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Death and
burial
Even Judas, had he died in
a Cistercian habit, would have gone to heaven.(1)
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Death was the climax of a monk’s life
and the importance of this occasion was marked by the entire community.
The approach of death, preparations for burial and the funeral service sparked
off a series of rituals for it was believed that the prayer of the monks
and lay-brothers for their former brother, and their observance of the appropriate
rites would help him progress to salvation.
The burial of outsiders
Burial within the Cistercian precinct was at first only permitted
to members of the community, although an exception was made if
guests and familiars died
while staying at the abbey. From the mid-twelfth century
the General Chapter of
the Order relaxed its stance and made various concessions, permitting
at first the burial of sovereigns and prelates,
thereafter of
founders and other outsiders. (2)
Burial within
the monastic precinct was highly prized by the laity, for it
was believed that those
who were physically
present forever within these sacred walls would secure a speedier
passage to salvation. Remains of tombstones, as well as surviving
charters, reveal
that a cross section of the laity requested and was granted burial
within the precincts of the Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire.
Gerald of Wales accused the Cistercians
of visiting those nearing death to secure their fortunes. He
tells of one community (identified as Abbey Dore, Hertfordshire)
which was so determined to profit from the death of a wealthy
lady at Ewias Harold, that the monks visited the lady on her
deathbed and did not leave until she had received the tonsure
and the Cistercian habit.
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This
was not simply
the privilege of founders and those of rank – between 1132 and 1300
over ninety laymen and women sought burial at Fountains Abbey;(3) significantly,
some of these were benefactors of other religious houses yet chose
to be buried at Fountains, which suggests that the spirituality
of the abbey and the prayers offered by the monks there were highly
regarded by
their contemporaries.
A monastic community might
benefit considerably from the burial of laity within its precincts,
since gifts were often given along
with the body for burial. In 1200 x 1208 Stephen of Hamerton
gave the monks of Kirkstall twenty
loads of hay and his chattels along with his body for burial;
Nigel of Horsforth granted the same community his body and
land in Horsforth.(4) Some
grants were substantial. In the twelfth century Geoffrey Haget
granted his body for burial to the monks of Fountains, and
also his property
and the village of Thorpe.(5)
In 1342 the
abbot of Louth Park was allegedly so
eager to benefit from the death of a local knight that he sent
a covered cart to transport the dying man to his monastery so
that he could sign over
his manor to the community.(6) As well as
acquiring gifts, the community might consolidate relations with
the donor and his kin, and perhaps
secure future
help and patronage.
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