A Source Book for Mediæval History / Selected Documents illustrating the History of Europe in the Middle Age

by Oliver J. Thatcher; Edgar Holmes McNeal

Ch. 43. Those who are late in coming to services or to meals.—When the signal is given for the hour of worship, all should hasten to the oratory; but they shall enter gravely, so as not to give occasion for jesting. The service of God is to be placed above every other duty. At vigils, those who do not come in until after the Gloria of the 94th Psalm ("O come, let us sing unto the Lord"), which, as we have indicated above, is to be said slowly and solemnly, shall be held to be tardy. Such a one shall not be allowed to take his accustomed place in the choir, but shall be made to stand last or in a place apart such as the abbot may have indicated for the tardy. There he may be seen by the abbot and all the brothers, and after the service he shall do public penance for his fault. The purpose of placing him last or in a place apart from the others is to make his tardiness conspicuous, so that he may be led through very shame to correct this fault. For if those who come late are made to stay outside of the oratory, some of them will go back and go to bed again, or at least sit down outside and spend the time of service in idle talk, thus giving a chance to the evil one. Let them come inside that they may not lose all the service, and in the future not be tardy. At the services in the daytime, he who does not come in until after the verse and the Gloria of the first psalm, shall stand in the last place as already described, and shall not be allowed to take his own place in the choir until he has made amends, unless the abbot shall give him permission, reserving his penance for a later time. At the common meal all shall stand and say a verse and a prayer, and then sit down together. He who comes in after the verse shall be admonished for the first and second offense, and if he is again tardy after that he shall not be allowed to share the common meal, but shall be made to eat alone, and his portion of wine shall be taken away until he makes satisfaction. Those who are not present at the verse which is said at the end of the meal shall be punished in the same way. And no one shall eat or drink anything except at the appointed hours. If any one refuses to eat when food is offered to him by the superior, he shall not be allowed to do so later when he wishes it, unless he has made satisfaction for his fault.

Ch. 44. The penance of the excommunicated.—The one who has been excommunicated for grievous sins from both the divine services and the common meal shall do penance as follows: During the hour of worship, he shall lie prostrate at the door of the oratory, with his head on the ground at the feet of all as they come out. He shall continue to do this until the abbot has decided that he has made reparation for his sin. Then after he has been admitted again into the oratory, he shall fall at the feet, first of the abbot and then of all the other brothers, and shall beg them all to pray for him; then he may be permitted to take his own place in the choir or such other position as the abbot shall designate. But he shall not be allowed to lead in the psalms or the reading or any other part of the service until the abbot gives him permission. At the end of the service each day he shall prostrate himself upon the ground in the place where he was standing, until the abbot decides that his penance has been accomplished. Those who for lesser faults have been excommunicated from the table only, shall continue to do penance in the oratory until the abbot gives them his blessing and says: "It is enough."

Ch. 45. The punishment of those who make mistakes in the service.—If anyone makes a mistake in the psalm or the response or the antiphony or the reading, he shall make satisfaction as described. But if he is not humbled by this and by the rebukes of his elders, and refuses to admit that he has erred, he shall be subjected to heavier punishment for his obstinacy. Children shall be whipped for such offences.

Ch. 46. The punishment for other sins.—When a brother has committed any fault in any of his work, in doors or out, such as losing or breaking anything, or making a mistake of some sort, he shall go immediately to the abbot and make satisfaction, confessing his fault before the whole congregation. If he fails to do this and leaves the mistake to be found out and reported by another, he shall be severely punished. But if it be a secret sin, he may confess it privately to the abbot alone or to such spiritual superiors as may be able to cure such errors without making them public.

Ch. 47. The manner of announcing the hour of service.—The signal for the hour of worship both in the daytime and at night, shall be given by the abbot or by some diligent brother to whom he has intrusted that duty, so that everything may be in readiness for the service at the proper time. The abbot shall appoint certain ones to lead in the psalms and the antiphonies after him; only those, however, shall be allowed to read or chant who are able to edify the hearers. These shall be appointed by the abbot, and shall perform their part gravely and humbly in the fear of the Lord.

Ch. 48. The daily labor of the monks.—Idleness is the great enemy of the soul, therefore the monks should always be occupied, either in manual labor or in holy reading. The hours for these occupations should be arranged according to the seasons, as follows: From Easter to the first of October, the monks shall go to work at the first hour and labor until the fourth hour, and the time from the fourth to the sixth hour shall be spent in reading. After dinner, which comes at the sixth hour, they shall lie down and rest in silence; but anyone who wishes may read, if he does it so as not to disturb anyone else. Nones shall be observed a little earlier, about the middle of the eighth hour, and the monks shall go back to work, laboring until vespers. But if the conditions of the locality or the needs of the monastery, such as may occur at harvest time, should make it necessary to labor longer hours, they shall not feel themselves ill-used, for true monks should live by the labor of their own hands, as did the apostles and the holy fathers. But the weakness of human nature must be taken into account in making these arrangements. From the first of October to the beginning of Lent, the monks shall have until the full second hour for reading, at which hour the service of terce shall be held. After terce, they shall work at their respective tasks until the ninth hour. When the ninth hour sounds they shall cease from labor and be ready for the service at the second bell. After dinner they shall spend the time in reading the lessons and the psalms. During Lent the time from daybreak to the third hour shall be devoted to reading, and then they shall work at their appointed tasks until the tenth hour. At the beginning of Lent each of the monks shall be given a book from the library of the monastery which he shall read entirely through. One or two of the older monks shall be appointed to go about through the monastery during the hours set apart for reading, to see that none of the monks are idling away the time, instead of reading, and so not only wasting their own time but perhaps disturbing others as well. Anyone found doing this shall be rebuked for the first or second offence, and after that he shall be severely punished, that he may serve as a warning and an example to others. Moreover, the brothers are not to meet together at unseasonable hours. Sunday is to be spent by all the brothers in holy reading, except by such as have regular duties assigned to them for that day. And if any brother is negligent or lazy, refusing or being unable profitably to read or meditate at the time assigned for that, let him be made to work, so that he shall at any rate not be idle. The abbot shall have consideration for the weak and the sick, giving them tasks suited to their strength, so that they may neither be idle nor yet be distressed by too heavy labor.

Ch. 49. The observance of Lent.—Monks ought really to keep Lent all the year, but as few are able to do this, they should at least keep themselves perfectly pure during that season, and to make up for the negligence of the rest of the year by the strictest observance then. The right way to keep Lent is this: to keep oneself free from all vices and to spend the time in holy reading, in repentance, and in abstinence. During this season, therefore, we should add in some way to the weight of our regular service, by saying additional prayers or giving up some part of our food or drink, so that each one of us of his own will may offer some gift to God in addition to his usual service, to the rejoicing of the Holy Spirit. Let each one then make some sacrifice of his bodily pleasures in the way of food or drink, or the amount of sleep, or talking and jesting, thus awaiting the holy Easter with the joy of spiritual desire. But the abbot should always be consulted in regard to the sacrifice to be made, and it should be done with his consent and wish; for whatever anyone does contrary to the wish of the spiritual father will not be imputed to him for righteousness, but for presumption and vainglory. So let everything be done in accordance with the wish of the abbot.

Ch. 50. The observance of the hours of worship by brothers who work at a distance from the monastery or are on a journey.—Those who are at work so far from the monastery that they cannot return for service (the question of fact shall be decided by the abbot) shall nevertheless observe the regular hours, kneeling down and worshipping God in the place where they are working. So also those who are on the road shall not neglect the hour of worship, but shall keep it as best they can.

Ch. 51. Those who are sent on short errands.—If a brother has been sent on an errand with instructions to return the same day with an answer, he shall not presume to eat outside of the monastery unless he has been told to do so by the abbot; and if he does, he shall be excommunicated.

Ch. 52. The oratory of the monastery.—The oratory should be used as its name implies: that is, as a place of prayer; and for no other purpose. When the service is over, let all go out silently and reverently, so that if any brother wishes to pray there in private he may not be disturbed by others. And when anyone wishes to pray there privately let him go in quietly and pray, not noisily, but with silent tears and earnestness of heart. No one else shall be allowed to remain in the oratory after the service, lest, as we have said, they disturb those who desire to pray there.