Church as landholder
On occasion they also acted as crown officials in the locality. The most extreme example is that of the Bishop of Durham, who was the head of an entire county palatinate, and operated a Chancery, Exchequer and law courts that were entirely separate to the royal equivalent that existed throughout the rest of the country. This unusual situation arose after the Conquest, when only the Bishop could retain the loyalty of the local population.
'The ruins that remain fail to give a realistic impression of the monastic contribution to art, learning, literature and ... history ...'
But most monasteries were associated with a more altruistic role in society. Within the monastic compound were houses specifically built to offer hospitality for travellers, especially on pilgrimage routes. Care of the sick and poor was administered on site as well. It was seen as part of the monastic duty, and bishops often sent commissioners round on visitations to check that these were being fulfilled.
Similarly, monasteries were integral to medieval education. The ruins that remain fail to give a realistic impression of the monastic contribution to art, learning, literature and the writing of history, all of which took place within the walls of many monasteries.
Historians talk of 'chronicles' as one of the main sources for political, social and economic information. And it was monks who were responsible for writing the vast majority of these, which were also often beautifully illuminated works of art. Monasteries also became centres of education for those who wished to learn how to read and write, and younger sons of large families often found a monastic career preferable to a life without land or inheritance.
Published: 2005-02-02
