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 730 MONACHISM the other useful arts, met such general appro- bation that attempts were made to subject all the secular clergy to living in common un- der a rule. This movement was commenced by Chrodegang of Metz, who established the canons regular, but, though often renewed, could never be fully carried out. But the esteem in which the monastic orders were held, and the generous benefactions of princes, prelates, and peoples, facilitated the growth of corruption. For many centuries the history of monachism presents a continued struggle of reformers with the laxity or immorality in the convents of their times. The first of these reformers was Benedict of Aniane (died 821), whose 'commentary on the rule of Benedict of Nursia obtained later an equally authoritative character. Benno, who became in 910 abbot of Cluny, founded the congregation of Cluny, a main pillar of the reformatory party, which was exempted by the pope from episcopal jurisdiction, and received the right of choosing an abbot with quasi-episcopal rank. Romuald founded the congregation of Camaldoli in 1012, Gualbert that of Vallombrosa in 1036. The Cistercians owed to St. Bernard of Olairvaux so great a celebrity, that they were soon intro- duced into nearly all the European countries. The order of Grammont sought to excel in ascetic rigor, and that of the Carthusians ad- hered more faithfully than any other order to its original spirit. The order of St. Anthony (1095) and the Hospitallers (1078) devoted themselves to the nursing of the sick, the order of Font6vrault (1094) to the correction of lewd women, and the Trinitarians (1198) to the redeeming of Christian prisoners. Even the warlike tendencies of those times sought a union with the monastic spirit by the establish- ment of several orders of knights. The large increase of the number of orders called forth much opposition, and the Lateran council in 1215 decreed that no new order should be established. Yet the same period witnessed the birth of a new class of orders, the men- dicants (Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, Augustinians, and several others). The dangers to which the church was exposed on the part of new dissenting ecclesiastical bodies re- quired a more zealous agency, especially among the lower classes. The mendicants tried to supply this want. The rapidity of their suc- cess was astonishing, and very considerable privileges were conferred on them by the popes. The Franciscans and Dominicans soon took the lead. Both created for themselves a numerous and influential party among the laity by the establishment of tertiarians, who bound themselves to the ascetic and devotional regu- lations of the order, without assuming its garb or entering the convent. Both secured also several chairs at the theological schools, in spite of the opposition of the secular clergy; and the most distinguished representatives of this and the following centuries (Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, Albertus Magnus, John Duns Scotus, Alexander of Hales, &c.) were either Dominicans or Franciscans. Several of their members filled the highest ecclesiastical posi- tions, even the papal chair. They raised mona- chism to the zenith of its power, influence, and prosperity. As Robert Grosseteste and others affirm, the mendicants owed their popularity and success to the purity of their lives in an epoch of general monastic degeneracy. But the very influence which they obtained with princes and peoples, and the wealth that was forced upon them in consequence, hastened their own decay. Toward the close of the middle ages the name monk was often used as synonymous with rudeness and ignorance. Reformatory attempts were made in every century; new orders, as the Jesuates, Brigit- tins, Servites, Hieronymites, and others, were founded ; but their influence was weak, and frequently after an existence of 50 or 100 years they themselves departed from their primitive standard of rigid asceticism. The councils of Constance and Basel devised for a reformation of monasticism some highly important mea- sures, which however could only be carried out in a few places. The Beghards and Beguines exhibited a freer and less hierarchical spirit ; and their associational principle was further developed by the Brethren of the Free Spirit. The reformation of the 16th century consti- tutes another turning point in the history of monachism. The best and most influential men in the church cordially joined in the demand for a thorough reformation ; they admitted that the crisis had been in part occasioned by the corruption of the clergy, and they urged in particular the necessity of a reformation of the religious orders. The internal history of nearly every order records, at this point of time, strong resolu- tions in favor of an enforcement of the prim- itive rules. In the most powerful orders, in particular the Franciscans, the more rigorous party achieved a complete and permanent suc- cess over those inclined toward laxity, and several new reformed congregations branched off from them, among which the Capuchins were the most prominent. The council of Trent defined the usefulness of monastic estab- lishments, and regulated their possessions, in- ternal administration, and the election of supe- riors, provided for annual assemblies, and ex- tended the rights of the bishops with regard to the inspection and superintendence of the convents. New orders also arose in the church from the very need of reform, and bore the impress of the times. The monastic institu- tions of former days had been, as religious communities, chiefly contemplative. Preach- ing, teaching, visiting the sick and poor, and similar objects formed the occupations of the new orders. The best known of these organi- zations are the Theatines, Barnabites, Jesuits, and Oratorians of St. Philip Neri. The French Oratorians, the Lazarists, Sulpicians, Redemp- torists, Passionists, and other congregations