Abbatial Vacancies and the Divided Mensa in Medieval England

It is widely accepted that the separation of property between abbot and monks in the great English Benedictine abbeys may largely be blamed upon William Rufus. The hypothesis is a coherent one. Rufus asserted, ‘brutally and unjustly’, a claim to hold and enjoy the revenues of abbeys of royal patronage when the abbot died. A firm separation of property, with the development of the obedientiary system as its counterpart, has been seen as arising and hardening in response to the pressures of royal custody in vacancies. Separation, it is said, came about ‘on a grand scale’ in the reign of Henry i immediately following the spoliation of vacant abbeys by his brother, until by the mid-twelfth century the system of separated portions was ‘firmly and completely established in all the great houses’. When the properties were divided the abbot would support himself and his household of knights, officials and servants from his portion and those properties alone would fall under the control of royal officers during a vacancy

Ancient history · Brother · Economics · Political science · Politics · Reign · Revenue · Finance · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Medieval and Early Modern Justice · Medieval Literature and History

• Traditionalism and Continuity during the Last Century of Anglo-Saxon Monasticism

  Open Access•Antonia Gransden•The Journal of Ecclesiastical…•1989

  Añadir item

• Oxford Medieval Texts

  Battle Abbey, Eleanor Searle•The chronicle of Battle Abbey•1980

  Añadir item

• The Monastic Order in England

  Open Access•Dom David Knowles•Monastic Order in England•1963

  Añadir item

• King John's Reaction to the Interdict on England

  Open Access•C R Cheney•Transactions of the Royal…•1949

  Añadir item

• The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I

  Open Access•M s, Frederick Pollock et al.•Political Science Quarterly•1902

  Añadir item

• Abingdon Abbey Administration

  Open Access•GABRIELLE LAMBRICK•The Journal of Ecclesiastical…•1966

  Añadir item

• The Division of the Mensa in Early English Monasteries

  Open Access•Eric John•The Journal of Ecclesiastical…•1955

  Añadir item

• An Episcopal Land-Grant of 1085

  V H Galbraith•The English Historical Review•1929

  Añadir item

• Lanfranc's Alleged Division of Lands between Archbishop and Community 1

  B W KISSAN•The English Historical Review•1939

  Añadir item

• English Monastic Finances in the Later Middle Ages

  Wm Ashley, R H Snape•The Economic Journal•1926

  Añadir item

• The Chronicle of Battle Abbey

  M T Clanchy, Eleanor Searle•American Journal of Legal History•1981

  Añadir item

• Lordship and Community

  A R Bridbury, Eleanor Searle•The Economic History Review•1975

  Añadir item