The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of Bourgogne, in east-central France, near Mâcon.1 Cluny and Monasticism
1.1 Founding
William I the Pious, count of Auvergne and duke of Aquitaine, founded the Benedictine monastery of Cluny, the fatherhouse of the Congregation of Cluny (sometimes referred to as the Cluniac Order), in A.D. 910. William gave Cluny the remarkable privilege of releasing the house from all future obligation to him and his family other than prayer. He appears to have made this arrangement with Berno, the first abbot, in order to free the new monastery from secular entanglements.
1.2 Organisation
The monastery of Cluny differed in two ways from other Benedictine houses and confederations: in its organizational structure and in its execution of the liturgy as its main form of work. While most Benedictine monasteries remain autonomous and associate with each other only voluntarily, Cluny created a large, federated order in which the administrators of subsidiary houses served as deputies of the abbot of Cluny and answered to him. These priors, or chiefs of priories, met at Cluny once a year to deal with administrative issues and to make reports.
The customs of Cluny also represented a shift from the earlier ideal of a Benedictine monastery as an agriculturally self-sufficient unit in which each member did physical labor as well as offering prayer. Cluny's agreement to offer perpetual prayer (laus perennis, literally "perpetual praise") meant that specialization went further at Cluny.
1.3 Cluny and the Arts
The fast-growing community at Cluny demanded buildings on a large scale. In building the third and final church at Cluny, the monastery constructed the largest building in Europe before the rebuilding of St. Peter's in RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman in the 16th century. The building campaign was financed by the annual census established by Ferdinand I of LeonFerdinand I of Castile El Magno or "the Great," (d. 1065), son of Sancho III of Navarre, was put in possession of Castile in 1028 with his father's backing, on the murder of the last Count, as the heir of his mother Elvira, daughter of a previous count of, ruler of a united León-Castile, some time between 1053 and 1065. (It was re-established by Alfonso VI in 1077 and confirmed in 1090.) The sum was fixed at 1,000 golden aurei by Ferdinand, and doubled by Alfonso VI in 1090. For Cluny, the sum was simply the biggest annuity that the Order ever received from king or layman, and it was never surpassed. Henry I of England's annual grant of 100 marks of silver, not gold, from 1131 looks puny in comparison. The Alfonsine census enabled Abbot Hugh (died 1109) to undertake the huge third abbey church. When payments in the Islamic gold coin extorted by León-Castile later lapsed, it was a major factor in bringing about the financial crisis that crippled the Cluniacs during the abbacies of Pons (dates) and Peter the Venerable (1122 - 1156). At Cluny, the import of gold publicized the new-found riches of the Spanish Christians and drew central Spain for the first time into the larger European orbit.
1.4 Cluny's Influence
Cluny's highly centralized hierarchy was a natural training ground for Catholic prelates: four monks of Cluny became popeThis article is about the Catholic pope. See Pope (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word pope. The Pope is the Catholic bishop and patriarch of Rome, and ex officio supreme spiritual leader of what might be called the Catholic Communion (that is,s: Gregory VIIGregory VII ne Hildebrand (ca. 1020/ 1025- May 25, 1085), was elevated to the papacy in 1073, and remained pope until his death. One of the great reforming popes, Gregory is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, which p, Urban IIUrban II ne Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo (b. July 29, 1099), pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099, was born into nobility in France at Lagery (near Chatillon-sur-Marne) and was church educated. He was archdeacon of Reims when, under the influence of St Bruno, Paschal IIPaschal II ne Ranierius (d. January 21, 1118), pope from August 13, 1099 until his death, was a native of Bieda, near Viterbo, and a monk of the Cluniac order. He was created cardinal priest of San Clemente by Pope Gregory VII. about 1076, and was consecr, and Urban VUrban V ne Guillaume de Grimoald ( 1310 December 19, 1370), pope from 1362 to 1370, was a native of Grisae in Languedoc. He became a Benedictine and a doctor in canon law, teaching at Montpellier and Avignon. He held the office of abbot of Saint-Victor in.
Cluny was also home to SaintIn general, the term saint is used to refer to someone thought to be especially virtuous and holy. This person may or may not be canonized, recognized or venerated by a religion. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy. Various Odo of Cluny and Hugh of Cluny.
