Summary: Geoffrey G. Koziol examines how medieval monks helped resolve violent disputes among the nobility during a period of political instability and warfare. Focusing on a journey undertaken by the monks of Lobbes Abbey in 1060, Koziol uses an account of the miracles of St. Ursmer to show how religious processions, sacred relics and carefully staged public ceremonies could bring feuding knights to reconciliation. Although the monks travelled through Flanders hoping to recover lost monastic property and secure support for rebuilding their abbey, they also became remarkably effective peacemakers. Koziol argues that their success depended not simply on religious devotion, but on their ability to use ritual, public pressure and the authority of saints to persuade powerful nobles to abandon their quarrels. The study offers an insight into the Peace of God movement and demonstrates how monasteries could exercise considerable influence over political and social relations in medieval society.
Monks, Feuds, and the Making of Peace in Eleventh-Century Flanders
By Geoffrey G. Koziol
Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, Vol.14:3 (1997)
Summary: Geoffrey G. Koziol examines how medieval monks helped resolve violent disputes among the nobility during a period of political instability and warfare. Focusing on a journey undertaken by the monks of Lobbes Abbey in 1060, Koziol uses an account of the miracles of St. Ursmer to show how religious processions, sacred relics and carefully staged public ceremonies could bring feuding knights to reconciliation. Although the monks travelled through Flanders hoping to recover lost monastic property and secure support for rebuilding their abbey, they also became remarkably effective peacemakers. Koziol argues that their success depended not simply on religious devotion, but on their ability to use ritual, public pressure and the authority of saints to persuade powerful nobles to abandon their quarrels. The study offers an insight into the Peace of God movement and demonstrates how monasteries could exercise considerable influence over political and social relations in medieval society.
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