alledmonks: theirs was a life of daily martyrdom as they constantly died to selfand lived totally for God.The monks paid particular veneration to the physical remains of the martyrs(relics) and were thereforeconnected to the martyrs who they replaced. The rise of ascetic monasticismand relic worship howeverwas quite controversial -- Both the worship of relics and asceticmonasticism however becamemainstays of this Medieval religion, and the idea that monks were a new formof martyr persistedover time. Both monks as well as martyrs were looked upon as holy men.In relating this solitary world to readers, there is also a monk inChaucer's work -- He is someonewho combined godliness and worldliness into a profitable and comfortableliving. He was theoutrider or the person in charge of the outlying property....which lead himto enjoy hunting, fine foods,and owning several horses. Monks renounced all their worldly belongings andby taking vows of poverty,chastity and obedience, joined a community of monks. Their lives were spentin communal worship,devotional reading, prayer and manual labour all under the authority of theabbot of the monastic house.Particular monks often had particular jobs- the cellarer or the infirmarerfor example, and these like every aspect of monastic life were laid down inthe 'Rule'. Monks were nearly always of noble extraction (onehad to have wealth in order to give it up) but could also be given to themonastery as children (calledoblates) to be brought up as monks.Hindsight has blurred our vision of the Medieval monk and the result isthat the modern Christianmindset has condemned him for his selfish escapism from the world and forhis apparent neglect of thosewho needed Christ outside of the cloister. The Medieval mindset was verydifferent. The monastery wasan integral part of the local community -- it probably owned most of thefarming land in the area- and thefortunes of the people in any area were bound up with the spiritu...
