After these general preliminaries, let us come to the actual history of the reform movement in
the eleventh-century Church.
The beginning goes back to the foundation of the abbey of Cluny in 910 by William the Pious,
Duke of Aquitaine. This abbey was, from the first, independent of all external authority except
that of the Pope; moreover its abbot was given authority over other monasteries that owed their
origin to it. Most monasteries, at this time, were rich and lax; Cluny, though avoiding extreme
asceticism, was careful to preserve decency and decorum. The second abbot, Odo, went to Italy,
and was given control of several Roman monasteries. He was not always successful: "Farfa,
divided by a schism between two rival abbots who had murdered their predecessor, resisted the
introduction of Cluniac monks by Odo and got rid by poison of the abbot whom Alberic
installed by armed force." * (Alberic was the ruler of Rome, who had invited Odo.) In the
twelfth century Cluny's reforming zeal grew cold. Saint Bernard objected to its fine
architecture; like all the most earnest men of his time, he considered splendid ecclesiastical
edifices a sign of sinful pride.
During the eleventh century, various other orders were founded by reformers. Romuald, an
ascetic hermit, founded the Camaldolese Order in 1012; Peter Damian, of whom we shall speak
shortly, was a follower of his. The Carthusians, who never ceased to be austere, were founded
by Bruno of Cologne in 1084. In 1098 the Cistercian Order was founded, and in 1113 it was
joined by Saint Bernard. It adhered strictly to the Benedictine Rule. It forbade stained-glass
windows. For labour, it employed conversi, or lay brethren. These men took the vows, but were
forbidden to learn reading and writing; they were employed mainly in agriculture, but also in
other work, such as architecture. Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, is Cistercian--a remarkable
work for men who thought all beauty of the Devil.
As will be seen from the case of Farfa, which was by no means unique, monastic reformers
required great courage and energy. Where they succeeded, they were supported by the secular
authorities. It was these men and their followers who made possible the reformation, first of the
papacy, and then of the Church as a whole.
The reform of the papacy, however, was, at first, mainly the work
* Cambridge Medieval History, V, 662.