Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

of the council of Tours cannot but suggest the variety of forms of dedicated life in the
region. On the one hand, there is concern over the failure of monks to live out the ideals
of the Rule of Benedict adequately, but no such concerns over nuns. On the other, the
council appears particularly concerned with the quality of women being veiled as Deo
devotae, but seems perfectly satisfied that such women might live in their homes outside
the walls of established monasteries. The overriding impression is of a council concerned
that dedicated men and women should be adhering to the highest ideals of their chosen
lifestyle, but with no particular worry over what form that lifestyle should take.
Progressing to the north-east, the council of Reims was much more concerned
with the lifestyles of male religious than with their female counterparts. It includes the
illuminating ruling that monachi and canonici were not allowed to frequent taverns. 41 On
a more serious note, both canons and monks were reminded to read canonical works and
the Rule of Benedict respectively to ensure that their lifestyles adhered to the standards
set therein. 42 The only concern regarding nuns to be set down by this council was of a
quite different nature. As with the council of Tours, no particular mention is made of any
distinct types of dedicated women; here, they are all described as puellae and
sanctimoniales. As in the council of Arles, the canon deals with the economic issues of
sustaining a religious community. 43 In this case, an appeal is made to Charlemagne to
help sustain female communities, who by virtue of the ‘fragility of their sex’ are at
greater risk of hardship. 44 The emperor’s help was sought because the problem for
women was so acute. Female communities were generally smaller than men’s, and there
could be a basis here for the argument that there was a general shift towards favouring
male religious houses for making endowments, resulting in the decline or eradication of
Generalis (789; can. XLVI), MGH Capit. I, 57, and at the council of Frankfurt (794; can. XLVI), MGH
Conc. II: I, 170.
41 Reims (813), can. XXVI.
42 Reims (813), can. VIII: Lecti sunt sancti canones, ut quisque canonicus legem vitamque suam minime
ignoraret, quod omnimodis non expedit, sicut in decretali legitur Innocentii. Can. IX: Lecta est regula
sancti Benedicti, ut ad memoriam reduceret abbatibus minus scientibus, si qui forte adfuerint, qualiter et se
et suos secundum eandem regulam custodire valerent atque gubernare.
43 Reims (813), can. XXXIII; Arles (813), can. VIII.
44 Reims (813), can. XXXIII: De monasteriis puellarum considerandum est et domni [sic] imperatoris
misericordia imploranda, ut victum et necessaria a sibi praelatis consequi possint sanctaemoniales [sic], et
vita illarum et castitas secundum fragilitatis sexum diligenter provisa tueatur.
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