Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Premonstratensians in France »

This dissertation examines women's involvement with a Christian religious order—the Premonstratensians—from the foundation of that order in 1120 to the end of the twelfth century. The order's charismatic leader, Norbert of Xanten, attracted many hundreds of members to it, who were intrigued by his call for a return to the principles of the early church. Unlike most previous monastics, who had lived apart from the secular world, the first Premonstratensians—both male and female—served their wider communities in hospitals and through preaching. This dissertation maps out the ways in which, amid the wider religious reform movement which shook twelfth-century western Europe, women's financial contributions, familial links and spiritual vocations were fundamental to the cohesion of this religious organization. Despite its prominence in the Middle Ages, the Premonstratensian Order is most often discussed by modern scholars as a case study of how misogyny limited women's roles in the ever-more institutionalized medieval church. Textbooks on medieval religious history state that the Premonstratensians rejected all involvement with women in 1198—yet this is not the case. By delving into a sourcebase largely ignored by previous scholars because of its scattered and interdisciplinary nature—textual, art historical, and archaeological—this dissertation makes a contribution to the burgeoning scholarship on the religious, social, and economic activities of medieval women while also challenging mainstream histories to reconsider the assumptions on which they are built.

For every famous author of the twelfth-century renaissance, there are numerous lesser-known writers. Despite being overshadowed by more brilliant scholars or those closer to the centre of important events, their voices add depth to the study of the intellectual history of this period. A founding member of one of the earliest Premonstratensian houses; a highly-educated and prolific author, much in demand as a hagiographer; and a vigorous defender of the clerical order, Philip of Harvengt is one such writer, and a worthy subject for study. This thesis examines two bodies of Philip’s works – his letters and his hagiographical writings – analysing the predominant and recurrent concerns and ideals expressed in them, and the means by which they are expressed. The letters are carefully crafted works, examples of the literary labour which Philip writes is incumbent upon the cleric. The first part of this thesis approaches these letters in chapters on four themes: the role of the ecclesiastical prelate; the importance of learning; the relationship between religious orders; and Philip’s use of the motif of friendship. His hagiographical works, too, are examples of literary artistry, to move as well as to educate the audience. In the second part of the thesis, these will be discussed individually, with the first chapter analysing his vita of Oda, a nun attached to his own house, whom he portrays as a martyr. The succeeding chapters consider Philip’s rewritings of earlier vitae, and show how he managed his sources in order to produce vitae depicting their subjects according to his ideal model of sanctity. Philip’s letters express concerns shared by contemporaries, reflecting anxieties surrounding roles and ideal forms of living in a period immediately following the first fervour of religious renewal. His hagiographies articulate ideals of sanctity, clarifying these when they are not made sufficiently explicit in earlier works, for the better edification of an audience pursuing this vita perfecta. Both letters and hagiographies are designed to exhort and instruct the reader or listener: above all, Philip is a teacher.

Le travail trouve son origine en vallée d’Aspe auprès de l’abbé Pierre Moulia, prêtre de l’Ordre des Prémontrés qui a dédié l’ensemble de sa carrière à ce territoire et à ses habitants. L’hypothèse de cette étude repose sur le postulatselon lequel la société gasconne peut être étudiée au travers du prisme de sa langue. Si cette étude permet une ethnographie de la société gasconne du XXème siècle, le choix d’articuler l’étude du corpus à la langue révèle, au fil d’uncheminement pragmatique et expérimental, des modes de pensée, au service de la société agricole étudiée, et en lien continu avec les pratiques coutumières et l’environnement naturel.Six années d’enquête de terrain de mars 2010 à août 2015 en langue gasconne auprès de l’abbé Moulia nourrissent et construisent l’apprentissage du métier d’ethnologue ; l’exploitation du corpus se structure et se modélise. Letravail réflexif amène le témoin à une réflexion plus profonde de la société dans laquelle il vit et de sa place au sein même de celle-ci
The center of this work, Pierre Moulia, a priest from the Premonstratensian Order, has dedicated his whole career to the Aspe Valley and its inhabitants. The premise of this study is that the Gascon society can be studied through its language.This study allows for an ethnography of 20thcentury Gascon society, in which articulating the study of the corpus in relationship to language reveals, through pragmatic and experimental research,differing ways of thinking within this agricultural society, with direct links to traditional customs and the natural environment.Six years of field work and research on the Gascon language with Father Moulia,from March 2010 to August 2015, have led to a thorough understanding of ethnology and the methods of structuring and modeling the study of the corpus.The reflective work brings Father Moulia to a deeper analysis of the society inwhich he lives and his place within it