ABSTRACT
To the ducal horror the Abbot declared that the only really suitable site for the new house was his favourite hunting place at Cluny and further, perhaps not entirely without a grim sense of humour, he selected the dog-kennel as occupying the exact spot where the church should rise. Cluny rapidly evolved an abbot who stood in the place of a sovereign and exercised imperial sway over every house of the vast organization. Funds were lacking, the plans were on a vast scale, many difficulties were encountered, but S. Martin, who was always very highly honoured at Cluny, gave miraculous help. The good name of the house and his own prestige were greatly enhanced by the much needed and successful reform which he carried out at Fleury, an ancient abbey whose reputation stood very high from its enshrining the bones of S. Benedict and his sister, Scholastica.
