Early Benedictine And Irish Catholic Monks example essay topic

The early Benedictine and Irish Catholic monks literally saved Western Civilization. With the rule of the Barbarians in the Middle ages literacy was of little importance to these conquerors. This resulted in the scarce supply of books and few libraries that had been established up to and under the Roman and Byzantine Empires left un-preserved or destroyed. Thanks entirely to the Monastic Movement, which began to strengthen in the early middle ages, education and civilized culture were not lost.

This era is characterized by the rapid growth of these monasteries which were religious communities in which men and women lived in isolation from the rest of the population. It was here that the Monks recorded, taught and preserved the Western Christian Civilization for the benefit of mankind. The eastern part of the Roman empire survived the various Germanic invasions and remained strong under Byzantine rule until the end of the 5th century... The western region of Europe had been divided into several major kingdoms two of which were the Franks and the Visigoths... Literacy in the roman government was mostly viewed with indifference and the education of children fell solely upon the parents. Many had private tutors or their children attended a school developed by a local area philanthropist.

Following the Roman Empire most of the population survived as peasant farmers making an education unimportant to daily existence. The conquering Germanic tribes were organized based on kinship versus rights and obligations. The family was responsible for maintaining law and order among their own with unwritten laws and customs. With this system of serfdom, schools disappeared and the majority of people could not read or write. Literature, art, and architecture were almost forgotten and as a result, literacy during the Dark ages was at an all time low. Due to the invading Franks the Celtic tribes from Great Britain and European Mainland moved out and invaded Ireland.

The celts had control of Ireland and divided it into small kingdoms called Tua tha. The rulers over these Kingdoms constantly fought over boundaries. There were many saints and leaders of both Irish and Benedictine sects who were responsible for writing, teaching, and copying manuscripts during this time and some were integral in the Mediaeval Monastic movement. One of the early famous Irish Priests was Saint Patrick (389-461).

Saint Patrick was born in Great Britain. He was captured and enslaved by a group of pirates at the age sixteen. He escaped after six years of slavery, and went to France to study the priesthood. In 432 he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. The Irish regarded Patrick as their Patron Saint. He was not actually Irish but Anglo-Saxon and was compelled to help and educate the Irish people after his kidnapping.

He was responsible for starting the first settlements as when he arrived there were no established cities or towns. Through his efforts Celtic Monasteries such as Clonard (c 520) and Clonmacnois (c 544) were established along with the first orphanages and first Celtic (Irish) Church. His works were so successful that he came to be known as the one who "found" Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian". Saint Patrick introduced the Roman alphabet and Greek and Latin literature to the Irish. He founded over 300 churches and baptized more than 120,000 people. Due to his efforts and the monastic movement, the Dublin area during this era, was known for being the most civilized in Europe.

The first universities were actually monastic schools and gave the Irish access to learning and from c 461 until around c 750 the Irish were known as saints and doctors. These island people were much more open to teaching and learning than their Continental European counterparts. The Irish Monks were also noted for their talent as copyists and scribes with the artistry displayed in the calligraphy and decorating of manuscripts. Manuscripts were covered in elaborate letters and patterns. Often they would use geometric shapes interwoven with naturalistic figures such as birds, leaves, flowers and reptiles. The book of Keels, part of the Irish Bible, thought to be written between c 900-1000 and the Lindisfarne Gospels, written around c 698 were the two such famous Irish Manuscripts.

Today the book of Keels is in the Trinity of College Library in Dublin. Also established by the Irish monks were the monasteries of Confort established in c 550 and Bangor in c 560. All of the monasteries shared the same designed and included a church, a well maintained farm, a scriptorium, a library and a school. It is in the scriptorium that monks sat daily year by year, century by century, copying books for the good of mankind.

The school were set up to continue their own education and to educate others. A female student of Saint Patrick who greatly contributed to the monastic movement was Saint Brigid (451-525). She is known as a patron saint of Ireland and was responsible for contributing to the establishment of two monasteries, that of Kildare (c 500) also known as the Church of the Oak and that of Clonard (c 520). Saint Bridget's feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of her death, February 1st. Christianity spread to many parts of the world through missionaries and missions. The Irish Celtic missionaries were highly ambitious and preached in the British Isles, Scotland, into Europe and had reached as far as Iceland by the year 795.

Some of the missionaries included Saints Columbo (527-597), Columb an (543-615), and Cloumcille (521-607). The Irish Celtics were also the founders of Luxe il, the first Monastery in France established around 610. During this same period of time further to the east on the main Western European continent the Benedictine order was expanding under Saint Benedict (473-544). To support his philosophy he looked to the gospel of Matthew chapter 19, verse 29 and argued that "one should give up family and spouse to be a follower of Jesus and to achieve salvation". Saint Benedict believed that each monastery should be a separate organization and should take the place of the Family of a nun or Monk. Saint Benedict established three provisions for the order to live by that are part of their beliefs even today and include: property (which meant no nun or monk was to own property), chastity (meaning monks and / or nuns were to never marry), and obedience (meaning to the Abbot, who was like the bishop in the diocese).

Saint benedict also had a twin sister who was also active in this movement and deemed with sainthood. Her name was Saint Schlastica (473-543). It was during their era that the first Benedictine Monastery in Italy was established. It is called Monte Cassino (529) and is considered the oldest shrine of western civilization. The abbey is located between Rome and Naples and houses the oldest standing library in Europe. Saint Benedict founded his Roman Catholic Benedictine order here and is known for the many famous manuscripts and paintings created by order members.

In 663, a meeting was called in order to consolidate the Catholic religious rites. With the strong Irish Celtic presence now in western Europe and the decline of the Anglican church. The Pope wanted to unify the British Isles under one set of traditions. Both the Irish and Latin churchmen attended and pleaded their positions at what was called the Synod of Whitby. This meeting resulted on the agreement of one unifying calendar and the denunciation of Saint Patrick as equal to the Pope. Another famous Benedictine monk was the Englishman Saint Boniface (675-755).

Beginning in 716 he lead many German missionary drives and through such acts as denouncing the worship of nature by using an Ax to cut down a tree was able to get many converts. His power over the tree was a simple act but enough to prove his point in converting these people to Christianity. In 722 Pope Gregory II (731-745) sponsored him to organize the Catholic Church in Germany and by 747 Germany had bishops and a diocese to do this work. In 723 the Pope made him a Bishop. Around the year 743, he founded the Abbey of Fulda, which became on of the most famous monasteries in Germany.

From 748-754 he served as Archbishop of Mainz. The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches celebrate his life work on June 5, the date he was killed by a pagan mob. Another famous English Monk of this era was Saint Bede (680-735), also known as the Venerable Bede. He Served at the Monastery at Jarrow (620-794), established by the Benedictine and Irish Monks, and is noted for his writings on History, science, and theology. He is regarded as having written the most sophisticated historical work of the middle ages. Written in 731, and called, the Ecclesiastical History of the English nation, this book earned Bede the title, "Father of English History".

. Papal Strength was building and by the 8th century was a political force which to be reckoned. The Carolingian Dynasty which began around c 741 and lasted until the late ninth century united most of western Europe under on ruler. The Carolingian were a family of Frankish Kings. Charles Martel, his son, Pepin the Short (741-768), and Pepin's son Charlemagne (768-814) were the most significant Carolingian Kings. The middle ages reached their highest point of achievement during the rule of Charlemagne.

He protected the church from its enemies and kept the people of Europe united under on Catholic church. Charlemagne improved education by recruiting one of the foremost scholars of the day, Alcuin (735-804) to to enhance the education of his clergy, organize schools and libraries and to oversee his palace school at Aachen. Teachers were recruited from all over Europe with this flurry of activity leading to a new interest in learning called the Carolingian Renaissance. During the middle ages monasteries and cathedrals became learning centers. The monks of these monasteries helped to continue the reading and writing of Latin, and preserved many ancient manuscripts. They also established most of the schools in Europe.

The monks believed in teaching as many people as they could regardless of race or background. They taught Barbarians to read and write in Latin and introduced them to Roman ideas of government and justice. This process made the Barbarians civilized and turned them into Christians With out the Irish and Benedictine monks, there have possibly been total extinction of learning. The slow arduous processes of coping books, creating libraries, and schools were fundamental to the survival of the Western Civilization.