ABSTRACT
There were significant changes in monastic life in the thirteenth century, but there were also massive continuities. Organized monastic life had blossomed since the tenth century as Christendom grew more stable, populous and prosperous. Reform movements, religious enthusiasm and social needs stimulated the creation of several layers of quite different religious houses. By 1200 the inherited network of monasteries, nunneries, chapters of regular and secular canons, commanderies of the military orders, hospitals, leper-houses and hermitages was a powerful force in European life. Their collective membership was drawn mainly from the upper and middle groups in society, though some humbler social strata were represented as well. Their buildings and landed endowments represented a significant portion of Christendom's wealth. Although the Benedictine tradition had reached a point of saturation, other sorts of religious houses continued to attract recruits, gifts and new foundations.
