Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

772 25. monasticism
the role of Gregory the Great in making Benedict more widely known,
especially in the second book of his Dialogues. Both investigations have
questioned, in a sense, the originality of Benedict; but the answers given
have shown at once the traditional nature of his contribution and the particular
qualities that mark his genius and lasting significance.
There is now widespread agreement that Benedict drew heavily upon the
Regula magistri, which was probably written in the vicinity of Rome during
the first quarter of the sixth century. By that time, ascetic developments in
southern Gaul were well-known in Italy, and political and ecclesiastical
events – the Ostrogothic settlement and the attempts to solve the Acacian
schism – were encouraging new relationships between the eastern and
western sectors of the empire, represented at the ascetic level, for example,
by the Latin Life of Pachomius written by Dionysius Exiguus, himself an
easterner. So, when Sigismund of Burgundy presided over the foundation
of the monastery of St Maurice at Agaune in 515, eastern relics were
installed and elements adopted from the liturgical practice of the Acœmitæ
in Constantinople, while prescriptions were borrowed from the heirs of
the Lérins tradition. The monastery was destined to exert considerable
influence during the century and more to follow. 98
The unknown ‘Master’ of the Regula magistri was intent upon preserving
a detailed system, thoroughly protected against the world around it, in
which the common dormitory, refectory and oratory, together with a
garden and outhouses, were surrounded by a wall. Other types of ascetic
community, more open, more loosely structured and more mobile (and
presumably still common), were severely criticized. 99 An abbot, two subordinate
and equal superiors, a cellarer, a porter and weekly teams with
domestic duties were described in terms not unlike those of Pachomius;
but hierarchy was valued for its own sake, based on secular models. 100 An
immensely detailed liturgy departed quite significantly from the customs of
Lérins, with great stress on reading and meditatio – ancient qualities reflected
also in the single daily meal. The ‘Master’ appeared to accept clear divisions
in the community, based on literary and technical skill, although he seems
to have been aware that the monastery might thereby encourage within its
own walls the social divisions of the secular world. 101 The features that distinguish
this rule most famously are its careful submission to the authority
of the bishop, 102 and its emphasis within the monastery on the submission
of pupil to teacher. The very title of ‘master’ displays that preference. The
98 The Acœomitæ had long had a reputation for attachment to western views of orthodoxy. Among
other later impressions, see Greg. Tur. Hist. iii.5f. For links with Lérins and the Jura, see De Vogüé
(1982) 439f., 447; Theurillat (1954) and Masai (1971).
99 Regula magistri (ed. A. de Vogüé, 3 vols.) (SChrét.) 105–7)) i.13, lxi and lxxviii express typical and
detailed caution. 100 See, for example, Regula magistri xi.5f. 101 Regula magistri l.72, 76f.
102 Most clearly formulated in relation to the abbot, Regula magistri xciii.
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