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IMC 2009: Sessions

Session 723: Daily Life in a Cistercian Monastery: Regulating Time

Tuesday 14 July 2009, 14.15-15.45

Organiser:Terryl N. Kinder, _Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses_, Pontigny
Moderator/Chair:Terryl N. Kinder, _Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses_, Pontigny
Paper 723-aA 13th-Century Cistercian Customary from Abbey Dore: Exeter College MS
(Language: English)
David H. Williams, Independent Scholar, Aberystwyth
Index terms: Archives and Sources, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Monasticism, Religious Life
Paper 723-bCistercian Time in the Middle Ages: A Method for Reconstructing It
(Language: English)
Marisa Addomine, Registro Italiano Orologi da Torre, Milano
Index terms: Monasticism, Religious Life, Technology
Paper 723-cKeeping Cistercian Time in Middle Ages: A New Tool for the Web
(Language: English)
Daniele Pons, Aries Consulting, Milano
Index terms: Computing in Medieval Studies, Monasticism, Religious Life, Technology
Abstract

Paper -a:
Previously described as a regula monachorum, this manuscript is a detailed Cistercian customary with a liturgical calendar which assists in dating the volume. Apart from the text and the various seasonal provisions that makes, the later medieval jottings on margins and fly-leaves are of the greatest interest.

Paper -b:
Continued research into the reconstruction of time reckoning by Cistercians from its origins to the Renaissance will be presented in this paper, which will consist of a detailed description of the available sources and of the underlying time measurement techniques, both during the day and during the year.

Paper -c:
Following the brief history of Cistercian clocks and calendars introduced in the previous paper, this presentation will describe experimentation with a computer program developed in our laboratory that allows – in a very simple manner – the reconstruction of historical time. For any desired medieval date, the programme can determine not only the day of the week and saint of the day, but also the time when, at a specific Cistercian abbey, the canonical hours and special practices or ceremonies (as described in the Ecclesiastica officia) took place.