Monastic Hospitality, The Benedictines in England, c.1070-1250

Students of monasticism in the medieval west have all been reminded that the strength of the Benedictine order rests in the flexibility of the Rule. Benedict by design and intent provided a general framework, knowing that circumstances ‘on the ground’ would require adaptation. Julie Kerr's study of hospitality in the Benedictine monasteries of England is a tribute to that flexibility. Benedict declared in Chapter 53 of the Rule that all guests should be welcomed ‘like Christ himself’. Kerr's study examines how the English Benedictines made real this charge. She focuses her study on hospitality during the long twelfth century and draws heavily upon those houses for which customaries and other records have survived. She pays particular attention to the royal houses of Abingdon, Bury St Edmunds, Christ Church Canterbury and St Albans. Whether pilgrim, patron or monk, and whether a respite for weary travellers or a venue for royal conventions, the monastery as host was a major component of the medieval social fabric.