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Definition:
The monastery at Cluny, established by Duke William of Aquitaine in 909, was the locus for
some of the most important monatic reforms during the Middle Ages. At the time, much of the
church had fallen into various forms of corruption - often due to excessive entanglements
with secular rulers. William, however, had made sure that the monastery at Cluny would
be independent from outside influences and installed a reform-minded abbot, Berno,
to lead it.
Over the following centuries many different reforms were advanced - although many seemed relatively simple or minor at the outset. Members were required to return to a more strict adherence to the Benedictine rule while other duties were simplified. They also worked to get other clergy to be celibate - giving up both wives and concubines whom they already had. Finally, a strict reliance upon obedience to higher church authorities was demanded - only church authorities. The monks at Cluny recognized that their ability to improve and further reforms relied a great deal upon their relative independence from interference from the state. As a result, they sought to expand this independence to the entire church as much as possible.
The influence of Cluny was widespread. At the height of their reform efforts, almost 1500 different monasteries around Europe had a relationship with Cluny and other aspects of the church organization also relied upon the ideas which were derived from Clunaistic efforts.
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Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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