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Who were the lay-brothers? (4/14)
The incorporation of the lay-brothers opened the Cistercian life to a group of people hitherto excluded from monastic life. The illiterate and those of lesser standing had now the same opportunity as a monk to secure for themselves salvation. On a more practical level, admission to the lay-brotherhood provided these men with work, food and a roof of over their heads. Most of the lay-brothers would have been local men from the surrounding villages who sought security, as well as salvation within the Cistercian life, but a few nobles, who were probably motivated by the idea of humility, chose to enter the Cistercian community as lay-brothers rather than choir monks. This practice was, however, discouraged by the General Chapter which claimed that these men were more useful as monks.(5) Some lay-brothers were highly regarded within the Order and the neighbourhood - they appear as witnesses of charters and are cited as reliable witnesses of miracles.(6) A few, like Sinnulph, a lay-brother of Fountains, were instrumental in winning new recruits for their abbey, some of whom rose to prominent positions within the Order. It was on Brother Sinnulph’s advice that the knight, Ralph, was encouraged to take the habit at Fountains; Ralph later became abbot of the house.(7) |
