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Kirkstall from the late twelfth century to
the mid-thirteenth century
(2/7)
Turgisius (c. 1196), the
fourth abbot of Kirkstall, was renowned for his uncompromising
discipline. He always wore
a
hair-shirt and even in the depths of winter wore only the minimum
clothing, namely, a hood and tunic, with nothing on his feet. Whilst
the other monks stood frozen at Vigils wearing
two layers, the abbot seemed unaffected by the cold. Turgisius
was also noted for his continual weeping a sign of deep
contrition and thus a mark of great piety. The abbot was wont to
stand before
the altar with tears streaming down his face, so that it seemed
to onlookers that he was raining tears; his garments were so sodden
that, as the author of the Foundation
History notes, no other might have worn them.(12) In
1196 Turgisius officiated as papal legate and visited the canons
of Guisborough, to settle a dispute that had arisen between them
and the monks of St Marys, York.(13)
Turgisius was succeeded by Helias, a former
monk of Roche who was an astute and energetic administrator, fully practised in
dealing with outside affairs. Helias did much to consolidate
and conserve the abbeys properties and, of greatest significance,
negotiated the return of the communitys grange at Micklethwaite.(14) Little
is known of the abbeys fortunes from the accession
of Robert of Newcastle at the beginning of the thirteenth century,
until the abbeys financial plight in the late thirteenth
century, but a few general remarks can be made. In common with
other Cistercian
houses in the country Kirkstall was increasingly caught up in litigation
relating to the administration of its lands and in business pertaining
to the Order, such as regular attendance at the General
Chapter at Cîteaux
and arbitrating in disputes that had arisen between other Cistercian
houses.(15) The Kirkstall community
was also affected by national developments, and the abbot was amongst
those summoned to attend Simon
de Montforts Parliament in London in 1265.
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