The Rise of Monasticism (600 CE – 1100 CE)
Meet the monastic saints who preserved civilisation and spread the faith during the Dark Ages. From the great Benedictine abbeys to the wandering Irish monks, they kept the lamp of learning burning and evangelised a continent.
Saints of theMonastic Age
When the Roman Empire fell and barbarian kingdoms arose in its place, it was the monasteries that preserved learning, maintained the faith, and gradually converted the new peoples of Europe. The Rule of St Benedict, with its balanced life of prayer and work, became the foundation for Western monasticism and shaped European civilisation for centuries.
Here you will encounter the Irish monks - St Columba, St Columbanus, and their companions - who brought Christianity and learning back to a Europe devastated by invasion. You will meet St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, who evangelised the Germanic tribes and was martyred for the faith. You will learn of St Bede the Venerable, whose histories preserve our knowledge of early Christian Britain.
This era also saw great monastic reformers who renewed religious life when it had grown lax. The abbey of Cluny and its network of reformed monasteries helped prepare the Church for the great flowering that would come in the High Middle Ages.
At a Glance
“Pray and work.”
St Benedict of Nursia
The Rule of St Benedict, c. 530
Lights in the Darkness
When civilisation seemed to be collapsing, the monks kept faith and learning alive. Their example reminds us that faithful witness in difficult times can bear fruit for generations to come.