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 GILBERT

556

OILBERTINES

Gilbert's " Liber Sex Principiorum " and his "Com- mentary on Boethius" are in P. L., CLXXXIV and LXIV. He also left numerous commentaries on vari- ous hooks of the Old and New Testaments. A philo- sophioal work called "Liber tie CausLs", sometimes attributed to him, is in reality an abridged Latin translation, through the Arabic, of the _Elevatio Theologica" of Proclus, a Greek Neo-Flatonist of the fifth century.

Berthaud, Gilbert de U Porree (Paris, 1S92); Clebval, Les Ecoles lie Chartres au vwijen age (Paris, 190.5); Poole. Illuslra- tions of the History of Medieval Thought (London, 1884); de WuLF. Histoire dela philosophic midirvale (Louvain and Paris, 1895); Turner, History of Philosophy (Boston, 1903).

P. Coffey.

Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, b. early in the twelfth century of an Anglo-Norman family and con- nected with the earls of Hereford; d. at London in 1186. He became a monk at Cluny in France, where he rose to the rank of prior; then he was abbot at Abbeville, and later at Gloucester. He became Bishop of Hereford in 1147. As abbot and bishop he tookan important part in ecclesiastical and national affairs, was a supporter of Empress Matilda and a confidential adviser of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1103 he was transferred to the Bishopric of London, though such a translation was very exceptional at the time; but he received the support of Becket and the special consent of Alexander IIL Foliot w;as a man of learning and eloquence and a good administrator. The austerity of his life was almost too widely known. However, in the great struggle for the rights of the Church between Henry II and St. Thomas of Canter- bury he definitely took the king's side. In the stormy scenes at Clarendon and Northampton and during the prolonged negotiations of the years of St. Thomas's exile, his name is foremost among the opponents of his archbishop; and he was one of the prelates who,_by their remonstrances against a renewed excommunica- tion in 1170, brought about indirectly St. Thomas's martyrdom. It may be true that Gilbert was opposed to Becket's personality and methods more than to his aims, but Henry II would have been more than a match for a diplomatic bishop. A king who combined to such an extent intelligence and passion could have been checked only by a wave of popular enthusiasm. (See Thomas Becket, Saint).

Gilbert Foiiot's name appears on nearly every page of the Becket controversy and reference must be made to the bibliog- raphy of St. Thomas. .,,,„.

The treatment of Foliot's character is particularly full in L'Ht;iLLiER. St Thomas de Cantorbery, 2 vols. (Paris, 1891); see also Perry in Diet. Nat. Biog., XIX, 358 sqq.

F. F. Urquhart.

Gilbertines, Order of, founded by St. Gilbert, about the year 1130, at Sempringham, Gilbert's native place, where he was then parish priest. His wish originally had been to found a monastery, but finding this impossible, he gave a rule of hfe to the seven young women whom as children he had taught at Sempringham, and built for tliem a convent and clois- ter to the north of his parish church. He received the support of his bishop, Alexander of Lincoln, and in a year's time the seven virgins of Sempringham made their profession. Gilbert seems to have been deter- mined to copy the Cistercians as much as possible. At the suggestion of William, Abbot of Rievaulx, he instituted lay sisters to attend to the daily wants of the nuns, and soon added a company of lay brothers to do the rougher work in the farms and fields. These he recruited from among the poorest serfs of his parisli and estates. For eight years the little community at Seiiipriugham continued to flourish, and it was not till about 113!) that the infant order was increased by another foundation. .Mexander of Lincoln gave to the nuns of Scnipringhaiii the island of Haverholm, near Slcafonl, in Liiicohisliirc, the site of one of his castles deslroyetl in the contest between King Stephen

and his barons. Alexander's deed of gift makes it clear that the nuns had by this time adopted the Cis- tercian rule "as far as the weakness of their sex al- lowed ". The fame of Sempringham soon spread far and wide through that part of England, and the convent sent out several colonies to people new foun- dations. In 1 148 Gilbert travelled to Citeaux in Bur- gundy to ask the Cistercian abbots there assembled in chapter to take charge of his ortier. This t^hey re- fused to do, tleclining to undertake the government of women, and so Gilbert returned to England, deter- mined to add to each of his convents a community of canons regular, who were to act as chaplains and spiritual directors to the nuns. To these he gave the Rule of St. Augustine. Each Gilbcrtine house now practically consisted of four eommimities, one of nuns, one of canons, one of lay sisters, and one of lay brothers. The popularity'of the order was consider- able, and for two years after Gilbert's return from France he was continually founding new houses on lands granted him by the nobles and prelates. These houses, with the exception of Wat ton and Mai ton, which were in Yorkshire, were situated in Lincoln- shire, in the low-lying country of the fens. Thirteen houses were founded in St. Gilbert's life, four of which were for men only.

The habit of the Gilbertine canons consisted of a black tunic reaching to the ankles, covered with a white cloak and hood, which were lined with lamb's wool. The nuns were in white, and during the winter months were allowed to wear in choir a tippet of sheepskin and a black cap lined with white wool. The scapular was worn both by the canons and the nuns. The whole order was ruled by the "master", or prior general, who was not Prior of Sempringham, but was called "Prior of AU". His authority was absolute, and the year formed for him a continual round of visitations to the various houses. He ap- pointed to the chief offices, received the profession of novices, affixed his seal to all charters, etc., and gave or withheld his consent regarding sales, transfers, and the like. He was to be chosen by the general chapter, which could depose him if necessary. This general chapter assembled once a year, at Sempringham, on the rogation days, and was attended by the prior, cellarer, and prioress of each house.

St. Gilbert, soon finding the work of visitations too arduous, ordained that certain canons and nuns should assist him. These also appeared at the general chap- ter. A " priest of confession ' ' was chosen to visit each house and to act as confessor extraordinary. A Gil- bertine monastery had only one church; this was divided unevenly by a wall, the main part of the build- ing being for the nuns, the lesser part, to the south, for the canons. These had access to the nuns' part only for the celebration of Mass. The nunnery lay to the north, the dwellings of the canons were usually to the south. At Sempringham itself, and at Watton, we find them at some distance to the north-east. The number of canons to be attached to each nunnery was fixed by St. Gilbert at .seven. The chief difficulty Gilbert experienced was the government of the lay brothers. They were mostly rough and untamed spirits who needed the control and guidance of a firm man, and it would have lieen surijrisiiig hail there been no cases of insubordiii:it ion and scantlal among them. Two instances especially claim o\a' attention. The first is related by St. .Elretl, jVbbot of Hievaubc, and gives us an unpleasant story of a girl at Watton Priory who had been sent there to be brought up by the nuns; the second was an open revolt, for a time successful, of some of the lay brothers at Sempringham.

From tlieir foundation "till the dissolution of the monasteries the Crown showed great favour to the Gilbertines. They were the only purely iMiglish order and owed allegiance to no foreign superiors as did the Cluniacs and Cistercians. All the Gilbertine hou.ses