15 - Order and Governance

Summary

THE abbot had complete authority within the monastery as long as he acted within the precepts of the ‘Rule of St Benedict’, and since Evesham abbey itself enjoyed virtual autonomy in the twelfth century, there was no external check on that. Within the abbey walls it was therefore in the abbot's power to produce a state of tyranny or one of anarchy. In practice, however, neither extreme was reached at Evesham before the 1190s, and then both were suffered at once. For most of the century a middle course was followed, in which the abbot was willing to take into consideration the views of the monks and to act in their best interests. In overall charge under the abbot were the prior, the sub-prior, the third prior, and certain ‘keepers of discipline’ (custodes ordinis). Four tiers of authority thus stood between the ordinary monks and the abbot's household. If the abbot appeared anywhere, all were expected to stand and bow as he passed; an exception was made on those occasions when he entered the dormitory. If he sat down, no-one was allowed to sit next to him unless asked to do so. If one received anything from his hand, or gave him anything, one had to kiss the hand. There were therefore few occasions on which a monk might be able to speak directly to the abbot.

Whenever the abbot was away, the daily running of the monastery's affairs outside the cloister and the claustral buildings was in the hands of the prior. The prior could summon a ‘chapter’ of all the abbey servants and punish any that were guilty of misconduct. He was owed great deference but was not quite so remote a figure as the abbot; for instance, the monks were not required to stand up when the prior entered the cloister area but, if he sat down there, those next to him had to rise, and any monk whom he came upon seated outside the cloister also had to stand up. The sub-prior (or ‘prior of the cloister’) was expected to be in attendance on the prior whenever possible and to be responsible for discipline within the cloister area. When the prior was away the sub-prior exercised the prior's powers to make decisions and to punish or pardon offenders, except in serious cases which had to await the return of the prior or the abbot.