Dear Abbey: The Monasteries of England Quiz

Answer: It derives from the Late Latin "monasterium".

Dear Laughed At,

This is a common confusion and a source of mirth for the unfeeling, supercilious sort of person who chortles when a tourist accents the last syllable of "Blenheim" and pronounces the word so that it rhymes with "dime". You may want to keep in mind that "minster" more properly applies to the church at an abbey and therefore will apply to the church even if the monastery no longer exists, as is the case with "Southwell Minster". Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to catch your erstwhile tormentor misapplying the term. Some "ignorant clods" will use it to refer to any large church.

Answer: Many abbeys were looted and destroyed in the reign of King Henry VIII.

Dear Bewildered,

In 1535, Thomas Cromwell appointed lay inspectors to visit England's abbeys on behalf of King Henry VIII. On the basis of these visits a report was prepared accusing the monks of numerous excesses and improprieties, even including sorcery and sexual misbehavior. According to Cromwell, "Manifest sin, vicious, carnal and abominable living is daily used and committed amongst the little and small abbeys". In 1536 Parliament passed legislation allowing Henry to confiscate many monasteries and in 1539 passed further legislation transferring the rest of England's monasteries to the King. Many of the monasteries were ultimately vandalized and/or destroyed.

Answer: Prominent people were (and still are) sometimes buried in abbeys as an honor.

Dear Creeped,

You might have found a few of the names etched those crypts familiar: kings, illustrious authors, outstanding scientists, eminent statesmen and suchlike. Achievement, fame, generous contributions to the abbey, and piety all play a role in determining who gets into the best crypts.

Answer: Announcing the find resulted in an improved financial picture for the abbey.

Dear Gull,

Let me ask you a question. Would Glastonbury Abbey have been on your itinerary if your guidebook hadn't mentioned Arthur and Guinevere? Did the uncertainty about whether they were actually buried there add to or subtract from your overall enjoyment? Abbeys have generally welcomed visitors and the coins they bring, whether the visitor is a tourist or a pilgrim. Times were hard at the abbey in the 12th century and Arthur and Guinevere were a big draw. Funny, isn't it, how history repeats itself.

Answer: "Abbot" comes from "abba" meaning father, "monk" from "monachus" meaning hermit.

Dear Cute,

Incidentally, it may only be your parents who find you cute. But as for your other question, monks and abbots have nothing to do with simians. There is a certain amount of what your mother might call "irony" in these appellations. Even though Jesus specifically advised his followers not to call one another "Father", the heads of monasteries were called "abbot" deriving originally from the Aramaic "abba" meaning father (or some would say "daddy"). The term "monachus" was originally applied to hermits and derived from the Greek "mono" meaning alone. Only later did a term that formerly denoted religious hermits come to be applied to men living in a religious community. Prior to the Reformation, English monks were called "friars".

Answer: All of these

Dear Too Smart,

Some prefer to hold those living in different times and circumstances to the standards of today, while seeming to ignore how poorly we live up to the supposed standards of our own time. Others see monasticism as a mostly positive response to the problems the dissolution of the Roman Empire produced. That, to some extent, the purposely insular monasteries became unaccountable and exploitive has to be conceded. But it seems sometimes forgotten that, initially, the insularity served a positive purpose.

Answer: The Benedictines and Cistercians both practiced celibacy and initially followed an ascetic lifestyle.

Dear Wondering,

Both orders were celibate. The Benedictine Rule required poverty and simplicity in daily living. In 1098, Robert of Molesme and his followers founded the Cistercian order in order to return to a more strict observance of the Benedictine Rule. Individual monks were supposed to live ascetic lives no matter how wealthy the monastery might be. By the time of King Henry VIII, many monasteries were quite wealthy. The number of monks had markedly diminished and paid servants carried out the duties the monks had formerly performed (such as farming and keeping sheep). The Cistercian abbey at Rievaulx, for example, had fewer than 30 monks at the time of the dissolution. Interestingly, Waltham Abbey was the last abbey to be dissolved.

Answer: No

Dear Perplexed,

Both Milton and Wordsworth are buried in "Poet's Corner" in Westminster Abbey; so I guess they've spent a lot of time together. But Milton died over 100 years prior to Wordsworth's birth; so I'm sure Wordsworth made no contribution to "Paradise Lost".

Answer: People from the surrounding area paid the monastery to have the monks pray for them.

Dear Scandalized,

I would like to be able to report that no money changed hands. In actuality, prayers-for-payers was an important means of fund raising for monasteries. The reformer Martin Luther wrote, "It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone."

Answer: The White Canons are a monastic group that followed and still follows the Augustinian rule.

Dear Munitions-minded,

You confusion is understandable. "Canon" is a reference to ordinance or rule. You seem to have it confused with "cannons" as in ordnance or artillery. (By the way, please don't confuse "ordinance" with "ordnance", either). The White Canons or "Canons Regular of Prémontré" were and are a Catholic order living communally according to the rule of Saint Augustine. Three of the monasteries that Henry VIII closed were of this order. The order has a priory in Manchester, England.