Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

‘mixed rules’ of the seventh century. 33 This was in the foundation of Chamalières, near
Clermont, in the mid-seventh century, which was made under the auspices of Praejectus
(d.676), bishop of Clermont. Chapter 15 of the Passio Praeiecti may be quoted at some
length: 34
‘[Praejectus] energetically began to offer to the aforesaid Count Genesius
this wholesome advice: that as he had no descendant to make his legal
heir, he should adopt the stainless, unmarked Church. It did not take this
illustrious man long to accept the advice. He arose to build with unsparing
effort and endeavour a monastery of holy virgins in a suburb of the
aforesaid town [Clermont] in a place called Chamalières, and the
monastery followed the rule of all the holy men, that is, St Benedict, St
Caesarius and St Columbanus. With the greatest eagerness, of that
monastery he put in charge the aforementioned Evodius to exercise the
norms of faith and religion and the keeping of mortifications, and he made
over for their need there some of his goods obtained by law. Moreover the
holy bishop Praejectus also instituted there as abbess a certain woman of
distinguished family called Gundilena who since adolescence had
delighted in putting all her energies to Christian use.’ 35
Although the author of the Passio is unknown, it is probable that knowledge of the rule in
use at the monastery of Chamalières was either first-hand or from someone equally
versed in monastic rules. Fouracre and Gerberding note the strong possibility that a nun
of Chamalières composed the Passio, particularly since the information on Praejectus’
early life seems to have been supplied by the abbess Gundilena, probably a member of
33 These rules are discussed in C.H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism 3 rd ed. (Harlow, 2001), at 46-7. See
also the comments of Adalbert de Vogüé in his Les Règles Monastiques Anciennes (400-700) Typologie
des Sources 46 (Turnhout, 1985), at 39.
34 Passio Praeiecti MGH SSRM 5 212-248; tr. P. Fouracre and R.A. Gerberding (eds.) Late Merovingian
France: History and Hagiography 640-720 (Manchester, 1996) 255 – 301.
35 Quotation from Fouracre and Gerberding (eds.), Late Merovingian France, at 284-5. Gundilena shares
the same name element as Praejectus’ father Gundolenus. The new abbess therefore probably came from
Praejectus’ own family; see ibid., 285, n. 92.
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