weaknesses of Cluniac monasticism between the tenth and twelfth centuries. The nature of Cluny lay in the circumstances of it’s foundation. It was endowed with a measure of independence by it’s founder, Duke William, allowing the monks to elect their own abbot, placing the abbey directly under the guardianship of St Peter and the Apostolic See. As a house dedicated to reviving strict Benedictine observance Cluny was not unique, but it was this indepencence, the succesion of talented abbots and it’s
The Foundation Charter of Cluny is a grant of authority written by Duke William I of Aquitaine and signed by Ingelberga and various other bishops and nobles. The charter was issued in the French city of Bourges and sanctioned by the Archbishop of Bourges. The Foundation Charter of Cluny was produced with the construction of the monastery of Cluny in 910 in Burgundy after Duke William donated a hunting lodge and the surrounding land to a monk of noble birth Mend Berno. Duke William constructed the