The Development Of Financial Management And Control In Monastic Houses And Estates In England C
The development of financial management and control in monastic houses and estates in England c. 1200 – 1540
most people assume that Monasteries in the middle ages where a place for monks that took religious vows and give there life to god, the monastery in the middle ages were also the centre of the community and wielded power in the community.
There was several different types of monasteries from the Benedictine monks, Cistercian monks to the Cluniac monks and they all had different set of rules (Alisdair Dobie, 2008: 143) states there was an estimated 17000 – 18000 members in 1300 (Dickinson 1961, 123; Burton 1995, 312). This comprised of monasteries that were wealthy and others that were poor. Monastic management varied from monastery to monastery as the needs of at monastery may well be different to another.
The monasteries grew into vast estates so safeguarding and keeping the assets they had collected such as real estate, moveable property, and rights to income or services such as tithes or labour dues, rights of land were already written in detailed charters, these were known as Prima facie meaning evidence of the holder’s rights. (Alisdair Dobie, 2008; 143) states from (Dowell 1996, 249, 327) that “Charters might be gathered together and copied methodically into a volume known as a cartulary. This produced a single source of reference for all the evidence relating to title to land”.
Physically protecting the assets was important depended on the size some could be under lock and key in a refinement were several people had a key which stop any one person being able to steal to the property. The house seal was used also as security as that was confirmation for outside parties that it was legally binding agreement the seal was also kept under lock and key.
Management of the Land and the estates were farmed by the monks and were leased out to outside sources this was called the era of high farming by growing their own crop and taking on sheep and
most people assume that Monasteries in the middle ages where a place for monks that took religious vows and give there life to god, the monastery in the middle ages were also the centre of the community and wielded power in the community.
There was several different types of monasteries from the Benedictine monks, Cistercian monks to the Cluniac monks and they all had different set of rules (Alisdair Dobie, 2008: 143) states there was an estimated 17000 – 18000 members in 1300 (Dickinson 1961, 123; Burton 1995, 312). This comprised of monasteries that were wealthy and others that were poor. Monastic management varied from monastery to monastery as the needs of at monastery may well be different to another.
The monasteries grew into vast estates so safeguarding and keeping the assets they had collected such as real estate, moveable property, and rights to income or services such as tithes or labour dues, rights of land were already written in detailed charters, these were known as Prima facie meaning evidence of the holder’s rights. (Alisdair Dobie, 2008; 143) states from (Dowell 1996, 249, 327) that “Charters might be gathered together and copied methodically into a volume known as a cartulary. This produced a single source of reference for all the evidence relating to title to land”.
Physically protecting the assets was important depended on the size some could be under lock and key in a refinement were several people had a key which stop any one person being able to steal to the property. The house seal was used also as security as that was confirmation for outside parties that it was legally binding agreement the seal was also kept under lock and key.
Management of the Land and the estates were farmed by the monks and were leased out to outside sources this was called the era of high farming by growing their own crop and taking on sheep and