The Monastic Rules of Visigothic Iberia - eTheses Repository ...

In this sense, the monastic rules are clear that monasteries were, to some extent, self-
regulating, and decisions on punishment or community matters were made internally. In
some cases, the right to settle matters internally had been decreed by the Church councils.
The Council of Lérida in 524, for example, recognised the rights of a monastic founder, 100
and the Ninth Council of Toledo in 655, had acknowledged a founder‟s right to present an
abbot. 101 In general, spiritual authority was focussed on the abbot, who needed to be a figure
that would instil through his example the praecepta of the Fathers; all three of the monastic
rules are keen to emphasise that an abbot should be of outstanding and proven moral
character. 102 The abbot was also the supreme head of a monastery, with the Common Rule
suggesting that monks should be “obedientes [...] abbati usque ad mortem‖. 103 The spiritual
power of the abbot in the community is hinted at by the Common Rule, which complains that
those monasteries which were “uulgares et ignari” elected similarly debauched abbots who
could legitimise their actions through their blessings. 104 Moreover, obedience was owed to
any monk who was an elder due to their spiritual authority.
As a functioning community, a monastery also required pragmatic legislative
structures; since large parts of the monastic rules are taken up with punishments for monks
who behaved inappropriately, it seems probable that legislative matters had to be frequently
enforced. Indeed, Visigothic Iberia is well-known for its law-making, and the authors of the
100 Canon 3.
101 Canon 2.
102 For example: Common Rule 10, “talem sibi consuetudinem debent facere abbates ut omnem
cupiditatem et auaritiam a se radicitus arceantur”.
103 Common Rule 5.
104 Common Rule 1, “Ac qualiter haec disrumpant in prima dudum conuersatione excogitant, et
uulgares et ignari cum sint, talem praeesse sibi abbatem desiderant ut ubi se uoluerint conuertere
quasi cum benedictione suas uoluntates faciant”.
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