Jerome Bertram - The Chrodegang Rules: The Rules for the Common Life of the Secular Clergy from the Eighth and Ninth Centuries. Critical Texts with Translations and Commentary

Frontispiece Ivory carving depicting an archbishop of the time of St Chrodegang celebrating the liturgy.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, ref M. 12/1904

JEROME BERTRAM FSA
of the Oratory

First published 2005 by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2017 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0X14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright Jerome Bertram 2005

The author has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bertram, Jerome

The Chrodegang rules : the rules for the common life of the secular clergy from the eighth and ninth centuries : critical texts with translations and commentary. (Churc faith and culture in the medieval West)
1.Chrodegang, Saint, Bishop of Metz, ca. 712766. Regula canonicorum 2.Monasticism and religious orders Rules History To 1500 Sources 3.Societies living in common without vows History To 1500 Sources 4.Canons, Cathedral, collegiate, etc. History To 1500 Sources I.Title II.Chrodegang, Saint, Bishop of Metz, ca. 712766. Regula canonicorum 271.08

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bertram, Jerome.
The Chrodegang rules : the rules for the common life of the secular clergy from the eighth and ninth centuries / critical texts with translations and commentary by Jerome Bertram.
p. cm. (Church, faith, and culture in the Medieval West)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7546-5251-3 (alk. paper)
1. Chrodegang, Saint, Bishop of Metz, ca. 712766. Regula canonicorum. 2. Institutio canonicorum. 3. Regula longior canonicorum. 4. Canons, Cathedral, collegiate, etc. Religious life History To 1500. I. Chrodegang, Saint, Bishop of Metz, ca. 712766. Regula canonicorum. English & Latin. II. Institutio canonicorum. English & Latin. III. Regula longior canonicorum. English & Latin. IV. Title. V. Series.

BX2436.5.C42B37 2005
255.08dc22

2005001832

ISBN 13: 978-0-7546-5251-9 (hbk)

The Oratory of St Philip Neri is a rare survival into the third millennium of what was once a common phenomenon: groups of priests living in community, but without taking monastic vows. The value of this manner of life in my own community has convinced me that many of the much-publicized problems among the isolated Catholic clergy could be alleviated if a form of community life could be re-established, as was indeed the wish of the second Vatican Council. For this reason I have begun to examine the history of the common life among secular clergy, that is to say those who have a pastoral responsibility, and who do not take the characteristic monastic vow of renunciation of property. It rapidly became clear that St Philip and his companions continued and revitalized the late medieval institution of collegiate churches, which in turn was the successor to the first-millennium tradition of communities of secular canons living according to the Rules of Chrodegang or Aachen. This book is the result of my examination of those early Rules, and the realization that although they are constantly mentioned in histories of religious life, no specific study of them has been undertaken, and there is no accessible edition of the Latin text, let alone any English translation. This led me into the complex world of canons, meaning firstly the laws passed by successive Church councils, and subsequently the clergy who tried to live by them, and chapters, meaning firstly divisions of the written rules, and subsequently the gatherings of clergy who listened to them being read out before conducting their daily business. In this I have been helped greatly by many friends, notably Dr Damian Smith who nobly volunteered to read over the translation for me, and Professor Canon Henry Mayr-Harting, who encouraged my research and commented helpfully on the work in progress; Dr John Blair, who first introduced me to the concept of the Anglo-Saxon mynster, and Dr Elaine Drage, for permission to cite her thesis on the Leofric Missal which contains much useful material on the common life in eleventh-century England. Above all I have been encouraged, tolerated or stimulated by the interest and support of my own Oratorian community, who share with me the desire for a greater understanding of past experience of community life as a help towards planning for the future.