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Kirkstall Abbey: history
Kirkstall Abbey: buildings
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The perils of gossip
The German Cistercian, Idungus of Prufung, criticised the chatter of Cluniac monks. He complained that they eagerly gossiped after the daily chapter meeting 'by permission of the order', and compared the noise to the din in a tavern full of sots where the men talked 'with their fellow spouses' and the women drinkers chatted with their companions. Idungus warned of the perils of such behaviour: 'from the permission to chatter arises the wherewithal for brawling. From the brawl come threats and acrimony, so much so that at times it is necessary to recall the chapter by striking the wooden tabula'. [Idungus, Dialogue, I: 23 (pp. 36-7).] |