Cluniac Reforms

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The Cluniac (Clunian) Reform was a composite series of changes within the Roman Catholic and Anglo-Saxon Church<ref>Katolsk.no</ref>, focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art and caring for the poor. It is named after the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, where it started within the Benedictine order. The reform was largely carried out by Saint Odo and spread through France (Burgundy, Provence, Auvergne, Poitou), England and much of Italy and Spain.<ref>Justus.Anglican.org</ref> During its height (c. 950–c.1130) the Cluniac movement was one of the largest religious forces in Europe.<ref>The Columbia Encyclopedia</ref> Among the most notable reform supporters were Pope Urban II,<ref>UWGB.edu</ref> Lambert of Hersfeld and Abbot Richard of Saint Vannes at Verdun.

The revival of the Church was manifested in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by a flowering of popular piety, reflected in the building of magnificent cathedrals.

From the Abbey of Saint Maximin at Trier the Cluniac reform found its way into the German monasteries. However, it had no permanent success at the time there, because the monks, accustomed to a more independent and individual way of action, raised opposition. After 1038 the reform was no longer supported there legally.<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia</ref> Suffering from an institutional defect, the burden of discipline rested too exclusively upon the abbot of Cluny,<ref>Etext.Virginia.edu Dictionary of the History of Ideas</ref> the movement diminished in the 12th century. The monastic reforming initiative was taken up by the Cistercians.