ABSTRACT
Medieval monasteries have long enjoyed the image of enclaves ‘in places unfrequented and remote’.1 Yet the need for religious institutions to be selfsufficient and economically viable enforced a dialogue with the secular ‘outside’ world. Recognition of this paradox has led scholars to take various approaches to understanding the uneasy relationship between the contemplative, spiritual life and the less godly world without. Indeed, in much recent work archaeologists and historians have looked away from the cloister, stressing instead the economic aspect of monasteries and the way in which many institutions, in particular Cistercian houses, were big businesses concentrating economic functions in substantial precincts.2 Perhaps nowhere was the tension with the laity more acute
1 P. Matarasso (ed.), The Cistercian World: Monastic Writings of the Twelfth Century (Harmondsworth, 1993), p. 7. The phrase, from §15 of the Exordium Parvum of Stephen Harding, written c.1120, has been particularly applied to the Cistercians, although in following St Benedict’s Rule it stands for monastic ideals more generally. For reassessments of the isolated nature of monastic houses, see N.J. Menuge, ‘The Foundation Myth: Yorkshire Monasteries and the Landscape Agenda’, Landscapes 1 (2000), 22-37; T. Pestell, Landscapes of Monastic Foundation (Woodbridge, 2004). I should like to thank Sarah Hamilton and Andrew Spicer for inviting me to contribute to this volume and for their patience as unforeseen circumstances led to a delay in the final submission of this chapter. My principal debt is to Phil Emery, with whom I have co-directed work at Bromholm since 1997; the results outlined here are as much his work as mine, and I am grateful for his comments on an earlier draft of this paper. The Bromholm Project has been carried out by a dedicated team who have stuck to their task over six years in both fair and (often) foul Norfolk weather: Wendy Brinded, Andy Carter, Tom Dunn, Tim English, Geoff Featherstone, Mick Nudd, Barrie Sharrock, the late Allan Taylor, and his son Peter. We also owe a great debt to the landowners, the late Mr Edward Deane and Mr Jonathan Deane, who have supported our work and donated all the finds made to Norwich Castle Museum (accession numbers 2001.224 and 2003.184).
