Adalbero of Laon's Poem to King Robert (1023–1025/7): a discourse against Cluniac reform or a commentary on monastic hypocrisy?

The purpose of this paper is to nuance the traditional interpretation of Bishop Adalbero of Laon's satirical Carmen ad Rotbertum regem as a rebuttal of Cluniac reform and its disruptive effect on early eleventh‐century society. Study of the text's literary antecedents reveals that its criticism was...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Early Medieval Europe Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 159 - 184
Autor principal: Vanderputten, Steven
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell May2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The purpose of this paper is to nuance the traditional interpretation of Bishop Adalbero of Laon's satirical Carmen ad Rotbertum regem as a rebuttal of Cluniac reform and its disruptive effect on early eleventh‐century society. Study of the text's literary antecedents reveals that its criticism was rooted in a tradition of commentaries on the conduct and attitudes of a much larger monastic cohort. Furthermore, comparison of its argument with evidence about the context and with a number of polemical statements regarding the relations between bishops and monastic leaders since the 990s indicates that the author's focus was on cautioning against abbots' hypocrisy rather than against a programmatic reform.