Life on the granges was not always peaceful.
The lay-brothers
who staffed these complexes did not always observe the Cistercian
way of life and in some cases revolted against their abbot and monastic
officials. In 1195 the lay-brothers of Cymmer,
in Wales, were so outraged by their abbot's prohibition of ale that
they stole his horse in retaliation. The abbot of Meaux,
in Yorkshire, found himself fleeing an angry mob of his lay-brothers
in 1206, after he had deprived them of ale. The enraged brethren
attacked their abbot and cellarer, pulling the cellarer
from his horse and pursuing the couple for several miles. As a grand
finale, the insurgents barricaded themselves in the monks' dormitory
and refused to give the monks any food.(45)
The abbot of Meaux faced further trouble in 1220, when he learned
that several of the lay-brethren who managed the granges had disregarded
the regulations. Seeking to humble their pride, he sent them to
care for the cattle and pigs.(46)Kirkstall
Abbey had its fair share of tumult. Adam, the granger, of Micklethwaite,
was amongst those accused of beating the forester of Clifford to
death; Peter, the granger of Barnoldswick, cut off the ear of one
of the serving boys who had stolen two loaves of bread.(47)
Read more about
the tussle at Fountains
Several of Fountains'
granges were devastated during the tussle over the abbacy in the
fifteenth century. The community and its tenants took sides, and
the abbey granges were looted and destroyed by rival factions.