Camaldolese Hermits

The earliest-founded monastic group that is currently part of the Benedictine Confederation is the Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona. It was established about 980 CE by the Italian monk, Saint Romuald. Pietro I Orseolo

Romuald (c. 950 - 1025/27) was born in an aristocratic family in Ravenna, in northeastern Italy. An indulged and indulgent youth, at the age of 20 his life changed when he was his father's second in a duel. Seeing his father win the duel, in which he killed a relative over a property dispute, changed the young man. Romuald did 40 days of penance for his part in the affair, and became a monk at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Ravenna.

Although his location followed the Cluniac Order, Romuald wanted something more strict, and he raised the ire of his comrades by criticizing their excesses and lapses. He was given permission to leave the monastery; he went to live under the guidance of a strict hermit in Venice.

In a parallel to Romuald's turning point, the doge of Venice in 978 was Pietro I Orseolo. Pietro had taken the position after being involved in a conspiracy to overthrow his predecessor, Pietro IV Candiano. Orseolo, feeling remorse for his actions two years earlier, he left Venice in the middle of the night without telling anyone, not even his family, and went with Romuald and others to join the Benedictines at at Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa ion southern France.

Over the next several years, Romuald refined his ideas of monasticism, then spent 30 years traveling Italy and preaching the benefits of a strict monastic life, founding and reforming monasteries. An attempt to be abbot at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare on the invitation of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III failed, since the monks objected to his reforms.

In 1012 he arrived in Arezzo, where he was given land in Camaldoli, upon which Romuald built five hermit cells; these and a monastery built two years later became the motherhouse for the Camaldolese Order.

Romuald's idea of a proper life was laid out in. his rule, entitled "Empty yourself completely and sit waiting." His central advice for monks and hermits was:

Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms — never leave it.

There are a dozen locations that are part of the Camaldolese Congregation totaling several dozen members.

Before settling in Arezzo, Romuald stayed for a time in Vallombrosa. Years later, a monk stayed at Camaldoli for awhile, and then started his own congregation at Vallombrosa. The next-oldest member of the Benedictine Confederation is the Vallombrosian Congregation, and we'll see what makes them different tomorrow.

The Olivetans

The Rule of St. Benedict was very influential and led to the founding of many monasteries. It was also adopted by groups that started their own orders, leading to a Benedictine Confederation founded in 1893, 19 groups that follow the Rule but are separate orders. One such group is the Olivetans.

The Olivetans, or the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet, were "started" in 1313 by Bernardo Tolomei (10 May 1272 – 20 August 1348; see illustration), a Tuscan who was educated by his Dominican uncle and determined to enter the religious life. Originally named Giovanni, after becoming a professor of law at the University of Siena and spending time as a soldier/knight under Rudolph I of Germany, he changed his name to Bernardo (after the Cistercian Bernard of Clairvaux) and started living as a hermit with two friends on property owned by his family.

Somewhere around late 1318 or early 1319, Bernardo had a vision of a ladder with monks dressed in white ascending to where Jesus and Mary waited for them. He decided to formally found his Order in 1319, using the Rule of St. Benedict, with particular devotion to the Virgin Mary. Pope Clement VI recognized the Order in 1344. A generous merchant constructed a monastery for them at Siena, and several more sprang up in the following years.

Unfortunately for Bernardo, he did not live to see the Order thrive for very long after its recognition by Clement. When the Bubonic Plague came to the shores of Italy, Bernardo and several monks  left the relative solitude and safety of their monastery to Siena, where they were suffering greatly. They tended to the sick, and Bernardo himself along with 82 fellow monks contracted the disease and died.

The order survived, however. In 1408, Pope Gregory XII gave them an unused monastery of St. Justina of Padua. Even now they still have 20 houses, although the total number of monks, nuns, and priests in the Order are fewer than 500.

The Benedictine Congregation has 19 different groups, 14 of which were founded after 1500. Some, however, are much older than the Olivetans, and I'd like to share some of their stories starting tomorrow.

The Headless Saint

Saint Miniato, or Minias, was an Armenian prince who made a pilgrimage to Rome in the 3rd century CE. his pilgrimage led him to become a Christian hermit near Florence, creating a hermitage on a hill called the Mons Florentinus (Mount Florence). This was a time when the emperor, Decius (249 - 251), was actively persecuting Christians after a period of tolerance, even killing a pope.

Miniato was brought before Decius and told to sacrifice to the Roman gods. His refusal led to several tortures. He was put into a furnace, then stoned, then put in an amphitheater with a lion. None of these punishments harmed him. Finally, he was taken to the Piazza della Signoria (the meeting place of Florentine politics) in Florence and beheaded. The legend then takes an even more drastic turn than surviving burning and stoning.

Miniato's body picked up his head, then crossed the Arno river and walked up the Mons Florentinus to his hermitage. The hill is now called Saint Minias Hill. A shrine was erected there, and there was a chapel by the 8th century.

In 1013, a bishop began a church named for the saint, with a Benedictine monastery adjacent. The high altar is said to contain the bones of Miniato. A Byzantine-style mosaic dated from 1297 of Christ flanked by Mary and Miniato is over the apse (see illustration). Miniato is shown holding a crown because of his royal origin. It also contains a carving of all the zodiac symbols.

A two kilometer pilgrimage exists that mirrors the walk of the headless saint. You can read a description and see some photographs of the views here.

The Benedictine monastery was transferred o the Cluniacs, and then in 1373 to the Olivetans, a group that has never been mentioned in this blog before. I will tell you about them next time.

Medieval Magic

Although the Western European Middle Ages considered themselves thoroughly Christianized, they had plenty of un-Christian "lapses." One was on the subject of magic, twisting nature to match your whims. Magic was thoroughly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments, but practices such as divination via different methods, use of charms and potions for healing, warding off danger, and sorcery were studied and performed.

Astrology as a significant part of the study of magic and the way the world worked. Zodiac signs were considered to correspond to different body parts, and health/illness were connected to astrological influences. This was so accepted that all the signs of the zodiac are engraved on the walls of the San Miniato al Monte basilica in Florence, Italy, begun in 1018 CE. (see illustration)

Divination, the attempt to learn things that are hidden from human faculties or are events in the future, was classified by Isidore of Seville. There were four primary types attached to the four elements (geomancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, and pyromancy), as well as observing the natural world (astrology, birds flying either left or right, etc.).

Medical Magic was acceptable, described in leechbooks. Besides just medicines, however, there were Masses to bless the herbs used, and actions listed such as spitting and reciting verses to make the cure effective. Even inscribing the names of the evangelists on straws and mixing them with the medicine was considered an important part of ensuring efficacy.

There were attempts to condemn magic over time. In 1456, Bavarian physician Johannes Hartlieb listed seven prohibited arts: the four types of divination of Isidore, as well as nigromancy ("black" magic; not to be confused with necromancy, "corpse" magic), chiromancy (reading palms), and scapulimancy (use of the shoulder blades, scapulae, to foretell the future).

Let's take a closer look at San Miniato al Monte next time, the church founded by a headless saint.