was also used for salting and preparing fish. It is the only surviving monastic fishery building in England. At the time of the Dissolution in 1540, Meare Pool was said to contain a great abundance of pike , tench , roach and eels . In 1638, it was owned by William Freake, who described it as "lately a fish pool". The importance of this industry is illustrated by

13932-465: The abbot of Glastonbury was recorded as inspecting enclosed land at Lympsham . Efforts to control flooding on the Parrett were recorded around the same date. In 1234, 722 acres (2.9 km) were reclaimed near Westonzoyland and, from the accounts in the abbey's rent books, this had increased to 972 acres (393 ha) by 1240. In the 14th century a Fish House was built at Meare for the chief fisherman of

14104-606: The area in return for an alliance against the Dublin Vikings, and Stenton and Miller see it as recognition by Edmund that Northumbria was the northern limit of Anglo-Saxon England. According to the hagiography of a Gaelic monk called Cathróe , he travelled through England on his journey from Scotland to the Continent; Edmund summoned him to court and Oda, Archbishop of Canterbury , then ceremonially conducted him to his ship at Lympne . Travelling clerics played an important part in

14276-481: The authenticity of the find, attributing it to a publicity stunt performed to raise funds to repair the Abbey, which was mostly burned in 1184. William of Malmesbury 's history of the English kings stated "Arthur's grave is nowhere seen, whence antiquity of fables still claims that he will return" and his work "On the Antiquity of the Glastonese Church"—larded as it is with known and suspected pious forgeries —nowhere mentions

14448-441: The breaking of a religious oath. In II Edmund, the king and his counsellors are stated to be "greatly distressed by the manifold illegal deeds of violence which are in our midst", and aimed to promote "peace and concord". The main focus is on regulating and controlling blood feuds . The authorities ( witan ) are required to put a stop to vendettas following murders: the killer should instead pay wergeld (compensation) to

14620-460: The buildings had been seized by the Crown to be sold off or leased to new lay occupants. Glastonbury Abbey was reviewed as having significant amounts of silver and gold as well as its attached lands. In September 1539, the abbey was visited by Richard Layton , Richard Pollard and Thomas Moyle , who arrived there without warning on the orders of Thomas Cromwell . The abbey was stripped of its valuables and Abbot Richard Whiting (Whyting), who had been

14792-522: The circulation of manuscripts and ideas in this period, and Cathróe is unlikely to have been the only Celtic cleric at Edmund's court. Edmund inherited strong Continental contacts from Æthelstan's cosmopolitan court, and these were enhanced by their sisters' marriages to foreign kings and princes. Edmund carried on his brother's Continental policies and maintained his alliances, especially with his nephew King Louis IV of West Francia and Otto I , King of East Francia and future Holy Roman Emperor . Louis

14964-488: The city of Bath to the king in return for the monastery of Glastonbury. Savaric secured the support of Pope Celestine III for the takeover the abbey as the seat of his bishopric, replacing Bath . The plan was that Savaric would be bishop of Bath as well as abbot of Glastonbury. In his support, Savaric obtained letters from various ecclesiastics, including the Archbishop of Canterbury , Hubert Walter , that claimed that this arrangement would settle longstanding disputes between

15136-482: The coinage which lasted for twenty years until a return to relative unity of design early in Edgar's reign. Three law codes of Edmund survive, carrying on Æthelstan's tradition of legal reform. They are called I Edmund, II Edmund and III Edmund. The order in which they were issued is clear, but not the dates of issue. I Edmund is concerned with ecclesiastical matters, while the other codes deal with public order. I Edmund

15308-408: The common good. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha , mandir , koil , or most commonly an ashram . Jains use the Buddhist term vihara . In most religions, life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery

15480-530: The contemporary abolition of monasticism in France in the wake of the French Revolution . Convents for female monastics, or nunneries, were often portrayed as punishments for women unable or unwilling to marry. In the 1880 novel The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoyevsky was heavily inspired by real-life accounts of Orthodox monasticism. Parts of the novel focus in particular on the controversy surrounding

15652-428: The day took place around noon, often taken at a refectory table , and consisted of the most simple and bland foods e.g., poached fish, boiled oats. While they ate, scripture would be read from a pulpit above them. Since no other words were allowed to be spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. Abbots and notable guests were honoured with a seat at the high table, while everyone else sat perpendicular to that in

15824-413: The diplomatic "mainstream", including those of Edmund C, but four are part of a group, dating mainly to Eadred's reign, called the ' alliterative charters'. They were drafted by a very learned scholar, almost certainly someone in the circle of Cenwald, Bishop of Worcester , or perhaps the bishop himself. These charters are characterised both by a high proportion of words starting with the same letter and by

15996-481: The diplomatic delegations, this probably represents rare surviving evidence of extensive contacts between English and Continental churchmen which continued from Æthelstan's reign. Edmund inherited his brother's interests and leading advisers, such as Æthelstan Half-King , ealdorman of East Anglia , Ælfheah the Bald , bishop of Winchester, and Oda , bishop of Ramsbury , who was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury by Edmund in 941. Æthelstan Half-King first witnessed

16168-633: The diversion of the Brue to access to the estate at Meare and an easier route to the Bristol Channel . In the 13th century, the abbey's head boatman transported the abbot in an eight-oared boat on visits to the abbey's nearby manors. During the Middle Ages, bone fragments of Saint Caesarius of Terracina were translated to Glastonbury Abbey. At the Norman Conquest in 1066, the wealth of Glastonbury made it

16340-468: The endowment of the community of monks established at Glastonbury and reputed to have directed that a stone church be built in 712, the foundations of which form the west end of the nave. A glassworks was established at the site during the 7th century. Glastonbury was affected by unrest due to the Danish incursions into the area in the 9th century and it may itself have been attacked during the wars (though this

16512-416: The family connection, but they also may have been intended to display the throneworthiness of the king's half-brothers when it was known that he did not have long to live. This is the only charter of Æthelstan attested by Edmund, the authenticity of which has not been questioned. Æthelstan died childless on 27 October 939 and Edmund's succession to the throne was undisputed. He was the first king to succeed to

16684-403: The first king of all England. He then styled himself in charters as king of the English, and soon afterwards Welsh kings and the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde acknowledged his overlordship. After this, he adopted more grandiose titles such as Rex Totius Britanniae (king of the whole of Britain). In 934 he invaded Scotland and in 937 an alliance of armies of Scotland, Strathclyde and

16856-545: The following churches), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Indian Orthodox Church , and Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The monasteries of St. Macarius ( Deir Abu Makaria ) and St. Anthony ( Deir Mar Antonios ) are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The last years of the 18th century marked in

17028-462: The fourth indiction , having completed five years and seven months of his reign. He was borne to Glastonbury, and buried by the abbot, St Dunstan. The historians Clare Downham and Kevin Halloran dismiss John of Worcester's account and suggest that the king was the victim of a political assassination, but this view has not been accepted by other historians. Like his son Edgar thirty years later, Edmund

17200-531: The fourth century BCE from the practice of vassa , a retreat undertaken by Buddhist monastics during the South Asian wet season . To prevent wandering monks and nuns from disturbing new plant-growth or becoming stranded in inclement weather, they were instructed to remain in a fixed location for the roughly three-month period typically beginning in mid-July. These early fixed vassa retreats took place in pavilions and parks that wealthy supporters had donated to

17372-477: The highly significant fact that the Danes of eastern Mercia, after fifteen years of Æthelstan's government, had come to regard themselves as the rightful subjects of the English king. Above all, it emphasises the antagonism between Danes and Norsemen, which is often ignored by modern writers, but underlies the whole history of England in this period. It is the first political poem in the English language, and its author understood political realities. However, Williams

17544-540: The historian David Dumville 's view there is no reason to doubt that Edmund retained his overlordship over the Welsh kings. In a charter of 944 disposing of land in Devon , Edmund is styled "King of the English and ruler of this British province", suggesting that the former British kingdom of Dumnonia was still not regarded as fully integrated into England, although the historian Simon Keynes "suspects some 'local' interference" in

17716-524: The historian Frank Stenton as "an ignominious surrender". Guthfrithson had coins struck at York with the lower Viking weight than the English standard. Guthfrithson died in 941, allowing Edmund to reverse his losses. In 942, he recovered the Five Boroughs, and his victory was considered so significant that it was commemorated by a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle : Here King Edmund, lord of

17888-513: The honour of Edward's son, protector of warriors, King Edmund. Like other tenth century poems in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , this one shows a concern with English nationalism and the West Saxon royal dynasty, and in this case displays the Christian English and Danes as united under Edmund in their victorious opposition to Norse (Norwegian) pagans. Stenton commented that the poem brings out

18060-549: The institution of "elderhood" in Orthodox Monasticism. Dostoyevsky's understanding of the tradition of elderhood is taken largely from Life of Elder Leonid of Optina by Father Kliment Zeder-gol'm, from which he quotes directly in chapter 5, book 1 of the Brother's Karamazov. Edmund I of England Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He

18232-504: The king decides whether he also loses his life. Scandinavian loan words are not found in Edmund's other codes, and this one may have been particularly aimed at his Danish subjects. In contrast to Edmund's concern about the level of violence, he congratulated his people on their success in suppressing thefts. The code encourages greater local initiative in upholding the law, while emphasising Edmund's royal dignity and authority. The relationship between Anglo-Saxon kings and their leading men

18404-530: The king of Strathclyde blinded, perhaps to deprive their father of throneworthy heirs. Edmund then gave the kingdom to Malcolm I of Scotland in return for a pledge to defend it on land and on sea, a decision variously interpreted by historians. Dumville and Charles-Edwards regard it as granting Strathclyde to the Scottish king in return for an acknowledgement of Edmund's overlordship, whereas Williams thinks it probably means that he agreed to Malcolm's overlordship of

18576-482: The leaders of the reform and they made the abbey the first important centre for disseminating it. Unlike the circle of his son Edgar, Edmund did not take the view that Benedictine monasticism was the only worthwhile religious life, and he also patronised unreformed (non-Benedictine) establishments. In the ninth century the four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Wessex , Mercia , Northumbria and East Anglia came under increasing attack from Vikings , culminating in invasion by

18748-464: The legend of King Arthur , a connection promoted by medieval monks who asserted that Glastonbury was Avalon . Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. Suggestions that Glastonbury may have been a site of religious importance in Celtic or pre-Celtic times are considered dubious by the historian Ronald Hutton , but archaeological investigations by

18920-590: The localities through increased cooperation between all levels of government, and that king and archbishop were working closely together in restructuring the English administrative framework". Trousdale sees a transition which "was marked in part by a small yet significant shift away from a reliance on traditional West Saxon administrative structures and the power blocs that had enjoyed influence under King Æthelstan, towards increased cooperation with interests and families from Mercia and East Anglia". He also sees Edmund as moving away from Æthelstan's centralisation of power to

19092-456: The monastery and set up his episcopal see within the abbey. The monks appealed to Innocent III , the new pope. At first, Innocent took the side of the monks, and lifted Pica's excommunication. While the newest appeal was taking place, Pica and a number of his supporters, who had travelled to Rome to appeal in person, died in Rome in 1200, and some of the monks alleged this was by poison administered on

19264-565: The monastic terms of monastery or priory , in the Latin languages , the term used by the friars for their houses is convent , from the Latin conventus , e.g., ( Italian : convento ) or ( French : couvent ), meaning "gathering place". The Franciscans rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church , both monks and nuns follow

19436-626: The most widely accepted version, Æthelstan's death encouraged the York Vikings to accept the kingship of Anlaf Guthfrithson, the King of Dublin who had led the Viking forces defeated at Brunanburh. According to ASC D : "Here the Northumbrians belied their pledges and chose Anlaf from Ireland as their king." Anlaf was in York by the end of 939 and the following year he invaded north-east Mercia, aiming to recover

19608-545: The national policy." In contrast, Williams describes Edmund as "an energetic and forceful ruler" and Stenton commented that "he proved himself to be both warlike and politically effective", while in Dumville's view, but for his early death "he might yet have been remembered as one of the more remarkable of Anglo-Saxon kings". The historian Ryan Lavelle comments that "a case can be made, as Alaric Trousdale has recently done [in his PhD thesis on Edmund's reign], for assigning Edmund

19780-552: The next decade studying Benedictine texts at Glastonbury, which became the first centre for disseminating monastic reform. Edmund visited the shrine of St Cuthbert in Chester-le-Street church, probably on his way to Scotland in 945. He prayed at the shrine and commended himself and his army to the saint. His men gave 60 pounds to the shrine, and Edmund placed two gold bracelets on the saint's body and wrapped two costly pallia graeca (lengths of Greek cloth) around it. One of

19952-627: The obverse surrounded by a circular inscription including the king's name, and the moneyer 's name horizontally on the reverse. There were also substantial numbers of BC (Bust Crowned) types in East Anglia and the Danish shires; these had a portrait of the king, often crudely drawn, on the obverse. For a period in Æthelstan's reign many coins showed the mint town, but this had become rare by the time of Edmund's accession, except in Norwich, where it continued during

20124-460: The older tomb by chance while removing the earth to bury a certain monk who had expressed strong desire to be buried there. Both Giraldus and Ralph say that the spot lay in between two pyramids in the abbey. William of Malmesbury does not refer to Arthur's tomb but elaborates on the pyramids of varying height, upon which were statues with inscriptions "Her Sexi, and Bliserh ... Pencrest, Bantomp, Pinepegn, etc." Historians today generally dismiss

20296-511: The order of seniority. This practice remained when some monasteries became universities after the first millennium, and can still be seen at Oxford University and Cambridge University . Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of musical notation are attributed to

20468-512: The orders of Savaric. Meanwhile, Innocent had changed his mind, and reinstalled Savaric as abbot, ordering some English clergy to judge the specifics of the case, and allot the revenues of the abbey between Savaric and the monks. Savaric then attempted to secure more control over other monasteries in his diocese, but died before he could set the plans in motion. The bishops continued to use the title Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury until finally renouncing their claim to Glastonbury in 1219. Services in

20640-621: The person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, Sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. Matthew Lewis ' 1796 Gothic Novel The Monk has as parts of its setting both a fictional monastery and nunnery in Spain at the time of the Inquisition . Many have interpreted Lewis' novel as a critique of Catholicism . Jane Austen sets the latter half of her 1818 novel Northanger Abbey in an out of use monastery, reflecting on Henry VIII 's abolition of monasticism in England and

20812-590: The population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself. The Oriental Orthodox churches, distinguished by their Miaphysite beliefs, consist of the Armenian Apostolic Church , Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for

20984-584: The position of head of a temple or monastery sometimes became hereditary, passed from father to son over many generations. Forest monasteries – most commonly found in the Theravada traditions of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka – are monasteries dedicated primarily to the study and cultivation of Buddhist meditation , rather than to scholarship or ceremonial duties. Forest monasteries often function like early Christian monasteries, with small groups of monks living an essentially hermit-like life gathered loosely around

21156-473: The practice ceased abruptly, apart from one further donation. The significance of the donations is uncertain, but the most likely explanation is that in the mid-tenth century some religious aristocratic women were granted the estates so that they could choose how to pursue their vocation, whether by establishing a nunnery or living a religious life in their own homes. In the reign of Edmund's son Edgar, Æthelwold and his circle insisted that Benedictine monasticism

21328-486: The reconsecrated Great Church had begun on Christmas Day, 1213, most likely before it was entirely completed. King Edward I and Queen Eleanor attended the magnificent service at the reburial of King Arthur's remains to the foot of the High Altar in 1278. In the 14th century, only Westminster Abbey was more richly endowed and appointed than Glastonbury. The abbot of Glastonbury kept great estate, now attested to simply by

21500-457: The relatives of the victim. If no wergeld is paid, the killer has to bear the feud, but attacks on him are forbidden in churches and royal manor houses. If the killer's kin abandon him and refuse to contribute to a wergeld and to protect him, then it is the king's will that they are to be exempt from the feud: any of the victim's kin taking vengeance on them shall incur the hostility of the king and his friends and shall lose all their possessions. In

21672-461: The relics of important Northumbrian saints such as Aidan south to Glastonbury Abbey. Another sign of the religious revival was the number of aristocratic women who adopted a religious life. Several received grants from Edmund, including a nun called Ælfgyth, who was a patron of Wilton Abbey , and Wynflæd, the mother of Edmund's first wife. Æthelstan had granted two estates to religious women, Edmund made seven such grants and Eadred four. After this

21844-777: The religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Christian monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research, which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities. Monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration. Buddhist monasteries, known as vihāra in Pali and in Sanskrit , emerged sometime around

22016-413: The royal house) is given such a prominent role – and praised for his heroism alongside Æthelstan – that the historian Simon Walker has suggested that the poem was written during Edmund's reign. At a royal assembly shortly before Æthelstan's death in 939, Edmund and Eadred attested a grant to their full sister, Eadburh, both as regis frater (king's brother). Their attestations may have been because of

22188-465: The ruins of the Abbot's Kitchen , with four huge fireplaces at its corners. The kitchen was part of the magnificent abbot's house begun under Abbot John de Breynton (1334–42). It is one of the best preserved medieval kitchens in Europe, and the only substantial monastic building surviving at Glastonbury. Archaeological excavations have revealed a special apartment erected at the south end of the abbot's house for

22360-635: The same design, which may suggest joint authority. In 944, Edmund expelled the Viking rulers of York and seized control of the city with the assistance of Archbishop Wulfstan, who had previously supported the Vikings, and an ealdorman in Mercia, probably Æthelmund, who had been appointed by Edmund in 940. When Edmund died, his successor Eadred faced further revolts in Northumbria, which were not finally defeated until 954. In Miller's view, Edmund's reign "shows clearly that although Æthelstan had conquered Northumbria, it

22532-420: The southern territories of the York kingdom which had been conquered by Edward and Æthelflæd. He marched on Northampton , where he was repulsed, and then stormed the ancient Mercian royal centre of Tamworth , with considerable loss of life on both sides. On his way back north he was caught at Leicester by an army under Edmund, but battle was averted by the mediation of Archbishop Wulfstan of York , on behalf of

22704-626: The suffix "-terion" denotes a "place for doing something". The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, ch. III. In England, the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular , which were communal but not monastic. However, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster . Westminster Abbey

22876-533: The supports of the central square tower. Other fragments of structures which remain include portions of the outer walls of the chancel aisles and the 14th century retroquire . There is also surviving stonework from the south nave aisle wall, west front and the Galilee along with its crypt linked to St Mary's Chapel. The Lady Chapel, from which the walls survive, was described in 1478 as being 34 yards (31 m) in length and 8 yards (7.3 m) wide. The Abbot's Kitchen

23048-565: The surrounding land and was instrumental in major drainage projects on the Somerset Levels . The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England . The last abbot, Richard Whiting (Whyting), was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor in 1539. From at least the 12th century, the Glastonbury area has been associated with

23220-412: The throne of all England, and was probably crowned at Kingston-upon-Thames , perhaps on Advent Sunday , 1 December 939. Brunanburh saved England from destruction as a united kingdom, and it helped to ensure that Edmund would succeed smoothly to the throne, but it did not preserve him from challenges to his rule once he became king. The chronology of the Viking challenge is disputed, but according to

23392-416: The time of his accession to the throne, as their second son was born in 943. Their sons Eadwig and Edgar both became kings of England. Ælfgifu's father is not known, but her mother is identified by a charter of Edgar which confirms a grant by his grandmother Wynflæd of land to Shaftesbury Abbey . Ælfgifu was also a benefactor of Shaftesbury Abbey; when she died in 944 she was buried there and venerated as

23564-412: The town serving large parts of Somerset and including parts of neighbouring counties. Tithe barns were built to hold the crops due to the abbey including those at Doulting , Mells and Pilton . At the start of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, there were over 850 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England. By 1541, there were none. More than 15,000 monks and nuns had been dispersed and

23736-412: The traditions involved and the local climate, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime. Life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products; by donations or alms ; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within

23908-532: The unmistakably specific inscription Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arturius in insula Avalonia ("Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon "). According to Giraldus, the digging for the tomb was prompted by the intelligence obtained by Henry II from an "aged British (Welsh) bard" ( Latin : historico cantore Britone audierat antiquo ). On the other hand, Ralph of Coggeshall writing somewhat later, states more prosaically that they came upon

24080-422: The use of unusual words. Ben Snook describes the charters as "impressive literary works", and like much of the writing of the period their style displays the influence of Aldhelm , a leading scholar and early eighth century bishop of Sherborne . The only coin in common use in the tenth century was the penny . The main coin designs in Edmund's reign were H (Horizontal) types, with a cross or other decoration on

24252-433: The variety of Anglo-Saxon legal texts", but he sees what they have in common as more important, especially a heightened rhetorical tone which extends to treating murder as an affront to the royal person. The historian Alaric Trousdale sees "explicit funding of local administrative institutions and the greater empowerment of local officials in the application of the law" as original contributions of Edmund's legislation. Edmund

24424-535: The very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church: One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Mount Athos in Greece , which, like Vatican City , is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today

24596-429: The view of the historian Dorothy Whitelock the need for legislation to control the feud was partly due to the influx of Danish settlers who believed that it was more manly to pursue a vendetta than to settle a dispute by accepting compensation. Several Scandinavian loan words are first recorded in this code, such as hamsocn , the crime of attacking a homestead; the penalty is loss of all the offender's property, while

24768-427: The weavers remained until they were removed in the reign of Queen Mary . In 1559 Elizabeth I of England granted the site to Peter Carew , and it remained in private ownership until the beginning of the 20th century. Further stones were removed in the 17th century, so that by the beginning of the 18th century the abbey was described as a ruin. The only building to survive intact is the Abbot's Kitchen , which served as

24940-414: The wording of Edmund's title. By 945, both Scotland and Strathclyde had kings who had assumed the throne since Brunanburh, and it is likely that whereas Scotland allied with England, Strathclyde held to its alliance with the Vikings. In that year Edmund ravaged Strathclyde. According to the thirteenth century chronicler Roger of Wendover , the invasion was supported by Hywel Dda, and Edmund had two sons of

25112-453: Was a danger that subjects would become over-powerful: the kings following Æthelstan came to the throne young and had short reigns, and the families of Æthelstan 'Half-King' and Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia , developed unassailable positions. In the view of Cyril Hart: "For the whole of his brief reign, the young king Edmund remained strongly under the influence of his mother Eadgifu and the "Half King", who between them must have decided much of

25284-421: Was a gradual revival from Alfred's time onwards. This accelerated during Æthelstan's reign, and two leaders of the later tenth-century English Benedictine Reform , Dunstan and Æthelwold , reached maturity in Æthelstan's cosmopolitan, intellectual court of the 930s. Edmund's father, Edward the Elder, had three wives, eight or nine daughters, several of whom married Continental royalty, and five sons. Æthelstan

25456-435: Was a nun at Winchester who was later venerated as a saint. The twelfth-century historian William of Malmesbury gives Edmund a second full sister who married Louis, prince of Aquitaine; she was called Eadgifu, the same name as her mother. William's account is accepted by the historians Ann Williams and Sean Miller, but Æthelstan's biographer Sarah Foot argues that she did not exist, and that William confused her with Ælfgifu,

25628-478: Was accepted as King of York and extended Viking rule to the Five Boroughs of north-east Mercia . Edmund was initially forced to accept the reverse, the first major setback for the West Saxon dynasty since Alfred's reign, but he was able to recover his position following Anlaf's death in 941. In 942, Edmund took back control of the Five Boroughs and in 944 he regained control over the whole of England when he expelled

25800-443: Was also an active legislator, and three of his codes survive. Provisions include ones which attempt to regulate feuds and emphasise the sanctity of the royal person. The major religious movement of the tenth century, the English Benedictine Reform , reached its peak under Edgar, but Edmund's reign was important in its early stages. He appointed Dunstan abbot of Glastonbury , where he was joined by Æthelwold . They were to be two of

25972-556: Was also very influential. For the first half of 940, there were no changes in the attestations of ealdormen compared with the end of Æthelstan's reign, but later in the year the number of ealdormen was doubled from four to eight, with three of the new ealdormen covering Mercian districts. There was an increased reliance on the family of Æthelstan Half-King, which was enriched by grants in 942. The appointments may have been part of Edmund's measures to deal with Anlaf's incursion. Eadgifu and Eadred attested many of Edmund's charters, showing

26144-435: Was both nephew and brother-in-law of Otto, while Otto and Edmund were brothers-in-law. There were almost certainly extensive diplomatic contacts between Edmund and Continental rulers which have not been recorded, but it is known that Otto sent delegations to Edmund's court. In the early 940s, some Norman lords sought the help of the Danish prince Harald against Louis, and in 945 Harald captured Louis and handed him to Hugh

26316-462: Was built between 1829 and 1830 by John Buckler from the stones of the abbey ruins for John Fry Reeves . It was altered and extended between 1850 and 1860, with further alterations in 1957. William of Malmesbury suggested that relics relating to others, including the following, were deposited at Glastonbury: A specimen of common hawthorn found at Glastonbury, first mentioned in an early 16th-century anonymous metrical Lyfe of Joseph of Arimathea,

26488-551: Was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. The location may have reflected its spiritual prestige and royal endorsement of the monastic reform movement, but as his death was unexpected it is more likely that Dunstan was successful in claiming the body. His sons were still young children, so he was succeeded as king by his brother Eadred, who was in turn succeeded by Edmund's elder son Eadwig in 955. Historians' views of Edmund's character and record differ widely. The historian Barbara Yorke comments that when substantial powers were delegated there

26660-640: Was dismissed by Bishop Armitage Robinson in 1921, because of his use of seances and psychic archaeology but is remembered as the man who "galvanised our cultural understanding of Glastonbury". A pilgrimage to the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey was held by a few local churches in 1924. Pilgrimages continue today to be held; in the second half of June for the Anglicans and early in July for the Catholics and they attract visitors from all over Western Europe. Services are celebrated in

26832-474: Was dispersed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Around 40 of the manuscripts from Glastonbury are known to have survived after the dissolution. Within the abbey wall is Abbey House, which was used by the Diocese of Bath and Wells as a retreat house from 1931 until 2018. It is now occasionally open to the public for special events and provides additional administration space for the Abbey. The Tudor Gothic house

27004-591: Was for a short time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation , and its Chapter preserves elements of the Benedictine tradition. See the entry cathedral . They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St George's Chapel, Windsor . The term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism , there

27176-413: Was given by Giraldus Cambrensis in his De principis instructione ("Instruction of a Prince", c. 1193) and recollected in his Speculum Ecclesiae , c. 1216 according to which the abbot, Henry de Sully , commissioned a search, discovering at the depth of 16 feet (5 m) a massive hollowed oak trunk containing two skeletons. Above it, under the covering stone, according to Giraldus, was a lead cross with

27348-484: Was important in a society which had limited coercive power to punish law breaking and disloyalty. The military historian Richard Abels argues that "all" ( omnes ) shall swear does not mean literally all, but should be understood to mean those men qualified to take oaths administered by royal reeves at shire courts , that is the middling and great landholders, and that Edmund's oath united his diverse peoples by binding them all to him personally. The emphasis on lordship

27520-510: Was interred at Glastonbury. In 1016 Edmund Ironside , who had lost England to Canute but held onto the title of King of Wessex , was also buried there. Cnut's charter of 1032 was "written and promulgated in the wooden church at Glastonbury, in the king's presence". The medieval Glastonbury Canal was built about the middle of the 10th century to link the abbey with the River Brue , a distance of about 1.75 kilometres (1,900 yd). Its purpose

27692-398: Was killed in a brawl with an outlaw at Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire , and he was succeeded by his younger brother Eadred , who died in 955 and was followed by Edmund's sons in succession. Æthelstan had succeeded as the king of England south of the Humber and he became the first king of all England when he conquered Viking -ruled York in 927, but after his death Anlaf Guthfrithson

27864-496: Was later created by Ammonas in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services. It was Pachomius the Great who developed the idea of cenobitic monasticism : having renunciates live together and worship together under the same roof. Some attribute his mode of communal living to the barracks of the Roman Army in which Pachomios served as

28036-458: Was more careful and its accounts of " Phagan " and " Deruvian ", along with various passages about Arthur , were later additions meant to bolster the monks' case. Early drainage work on the Somerset Levels was carried out in the later years of the 12th century, with the responsibility for maintaining all the watercourses between Glastonbury and the sea being placed on named individuals among whom were Ralph de Sancta Barbara of Brentmarsh. In 1129,

28208-579: Was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours – Matins , Lauds , Prime , Terce , daily Mass, Sext , None , Vespers , and Compline . In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees. The main meal of

28380-730: Was personal; kings were lords and protectors in return for pledges of loyalty and obedience, and this is spelled out in terms based on Carolingian legislation for the first time in III Edmund, issued at Colyton in Devon. This requires that "all shall swear in the name of the Lord, before whom that holy thing is holy, that they will be faithful to King Edmund, even as it behooves a man to be faithful to his lord, without any dispute or dissension, openly or in secret, favouring what he favours and discountenancing what he discountenances." The threat of divine retribution

28552-448: Was promulgated at a council in London convened by Edmund and attended by archbishops Oda and Wulfstan. The code is very similar to "Constitutions" previously promulgated by Oda. Uncelibate clerics were threatened with the loss of property and forbidden burial in consecrated ground, and there were also provisions regarding church dues and the restoration of church property . A clause forbidding

28724-401: Was still not really part of a united England, nor would it be until the end of Eadred's reign". The Northumbrians' repeated revolts show that they retained separatist ambitions, which they only abandoned under pressure from successive southern kings. Unlike Æthelstan, Edmund and Eadred rarely claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Britain, although each did sometimes describe himself as 'king of

28896-467: Was succeeded as king of York by his cousin, Anlaf Sihtricson , who was baptised in 943 with Edmund as his godfather, suggesting that he accepted West Saxon overlordship. Sihtricson issued his own coinage, but he clearly had rivals in York as coins were also issued there in two other names: Ragnall , a brother of Anlaf Guthfrithson who also accepted baptism under Edmund's sponsorship, and an otherwise unknown Sihtric. The coins of all three men were issued with

29068-425: Was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu , and a grandson of King Alfred the Great . After Edward died in 924, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Edmund's half-brother Æthelstan . Edmund was crowned after Æthelstan died childless in 939. He had two sons, Eadwig and Edgar , by his first wife Ælfgifu , and none by his second wife Æthelflæd . His sons were young children when he

29240-553: Was the only known son of Edward's first wife, Ecgwynn . His second wife, Ælfflæd , had two sons: Ælfweard , who may have been acknowledged in Wessex as king when his father died in 924 but who died less than a month later, and Edwin , who drowned in 933. In about 919, Edward married Eadgifu , the daughter of Sigehelm, ealdorman of Kent . Edmund, who was born in 920 or 921, was Eadgifu's elder son. Her younger son Eadred succeeded him as king. Edmund had one or two full sisters. Eadburh

29412-540: Was the only worthwhile form of religious life, but this was not the view of earlier kings such as Edmund. He was concerned to support religion, but was not committed to a particular ideology of religious development. In his grants, he continued Æthelstan's policies. When Gérard of Brogne reformed the Abbey of Saint Bertin by imposing the Benedictine rule in 944, monks who rejected the changes fled to England and Edmund gave them

29584-463: Was unusual in that it flowered twice in a year, once as normal on "old wood" in spring, and once on "new wood" (the current season's matured new growth) in the winter. This tree has been widely propagated by grafting or cuttings, with the cultivar name 'Biflora' or 'Praecox'. The custom of sending a budded branch of the Glastonbury thorn to the Queen at Christmas was initiated by James Montague , Bishop of Bath and Wells during James I's reign, who sent

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