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Some Monte Cassino Scribes in the Eleventh Century

Some Monte Cassino Scribes in the Eleventh Century

By Francis Newton

Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 7 (1975)

Introduction: The revival of the venerable monastery of St. Benedict on its hill at Cassino was begun in the year 950 with the return of Abbot Aligern and a band of monks to the site ravaged by the Saracens almost seventy years before.  It culminated in a brilliant era – the second half of the eleventh century – when the prestige of the abbey was at its height and two of its abbots became popes.  This rise from desolation and poverty to power and wealth included at least five kinds of activity…The fifth activity and the one that is in part the subject of this paper is the establishment and enlarging of a magnificent monastic library.

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