The Age of Erasmus: Lectures Delivered in the Universities of Oxford and LondonAllen, P. S. (Percy Stafford)
History
The Age of Erasmus: Lectures Delivered in the Universities of Oxford and London
Allen, P. S. (Percy Stafford)
Erasmus, Desiderius, -1536; Renaissance
But this movement for reform was not confined to Germany nor to the
Benedictines. In the beginning of the fifteenth century the house of
Augustinian canons at Windesheim near Zwolle instituted for itself a
new and stricter set of statutes, and soon gathered round it nearly a
hundred houses of both sexes, forming the Windesheim Congregation:
besides which, other monasteries bound themselves into smaller bodies
to observe the new statutes. Thus, for instance, Erasmus' convent at
Steyn was a member of the Chapter of Sion, with only a few others; two
of which were St. Mary's at Sion, near Delft, to which his brother
Peter belonged, and St. Michael's at Hem, near Schoonhoven. The fame
of Windesheim spread into France. In two successive years--1496,
7--parties were invited thence to reform French Benedictine houses.
The first, headed by John Mauburn of Brussels, was brought in by the
Abbot of St. Severinus' at Chateau-Landon near Fontainebleau. It was
completely successful and Chateau-Landon was made the head of a new
Chapter: after which Mauburn proceeded to reform the Abbey of Livry, a
few miles to the north-east of Paris. The second mission, though
promoted by influential men in Paris, had less result. St. Victor's,
the Benedictine Abbey which the Bishop of Paris wished to reform, was
one of the most important in his diocese; and its inmates were averse
from the proposed changes. For nine months the mission from Windesheim
sat in Paris, expounding, demonstrating, hoping to persuade. One of
the party, Cornelius Gerard of Gouda, an intimate friend of Erasmus'
youth, enjoyed himself greatly among the manuscripts in the abbey
library; but that was all. In August 1498 they went home, leaving St.
Victor's as they had found it.
The strenuous endeavours made at this time towards monastic reform
from within may be illustrated from the lives of Guy Jouveneaux
(Juuenalis) and the brothers Fernand. Jouveneaux was a scholar of
eminence and professor in the University of Paris. Charles Fernand was
a native of Bruges, who, in spite of defective eyesight, which made it
necessary for him regularly to employ a reader, had studied in Italy,
had been Rector of Paris University, 1485-6, and had attained to
considerable skill in both classical learning and music. John Fernand,
the younger brother, also excelled in both these branches of study.
Symphorien Champier, the Lyons physician, speaks of him with
Jouveneaux as his teacher in Paris. Charles VIII made him chief
musician of the royal chapel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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