BENEDICTINES. From the 6th to the 10th century almost all the monks in the West might be so called, because they followed the rule of Saint Benedict of Norcia. The rules which at that time the monasteries in Spain and France received from their bishops, as well as the rule of the Irish Saint Columba, were essentially the same as those of Saint Benedict; and in the progress of his order the monasteries in Spain and France, as well as those of the order of Columba, united them selves with it. Monte Cassino, the magnificent primitive monastery of the Benedictines, be came the model of all others. At that time thc monasteries, having no common superiors, were under the immediate control of the bishops in their respective dioceses, and differed from one another in many qualifications of the primitive rule. Not even the color of their dress was the. same. The disciples of Columba wore white garments like the first Benedictine nuns, who originated in France in the 6th century. Af ter the unions which took place at a later period, all the members of this order wore black, as the founder is said to have done. The decline of monastic discipline after the 8th century occasioned the reforms of Benedict of Aniana in France, the renewed inculcation of the old rule, and the adoption of new ordi nances suited to the times, by the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (817), as well as the particu lar rules and fraternities of the celebrated monasteries in France, Germany and England, which in those barbarous times became seats of civilization, and finally tile institution of the Cluniacs, a new branch of the Benedictines, whidi proceeded from the convent of Clugny in Burgundy, founded in the year 910. The Bene dictine monasteries, in the Middle Ages, were often asylums in which science took refuge and found protection. In place of the discordant and iincertain rules which had hitherto existed, the Cluniacs made fixed regulations concern ing the hours of worship, the obedience, dis cipline and common government of all the monasteries belonging to their order, which were soon imitated in all Europe. In the 12th century their order contained 2,000 monasteries, whose luxury frequently called for reforms, and finally became the chief cause of their decline. The remains of the Cluniacs united themselves in the 17th century, under the pat ronage of Richelieu, with the Benedictine fra ternities of Saint Vannes and Saint Maurus, the latter of which, founded in 1618, had in the beginning of the 18th century 180 abbeys and pnories in France, and acquired by means of its learned members, such as Mabillon, Montfaucon and Martine, merited distinction. To this family belong those new orders estab lished on the foundation and observing the rule of Saint Benedict, which have originated since the Ilth century, and are distinguished from and proper Benedictines by their dress, names and particular regulations; for example, the Camaldulians, the monks of Vallombrosa, the Sylvestrians, the Grandimontenses, the Car thusians, the Ccelestines, the Cistercians and Bernardines, the Trappists and the monks of Fontevraud. The Benedictine monasteries
never constituted one society, constitutionally regulated and governed under an aristocratical or monarchical form; on the contrary, a great many monasteries which descended from the old Benedictines were compelled by the Council of Trent to unite themselves gradually into par ticular fraternities. Among these the Benedic tines of Monte Cassino, of Monte Vergine and Monte Oliveto (who called themselves Olive tans) in Italy and Sicily; those of Valladolid and Montserrat in Spain; those of Hirschau and Fulda in Germany, and that qf Wolk in Austria, deserve particular notice on account of the extent of their possessions, the magnificence of their churches and the mildness of their rules. To the fraternity of Wilk (or Melk), which still exists, but accommodated to the spirit of the times, the rest of the Benedictine convents in Austna are joined. Many of the nunneries of this order are reserved for the nobility, because the places in them are equal to the most lucrative benefices. Dunng the first French revolution the monasteries of the Benedictines along with all other monastic orders were abolished; but the Benedictines later partially re-established themselves in France. In England the Benedictines were an important body at the dissolution of the mon asteries, having then 186 abbeys, priories and nunneries besides many smaller houses. At present there are eight Benedictine abbeys in England, besides an extensive establishment at Fort Augustus in Scotland, comprising an abbey and college. In the United States there are 13 abbots, 545 priests, 133 clerics and 345 lay brothers in the order. The Benedictines have charge of 16 colleges in the United States.
Bibliography.— (Annales Ordinis S. Bene dicti); (Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti) ; (Bullarium Cassinense> (2 vols., Venice 1650) ; Dantier, (Etudes sur les Benedictins) (Paris 1864) ; id. (Les monasteres benedictins de l'Italie' (ib. 1866) ; Gasquot, A., (English Mo nastic Life) (London 1904) ; Reyner, (Apostol atus Benedictinorum in Anglia) (Dovai 1626) ; Tassin, (Histoire de la Congregation de Saint Maur) (Paris 1770) ; (Cronica del Orden de San Benito) (7 vols., Salamanca 1609-15). Con sult also the (Diversarum Artium Schedula) by Theophilus (1Ith century) ; Pertz, (Monu menta Germanim Historica) • Carlyle, (Past and Present' ; Montalembert, (bilonks of the West) (6 vols., English translation by A. Gasquet, London 1895) ; Taunton, (English Black Monks of Saint Benedict' (ib. 1897) ; Digby, (Ages of Faith.) •