BBC Terry Jones' Medieval Lives Documentary: Episode 2 - The Monk

Summary

This episode of BBC's Terry Jones' Medieval Lives delves into the intriguing world of medieval monks, who dedicated their lives to prayer, poverty, hard work, and self-denial. Despite their isolated lifestyles, monks became both revered and reviled, as their prayers were seen as a direct line to God—a commodity that could be bought, leading to great wealth and power. The documentary explores the paradox between the monks' purpose of leading austere lives and the wealth they amassed, as their prayers turned into a valuable service, attracting donations and influence, yet also fostering resentment and corruption.

Highlights

• Monks were initially dedicated to lives of prayer, poverty, and self-denial, cut off from temptations. 🙏
• The 14th century saw monks embroiled in wealth, power struggles, and political influences. 🏰
• Despite efforts to return to simpler ways, like the Cistercians' undergarment-free piety, wealth remained a temptation. 👗
• Monasteries held vast lands, wealth, and influence, exemplified by the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds' grip on local economy. 💵
• Prayers were seen almost as currency—monks were paid to pray for the souls of the rich and powerful. 🕊️
• Henry VIII's reformation ended the era of monastic dominance, seizing church assets and closing their doors. ⚔️

Key Takeaways

• Monks were originally seen as pure, leading isolated lives dedicated to prayer and God. 🙏
• Despite their philosophies, medieval monks amassed great wealth, sparking public resentment. 💰
• Prayer became a commodity, with monks being paid to perform religious services for others. ✝️
• Wealth led monasteries away from their original spiritual intentions and towards corruption. ⚖️
• The rise of new monastic orders like the Cistercians attempted to return to simplicity but also fell into wealth. 🕊️
• Monasteries became powerful economic entities meddling in politics and society. 🌍
• Henry VIII's dissolution of monasteries marked the end of their religious control in England. 🚨

Overview

In the intriguing episode of Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, we journey into the secluded but complex lives of medieval monks. Originally, monks lived devoted lives of prayer, self-denial, and silence, far from worldly temptations. However, as their prayers gained value, they became ironically intertwined with the world's wealth and struggles.

Despite their austere philosophies, monks accumulated vast wealth and properties as their prayers were sought after by elites wishing to secure a place in heaven. This paradox saw monasteries flourish financially, unwittingly leading to corruption and power battles, distancing them from their founding principles.

The later reformation movements, including Henry VIII's drastic dissolution of monasteries, marked a significant shift. The break from the church's wealth-collecting practices left only ruins of these once-grand establishments, serving as a stark reminder of wealth's corrupting potential—making them both part of the world they sought to avoid and its willing participants.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: The Monk's Life The chapter begins with an introduction to the serene and tranquil life of a monk, set in a remote location far removed from the chaos of modern life. The background music and applause suggest a setting of peace and appreciation for this way of living.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Battle of Bury St. Edmunds In a world bustling with activity, a monk chooses a life of seclusion, dedicating himself to prayer, hard work, poverty, self-denial, and silence, thus removing himself from the temptations faced by ordinary people.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Origins of Monastic Life This chapter explores the origins of monastic life, focusing on how monks in the Middle Ages developed a lifestyle that was considered detached from worldly affairs. Despite their spiritual focus, these monks faced considerable animosity from the populace. The chapter hints at events at the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in 1327, suggesting internal strife or conflict within the monastic community that may have contributed to their declining reputation among the masses.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Benedict's Influence and Rules The chapter 'Benedict's Influence and Rules' discusses the contemplative life idealized by many during a time of conflict between monasteries and local inhabitants. The narrative illustrates a specific incident involving a monastery and townspeople engaged in prolonged conflicts, climaxing with the abbot being kidnapped, humiliated by having his eyebrows shaved off, and taken to London. This anecdote from Bury St Edmunds demonstrates the tumultuous relationship during this era, highlighting the broader theme of ecclesiastical authority and its challenges.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Growth of Monasteries The chapter explores the growth of monasteries, beginning with the unexpected roles played by powerful religious leaders such as bishops and archbishops, who often ran aspects of society typically not associated with religious life, like brothels and even parts of the government. It then touches on the unexpected realities of monastic life, noting that the stereotypical idea of monks living in solitude to worship God wasn't common in the West until around 500 AD. This change came when an Italian named Benedict decided to retreat from city life, contributing to the monastic tradition.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Corruption and Wealth in Monasteries The chapter 'Corruption and Wealth in Monasteries' highlights Benedict's disdain for the indulgences in Rome, such as excessive eating, drinking, and sexual activities. Preferring a life of asceticism, Benedict chooses to isolate himself in the mountains, living in a simple cave without modern comforts like fitted carpets and plumbing. His chosen lifestyle emphasized simplicity and a departure from the material excesses he observed in Rome.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Cistercian Reformation In this chapter titled 'Cistercian Reformation,' the focus is on the austere lifestyle advocated by Benedict, who believed that worldly pleasures should be avoided. He emphasized moderation in consumption, even going as far as restricting himself to eating a plain baguette once a day and avoiding rich foods like Waster sauce or deep-fried items. This disciplined lifestyle was seen as a way to concentrate on spiritual gratitude towards God for life on Earth, reflecting a curious but appealing philosophy to many.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Cistercians' Economic Success The chapter discusses the economic success of the Cistercian order, beginning with a depiction of how the solitary life of a hermit attracted many followers. Initially, hermits like Benedict sought solitude, but as more people joined, it led to overcrowding. This population growth prompted the need for organization, which laid the groundwork for the Cistercians' subsequent economic achievements.
• 08:00 - 09:00: Monastic Luxury The chapter titled 'Monastic Luxury' discusses the regulations within monastic communities as written by Benedict in his book of rules for monks. Benedict's rules were relatively lenient for the time; however, certain restrictions were enforced, such as prohibiting red meat consumption and disallowing conversation during meals. Despite the silence rule, monks could use sign language to request necessities, like salt. The chapter also highlights that monks compiled dictionaries of these signs, preserving information like the sign for 'King' and 'God was king.'
• 09:00 - 10:00: Relics and Pilgrimages The chapter delves into the development of sign languages rooted in religious symbols and gestures, originally simple but later evolving into more complex systems. It highlights the surprising transformations within this gestural language, showcasing examples like simple fish symbols turning into intricate signs. One intriguing transition mentioned is the symbol for 'trout' becoming associated with 'herring' and interestingly followed by a sign for 'woman'. It reflects on the unexpected evolution of these signs into a rich language, with a nod to St. Benedict's initial vision and how such gestures grew beyond their anticipated scope.
• 10:00 - 11:00: Papacy and Avignon The chapter 'Papacy and Avignon' describes the use of signs in monasteries across Europe as a universal communication method among monks regardless of their native language, likened to a sort of 'dumb Esperanto.' Additionally, it notes the significance of Saint Benedict's monastic rules, which gained fame and led to the flourishing of his monasteries. A notable monastery built in the 13th century on top of Saint Benedict's actual cave is the monastery of San Benedetto, which is situated halfway up a cliff.
• 11:00 - 12:00: Wealth and Power of the Church The chapter discusses the wealth and power of the Church through the lens of a visit to a monastery associated with Saint Benedict. It features an encounter with an Australian monk named Father Giovanni, who has been living there for 41 years. Father Giovanni provides insight into a painting that depicts a lazy monk being pulled out of prayer by a devil, highlighting themes of temptation and spirituality.
• 12:00 - 13:00: Rebellions Against Monasteries In this chapter, the focus is on historical rebellions against monasteries. The text mentions a Benedictine monk using physical discipline on a 'lazy monk,' which reflects on past punitive practices that are not popular today. There's also a metaphorical mention of the 'devil,' illustrating temptations and challenges faced by monks during this period. The 'main devil' being kept behind bars symbolizes controlling or confronting one's inner demons, which relates to the struggles faced within the monastic system. Overall, these elements depict the tensions and rebellious instances linked to monastic life.
• 13:00 - 14:00: Decline of Monastic Influence Monks intentionally separate themselves from the everyday world to make a profound impact through solitude and silence. Their main activities consist of prayer and work, which includes supporting themselves.
• 14:00 - 15:00: Corruption and the End of Monasteries This chapter explores the decline of monastic purity and isolation due to external beliefs in their spiritual power. Initially, monasteries aimed to sustain themselves and remain detached from worldly affairs. However, ironically, their perceived spiritual potency led to their downfall as they couldn't maintain their unworldly status amidst growing external pressures. The chapter delves into how the very faith in monastic spirituality contributed to the corruption and the eventual dissolution of the monastic way of life.

BBC Terry Jones' Medieval Lives Documentary: Episode 2 - The Monk Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] [Applause] [Music] once upon a time far from the turmoil of
• 00:30 - 01:00 the busy world there lived a monk he dedicated himself to a life of prayer of hard work poverty self-denial and silence his life was shut away from the temptations of ordinary mortals he dedicated himself to
• 01:00 - 01:30 God in a life that was literally out of this world but if monks in the Middle Ages really were like this why did so many people come to hate them so much [Music] [Applause] [Music] at the Abbey of Barry's and Edmunds in 1327 the last thing the monks had on
• 01:30 - 02:00 their minds was the contemplative life for the entire year the monastery and the town's folk had been locked in a series of pitched battles which culminated in the abbot being kidnapped bundled into a sack and carted off to London where his eyebrows was shaved off [Music] [Applause] and berries and Edmonds was not unique it was an age when Abbot's had their own
• 02:00 - 02:30 armies bishops ran brothels and Archbishop's often ran the country maybe even a monks life wasn't quite what we imagined either the idea of living a life cut off from your fellow men in order to worship God didn't really get going in the West until around 500 AD when an Italian by the name of Benedict decided to escape city life and hide
• 02:30 - 03:00 himself away in these mountains Benedict hadn't liked Rome for his taste was far too much eating drinking and sex and generally having a good time what he was looking for was a nice cave with no fitted carpets and no plumbing [Music] so he moved in here he preferred his food to be lowered down to him in a
• 03:00 - 03:30 baguette and only once a day and he didn't want any waster sauce or deep-fried 1 tons in fact he didn't want anything he could enjoy as far as Benedict was concerned God placed us on this world so we could refrain from enjoying our time here and concentrate on thanking him for placing us here it's a curious philosophy but one which seems to have had a lot of appeal Benedict
• 03:30 - 04:00 just couldn't keep good thing like this to himself and soon there were lots of other would-be Hermits joining him so they could not enjoy themselves in solitude together in the company of the great man [Music] if there's one thing Hermits like Benedict can't stand it's overcrowded and within a few years he had so many followers sharing his solitude that he decided to organize them into separate
• 04:00 - 04:30 communities monasteries and he wrote a book of rules for months to follow according to Benedict his rules weren't that strict but he wouldn't let his monks eat red meat and you weren't supposed to talk at mealtimes however Benedict did allow his monks to make a sign if they wanted something like salt that was the sign and we know what these signs were because the monks compiled dictionaries of their sign language for example we know that the sign for King was this and God was king
• 04:30 - 05:00 in heaven while the sign for martyr you may be surprised to learn was this and fish was simple but for some curious reason herring was this sign and for some even more curious reason trout was the sign for herring followed by this which is the sign for woman what Benedict hadn't envisaged was that these simple signs would blossom into an entire language of their own the same
• 05:00 - 05:30 signs were used in monasteries all over Europe a sort of dumb Esperanto so whatever country among found himself in he could always convey to a fellow monk exactly what he wanted [Music] [Applause] some Benedict's book of rules became famous and his monasteries flourished in the 13th century one was built on top of Benedict's actual cave the monastery of san benedetto perches halfway up the
• 05:30 - 06:00 sheer rock face where Benedict's alt solitude I was shown around by the unlikely figure of an Australian monk who came here 41 years ago so father Giovanni and can you tell me about this painting over here what's he doing in one of the monasteries founded by the saint in this valley there was a lazy monk he didn't want us then the chapel doing the prayer it was the devil who was pulling him out see on the right you
• 06:00 - 06:30 see some benedict to cured this lazy monk with a stick with a hiding beaten not a popular method today I said there's some Benedict during the temptation see the devil there he's beating so far as me there's a third devil here you know that's the main devil behind bars he's meant to be kept in prison is it yes it was brought him in jail exactly how when the monastic
• 06:30 - 07:00 movement is really monks are taking themselves away from the world how is it they've had any effect on the world well they take themselves away from the world to do to conquer the world solitude silence that's the method a the main work of the monks is prayer although it la borde and our prayer and and work [Music] the monks had to support themselves and
• 07:00 - 07:30 supply their own needs so they could keep their distance from the world but keeping away from the world was to prove the one thing that monasteries weren't very good at the unworldliness of monks just wasn't destined to last and ironically it began to break down because of people's belief in the power of prayer and in the idea that the pure and simple of the life you led the more
• 07:30 - 08:00 likely God was to listen and since monks were supposed to lead purer and simpler lives than anyone else their prayers were seen as a hotline to God rich folk and warriors began to pay monks to do all the praying they were too busy to do for themselves prayer became a commodity it gained a commercial value and that was to prove the undoing of the whole system it was a pretty rough world outside the monastery walls after all
• 08:00 - 08:30 fighting men were professionally engaged in the business of breaking commanders especially that one that said thou shalt not kill a warrior's soul was not an easy one to save in fact it required a strenuous effort by a significant number of people to pray as way out after the Battle of Hastings for example the church demanded a hundred and twenty days of penance for everyone killed William the Conqueror in
• 08:30 - 09:00 his lifetime must have been responsible for something like in 10,000 deaths that's about three thousand three hundred years of penance it wouldn't have finished yet not until the Year 4000 366 however if the work was split up amongst a couple of hundred monks William could have his soul cleansed in less than 18 years so he founded a string of Abbey's could pray for his soul in fact anyone who had any money
• 09:00 - 09:30 would deem it only wise to invest a bit of it in the innocence of monks and far from living lives of extreme poverty and discomfort monks began to find themselves as rich as Croesus the monks of the abbey here benefited so much from various Kings that they owned the entire county of West Suffolk as far as the eye can see in every direction and further they built this town of berries and edmonds and you can still see how the abbot
• 09:30 - 10:00 carefully planned it on a grid just like New York every single commercial transaction involved a cut for the months with you Rana a barge on the river or a stall in the market or saltfish or supplying building materials the a be administered justice and pocketed every fine it took in ran the Royal Mint being Abbot of Barry's and Edmonds was literally and licence to print money
• 10:00 - 10:30 Abby even owned their horse droppings on the street and the monks took their cut of that every Abbot jealously guarded his monopoly take Abbot Sampson for example who ruled Barry with a rod of iron in the late 12th century one day he heard that his Dean Herbert had built a windmill without his permission
• 10:30 - 11:00 the abbot was more than a little mist in fact his biographer tells us Sampson boiled with fury and could hardly eat or sleep he saddened Herbert and said I thank you as much as if you had cut off both my feet by the face of God I will never eat bread until that building is destroyed well it was a subtle enough hint but Herbert took it and destroyed the mill
• 11:00 - 11:30 immediately as a rich landowner the abbot of Barry was supposed to marshal a small army for the king well Abbot Sampson had no problem with that in 1193 he personally donned armor and led his troops in the siege of Windsor fighting for Richard the first against his brother John the poor Olsen Benedict and his rule book must have been turning in their graves there was
• 11:30 - 12:00 this paradox at the heart of medieval monasticism one of the driving forces behind monasticism was the idea that as monks led pure simpler more austere lives their prayers were worth more than other folks of course the pure simpler more austere a monastery was the more it attracted wealth from rich clients anxious for it to say their prayers for
• 12:00 - 12:30 them the irony was that the wealthier monastery became the less pure simple and austere it's lifestyle became and hence less valuable its prayers it was a vicious circle exactly so a new breed of monk would take monasticism back to basics here on the North Yorkshire Moors a group of monks arrived from the French Abbey of Clairvaux in 1132 these monks have come
• 12:30 - 13:00 to get back to the basics of Sint Benedict's rule and enjoy lives of abject poverty vegetarianism and strict discipline they call themselves cistercians and wore white robes to symbolize purity they also wore no Underpants to symbolize quite sure what that symbolized but some Benedict hadn't mentioned anything about Underpants and so the Cistercians would have no truck
• 13:00 - 13:30 with the things some call it bare bottom piety these Cistercians were determined to worship God not only without Underpants but in the most remote and uninhabited places at the start there were just twelve monks and an avid living here in wooden huts but within twenty years the wooden huts were a distant memory they named the new monastery Revo and many more were soon to follow
• 13:30 - 14:00 [Music] these Cistercians were more than a religious movement they were they invented a sort of Mac monasticism a worldwide franchise in which uniformity was the key the same books the same food the same customs the same clothes the same architecture it said that a blind monk from Scotland could find his way around a Cistercian monastery in Scandinavia archaeologist Glynn Copic
• 14:00 - 14:30 has been examining Cistercian monasteries all over Britain lights he explains how the neighboring fountains abbey was constructed clear how are the Cistercians getting back to basics well they were simplifying their architecture they spent a long time getting it right so you have simple pillars with pointed arches and to add to the austerity the whole thing is painted white you can still see looking around us where the weather hasn't taken it off because it's very very fragile but the
• 14:30 - 15:00 whole thing would have shown inside so this counts symbolic purity oh absolutely and in the windows plain glass no colored glass had you know had you never had plain glass we've got some here's some code since we found earlier you see it's just plain sturgeon green glass yes no colour in there and you don't see very many of these this is a processional cross this would normally be gold or silver this is iron it's as
• 15:00 - 15:30 simple as you can get now why are they doing this what who is this kind of appeal to it sort of this kind of austerity to it but well the simpler the religion the harder the life the more powerful the prayers and the people they're appearing to are those who need the salvation more than most the military classes professional soldiers the mill the brewery the kitchens and the latrines of the monastery were all
• 15:30 - 16:00 fed by a sophisticated water supply and in fact when you go into the cloister water comes out there in tubs like this tap little Celtic beasts head there I've seen in the holes that I see city that's that's off and then you to get the water come if you just turn it like that and the water flows right and then when you finish what date is it that's about 1170 now this is the sort of thing that many of us didn't have until about 1920 in our own house these Cistercians weren't
• 16:00 - 16:30 poor monks who arrived in Yorkshire by chance the whole thing was run to a centrally coordinated business plan and they were ruthless with anyone who happened to get in the way one critic wrote they raise villages and turn out the parishioners who are reduced to poverty the Cistercians were natural businessmen at Fountains they bred a super sheep which produced the
• 16:30 - 17:00 highest quality wool in Europe at levo they moved into heavy industry another archaeologists Jerry McDonald is trying to work out just how advanced their technology was doing what we've built here is a furnace that's based on one of this ones that we excavated further to the north up Bill's Dale and it's basically an early type of so-called bloomery furnace that was the dominant method of producing iron in the 12th and
• 17:00 - 17:30 13th centuries and what are they doing with it then they need their own supply quite clearly just to build the abbey itself you need the steel tools the chisels that the saws etc but also for example to shear the sheep you need sheep shears which are steel edged tools but the quantity that they're producing and the grain gizzle they've got must be producing far in excess of what they needed so they were actually selling it on into the open market the advantage of the Cistercians is they have a good European Network and so the ability to
• 17:30 - 18:00 for technological transfer within that group is very very good and so that we know they were competent engineers and so I'm sure that they're at the forefront of technology as the Cistercian monasteries grew wealthier so their architecture got more elaborate and decorated by the 14th century they'd be picking out these arches with lines of red paint and by the 15th they were even throwing in the old sculpture and of course no
• 18:00 - 18:30 well-to-do monk wants to share a dormitory so they all moved out and established individual bachelor pads each private room with its own a fireplace Susi's cut into the wall here and a bedroom upstairs complete with an ensuite lavatory and remember some benedict start his monks weren't supposed to eat the flesh of four footed creatures monks however could eat meat
• 18:30 - 19:00 if they were ill so meat was available here in the infirmary so little by little the brothers gave up eating in the refectory and started to take their meals here instead Cistercian logic for you it was another loophole just like the one that allowed monks to get around the note talking at meals rule by using sign language in fact most of the signs were
• 19:00 - 19:30 about food which isn't surprising because in a monastery there was a lot of food to talk about here in Glastonbury example the Abbott's kitchen was one vast chimney every week contained at least one feast day in which the poor monks might have to deal with something like 16 courses [Music]
• 19:30 - 20:00 [Music] [Music] the monks were equally serious about their boobs alcohol accounted for
• 20:00 - 20:30 something like 20% of their energy intake nowadays is about 5% well maybe a bit more in my case of course you've got to remember that it wasn't safe to drink the tap water still it's a long way from Benedict's bucket gluttony was not the only sin that monks fell prey to records for 1447 note a brothel in Westminster their maidens head that was much
• 20:30 - 21:00 frequented by monks I'm with 12 pounds pocket money a year any girls going to be glad to see a monk coming through the door the fact is that as time went on the monasteries were just coiling in money after all they held the keys to heaven and everyone wants to get there so there were plenty of ways to part the leaders from their cash for example the medieval church advised that everyone go on pilgrimage at least once in their lives
• 21:00 - 21:30 it was good for the soul and it made the church a lot of money the monastic institutions up and down the land vied with each other to attract the most visitors the best bet was to have a really first-class relic Canterbury Cathedral made more than a thousand pounds a year out of pilgrimage of course the big attraction there was the skull of Thomas Becket the turbulent priest hood challenged the power of King Henry the second you could see where his head would be split in two but the monks
• 21:30 - 22:00 of Canterbury had plenty of other Reds to be proud of there was Aaron's rod there was solve the stone on which the Lord was standing shortly before he ascended into heaven there was part of the table of which the Last Supper was eaten they even had some of the clay out of which God fashioned Adam and some of the
• 22:00 - 22:30 Virgin Mary's knitting and we know all this because a writer in the 15th century carefully noted it all down [Music] the monasteries and the medieval church itself had become by the 14th century one vast commercial enterprise and the corporate HQ was here in Avignon this was the seat of the Pope's from 1309 to 1377 and it was to here that the vast
• 22:30 - 23:00 wealth of Christendom flowed in an endless stream of tithes fines bribes and backhanders the Pope must have presided over the greatest accumulation of wealth in the Western world and he also had a lot of enemies I'm pretty certain he didn't sleep easily in his bed at night in fact you can tell from his palace that he didn't it's more like a fortress than a palace a palace of
• 23:00 - 23:30 paranoia with a dark secret at its center this is where the Pope would hold great banquets the Carver would cut up everybody's meat for them behind big screens just about here what you think Matt Lee very kind of him but in fact nobody was allowed in the Pope's presence with a knife so cutting up their meat for them wasn't convenience it was a security precaution but rather
• 23:30 - 24:00 like having plastic cutlery on airlines nowadays this is where the Pope would make his public appearances now in Rome he'd appear on the balcony of st. Peter's and waved the assembled masses below in Avignon he'd stick his head out of this window here you can see he's covered to his left and if he spots any trouble and the current was right is easy to duck out of the way [Applause]
• 24:00 - 24:30 this is the grand Treasury where the Pope's accountants will get busy checking all the money that poured into the papal coffers and now we're getting closer to the great secret at the heart of the papal palace of Avignon and going into the Holy of Holies the lower Treasury where they Pope stored all that digis wealth this is where the tithes
• 24:30 - 25:00 and offerings from people all over Europe ended up deep in the bowels of this closely guarded fortresses but even this isn't the Great Sea the great secret is where they kept the real treasure this whole room has a false floor this is the grubby secret of the heart of Krishna in the 14th century and
• 25:00 - 25:30 it was here under his floorboards that God's representative on earth stashed the real treasure the gold plate coins and joy it's odd to think that if you or I were looking at this site 600 years ago we probably wouldn't leave this room alive [Music] wealth and power are inevitable bedfellows and in the Middle Ages the
• 25:30 - 26:00 Pope's became rulers great Prince's vying with Kings for territory and influence the power struggle between church and state wasn't just something that passed by the monastery walls unnoticed he caught up the Abbott's the cars and the monks and it carried them along with it as the power and wealth of the church and its monasteries Groove resentment amongst the lair tea also gathered momentum in Barry Steadman's in 1327
• 26:00 - 26:30 a group of townsfolk assembled here in the guild hall and swore an oath to destroy the power of the abbey the next day almost the entire adult population turned out fully armed in the marketplace here a bit attacked the Abby they beat up the monks stole their habits and went running around the town in them it was a conflict which was to last a year and which saw even priests and friars leading armed assaults against the
• 26:30 - 27:00 monastery during the riots the gatehouse to the abbey had been destroyed so the monks built a new fortified one complete with portcullis and arrow slits but it didn't do them much good in 1381 there was a national uprising and Barre along with other monasteries was sacked and looted the prior was executed and his severed head was stuck on a pike in the great market even the Archbishop of Canterbury was beheaded by the mob the
• 27:00 - 27:30 church's response was to adopt a program of zero tolerance from 1401 anyone who dared to criticize the church faced the prospect of being burned at the stake the story of the monasteries came to an end when Henry the Eighth made himself head of the Church in England and destroyed them confiscating their wealth
• 27:30 - 28:00 all we have now are these fairy ruins monument to an ideal of simplicity and piety that became corrupted on a magnificent scale it seems to me looking back through the monks story that once prayer acquired a monetary value the game was up the monasteries the prayer factories became commercial enterprises and once that had happened there was just no way they could fulfill their original function
• 28:00 - 28:30 the monks couldn't really cut themselves off forever from the wicked world no matter how hard they tried they were part of the wicked world and what's more very often they in ranek [Music] [Applause]
• 28:30 - 29:00 [Music]