A Nobleman Establishes a Religious House

DUKE WILLIAM OF AQUITAINE, On the Foundation of Cluny (909)

Cluny, founded in 909 by Duke William of Aquitaine (also known as William the Pious), became one of the leading abbeys in Europe and a model for monasteries in need of reform. According to the terms of its foundation, Cluny was subordinate only to the pope himself. This meant that the institution enjoyed a great deal of independence from local bishops and lords. In addition, Cluny became the “motherhouse” to other monasteries throughout Europe, and these subordinate houses came to enjoy the same privileges as Cluny itself. Cluny amassed such wealth that the monks eventually hired others to do the daily work of running the monastery and occupied themselves in almost constant prayer.

To all right thinkers it is clear that the providence of God has so provided for certain rich men that, by means of their transitory possessions, if they use them well, they may be able to merit everlasting rewards. As to which . . . I, William, count and duke by the grace of God, diligently pondering this, and desiring to provide for my own safety while I am still able, have considered it advisable — nay, most necessary, that from the temporal goods which have been conferred upon me I should give some little portion for the gain of my soul. I do this, indeed, in order that I who have thus increased in wealth, may not, perchance, at the last be accused of having spent all in caring for my body, but rather may rejoice, when fate at last shall snatch all things away, in having reserved something for myself. Which end, indeed, seems attainable by no more suitable means than that . . . I should support at my own expense a congregation of monks. And this is my trust, this my hope, indeed, that although I myself am unable to despise all things, nevertheless, by receiving despisers of the world, whom I believe to be righteous, I may receive the reward of the righteous. Therefore be it known to all . . . that, for the love of God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, I hand over from my own rule to the holy apostles, Peter, namely, and Paul, the possessions over which I hold sway, the town of Cluny, namely, with the court and demesne manor,1 and the church in honor of St. Mary the mother of God and of St. Peter the prince of the apostles, together with all the things pertaining to it, the villas, indeed, the chapels, the serfs of both sexes, the vines, the fields, the meadows, the woods, the waters and their outlets, the mills, the incomes and revenues, what is cultivated and what is not, all in their entirety. Which things are situated in or about the country of Macon, each one surrounded by its own bounds. I give, moreover, all these things to the aforesaid apostles — I, William, and my wife Ingelberga — first for the love of God; then for soul of my lord king Odo, of my father and my mother; for myself and my wife — for the salvation, namely, of our souls and bodies; — and not least for that of Ava2 who left me these things in her will; for the souls also of our brothers and sisters and nephews, and of all our relatives of both sexes; for our faithful ones who adhere to our service; for the advancement, also, and integrity of the catholic religion. Finally, since all of us Christians are held together by one bond of love and faith, let this donation be for all, — for the orthodox, namely, of past, present, or future times. I give these things, moreover, with this understanding, that in Cluny a regular monastery shall be constructed in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and that there the monks shall congregate and live according to the rule of St. Benedict, and that they shall possess, hold, have and order these same things unto all time. . . . [The monks are to be under the protection of the pope, and no one — not even the pope — is to dare to violate Cluny’s rights.]

If any one — which Heaven forbid, and which, through the mercy of God and the protection of the apostles I do not think will happen, — whether he be a neighbor or a stranger, no matter what his condition or power, should, through any kind of wile, attempt to do any act of violence contrary to this deed of gift which we have ordered to be drawn up for love of almighty God and for reverence of the chief apostles Peter and Paul: first, indeed, let him incur the wrath of almighty God, and let God remove him from the land of the living and wipe out his name from the book of life, and let his portion be with those who said to the Lord God: Depart from us; and, with Dathan and Abiron3 whom the earth, opening its jaws, swallowed up, and hell absorbed while still alive, let him incur everlasting damnation. And being made a companion of Judas let him be kept thrust down there with eternal tortures, and, lest it seem to human eyes that he pass through the present world with impunity, let him experience in his own body, indeed, the torments of future damnation, sharing the double disaster with Heliodorus and Antiochus,4 of whom one being coerced with sharp blows scarcely escaped alive; and the other struck down by the divine will, his members putrefying and swarming with vermin, perished most miserably. . . .

I, William, commanded this act to be made and drawn up, and confirmed it with my own hand.

[Signed by Ingelberga and a number of bishops and nobles.]

From E. F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages (London: 1892), pp. 329–333.