On this page
The Rule of St. Benedict was the foundational document of Western monasticism, and it shaped the religious life of medieval Europe for centuries. Written by Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–547) in the sixth century, the Rule provided a comprehensive guide for the life of the monk, and it gradually displaced the earlier monastic rules to become the standard rule for Western monks. The Rule emphasized the principles of stability (the monk was to remain in one monastery for life), obedience (to the abbot), and conversion of manners (a comprehensive commitment to monastic life). The Rule organized the daily life of the monk around the Divine Office and the manual work of the fields, the workshop, and the library.
The critical edition of the Rule is the Corpus Consuetudinum Monasticarum (Siegburg, 1963–), with the English translation of Timothy Fry, OSB (The Rule of St Benedict in English, Collegeville, 1981). C. H. Lawrence, “Medieval Monasticism” (1984), is the standard modern treatment.
The Author and the Context
Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–547) was born into a noble Roman family in the region of Nursia (modern Norcia) in central Italy. As a young man, he abandoned the secular world and retired to a cave near Subiaco, where he lived as a hermit for several years. His reputation for holiness and wisdom attracted disciples, and he eventually founded a series of monasteries in the region. The most famous of his monasteries was Monte Cassino, founded in c. 529 on a hilltop between Rome and Naples, where he wrote the Rule that bears his name.
The Rule was written in a period of crisis for the Roman world. The Western Roman Empire had collapsed in 476, and the Italian peninsula was subject to the invasions of the Goths, the Lombards, and other peoples. The monasteries of the period were often disorganized and degraded, and the need for a comprehensive rule that could guide the monastic life was acute. Benedict’s Rule was designed to meet this need, and it provided a practical and spiritual framework for the monastic life that was flexible enough to be adapted to a wide variety of circumstances.
The Content of the Rule
The Rule of St. Benedict is a relatively short document — it consists of a prologue and 73 chapters — and it is written in a clear and practical style. The Rule is organized around the principles of stability, obedience, and conversion of manners, and it covers every aspect of monastic life, from the election of the abbot to the care of the sick to the reception of guests.
The Rule is divided into several major sections. The first section (chapters 1–3) deals with the kinds of monks and the calling of the monk. The second section (chapters 4–7) deals with the tools of good works and the discipline of the monk. The third section (chapters 8–20) deals with the Divine Office and the psalms. The fourth section (chapters 21–30) deals with the discipline of the monk and the correction of faults. The fifth section (chapters 31–42) deals with the organization of the monastery and the roles of the abbot and the prior. The sixth section (chapters 43–57) deals with the work of the monk and the care of the goods of the monastery. The seventh section (chapters 58–73) deals with the reception of guests, the care of the sick, and the return to God.
The Daily Life of the Monk
The Rule organized the daily life of the monk around the Divine Office and the manual work of the monastery. The Divine Office was the recitation of the psalms and prayers at eight fixed hours of the day and night — Matins (before dawn), Lauds (at dawn), Prime (early morning), Terce (mid-morning), Sext (noon), None (mid-afternoon), Vespers (early evening), and Compline (before bed). The monk attended all of the hours of the Divine Office in the church of the monastery, and the Divine Office was the central activity of the monastic day.
The manual work of the monastery was the other major activity of the monastic day. The monk worked in the fields, the workshop, the library, the kitchen, and the infirmary of the monastery, and the work was intended to provide for the needs of the monastery and to occupy the monk in useful labor. The Rule emphasized the dignity of manual work and the importance of work as a form of prayer.
The Rule also prescribed the diet of the monk — two meals a day, with meat forbidden except for the sick and the weak — and the clothing of the monk — a tunic, a cowl (hood), and sandals for the summer, with extra clothing for the winter. The Rule also prescribed the sleep of the monk — the monk slept in a common dormitory, with adequate sleep for the performance of manual work and the attendance at the Divine Office.
The Abbot and the Community
The abbot was the head of the monastic community, and the Rule prescribed the qualities of the abbot and the duties of his office. The abbot was elected by the monks of the monastery and served for life, and he was accountable to God for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the community. The abbot was expected to be a model of monastic virtue — wise, humble, patient, discerning — and to govern the community with a mixture of firmness and compassion.
The abbot was assisted in the government of the monastery by a prior — a senior monk who assisted the abbot in the administration of the community — and by the deans — senior monks who supervised the various groups of monks in the monastery. The abbot also appointed the various officials of the monastery — the cellarer (responsible for the food and clothing of the monks), the infirmarian (responsible for the sick), the guest-master (responsible for the guests), the sacristan (responsible for the church and the sacred vessels), and others.
The community of the monastery was a brotherhood of monks who had sworn to live together in the service of God for the rest of their lives. The community was governed by the Rule and by the abbot, and the community participated in the decisions of the monastery through the chapter — the gathering of the monks of the monastery for the discussion of matters of common concern. The chapter was a major institution of the monastic community, and it was a place where the monks could participate in the government of the monastery.
The Spread of the Rule
The Rule of St. Benedict gradually displaced the earlier monastic rules in Western Europe over the course of the seventh to the ninth centuries. The Rule was promoted by the Carolingian rulers, who saw the Benedictine monasteries as important institutions of royal government and religious reform. The Council of Aachen in 817, under the emperor Louis the Pious, made the Benedictine Rule the standard rule for all monasteries in the Carolingian Empire, and the Benedictine Rule gradually became the standard rule for Western monks.
The Rule was adapted and modified by the various reform movements of the central and late Middle Ages. The Cluniac reform of the tenth century, the Cistercian reform of the late eleventh century, the Carthusian reform of the late eleventh century, and the various reform movements of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries all drew on the Benedictine Rule and adapted it to their specific circumstances. The Benedictine Rule remained the foundation of Western monasticism until the modern period, and it continues to shape the religious life of the Benedictine monasteries to the present day.
The Legacy of the Rule
The legacy of the Benedictine Rule is immense. The Rule provided a practical and spiritual framework for the monastic life that was flexible enough to be adapted to a wide variety of circumstances, and it shaped the religious life of the Western Church for centuries. The Rule was a major contribution to the development of Western civilization, and it influenced the development of education, agriculture, architecture, art, music, and literature in the medieval world.
The Benedictine Rule continues to shape the religious life of the Catholic Church in the modern world. The Benedictine monasteries of Europe, America, and other parts of the world continue to follow the Rule of St. Benedict, and the Benedictine Rule is considered a foundational document of Western monasticism. The Benedictine Rule is also a major subject of academic study, and the scholarship on the Benedictine Rule is a major field of medieval studies.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (Longman, 1984).
Further reading:
- André Vauchez, La Spiritualité du Moyen Âge occidental (1975).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).