The Division of the Mensa in Early English Monasteries

Bibliographic Data

ID10078738
AuthorsEric John (University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year1955
Volume6
Issue2
Pages143-155
Publication date1955-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Ecclesiastical History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0469 • E-ISSN: 1469-7637
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022046900069657
OpenAlexW2117856654
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited5

A study of the division of the mensa in early medieval English monasteries must involve a tedious and detailed investigation of what most people will rightly regard as the mere externals of monastic life. But the topic is not without its importance for the study of the inner life of the early religious community and for the study of early medieval social and economic problems in general. Professor Knowles has doubted the existence of an effective division of the mensa in the English religious houses before the time of Rufus and Henry I. He calls the division the ‘feudalization of the abbot's position’ and he ascribes its origin to ‘the claim of the king...to hold and enjoy the revenues of a vacant abbey. To avoid this, the abbey's lands and income were divided between the abbot and community’. He considers that the effect of this division on the life of the community was considerable because it brought about the virtual separation of the abbot from the rest of the community. It created ‘a private household of servants and officials and, ultimately separate quarters in which they and the abbot lived...’

Arithmetic · Division (mathematics · Division of labour · Economics · Genealogy · Political science · Position (finance · Religious life · Revenue · Sociology · Classics · History · Law · Mathematics · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub