The religious dimensions of English Cistercian privileges

The thesis focuses upon the 'spiritual' aspects of Cistercian privileges and exemption meaning those rights which had a direct impact upon the religious life of the community. Initially these privileges sought to facilitate their peace and tranquillity. During the thirteenth century these privileges involved the Cistercians in the religious lives of the laity who came to live on their lands. By the end of the period some English Cistercian houses ran local church courts and gained the right to appoint a member of their community as the local parish priest, ministering directly to the laity living on their lands. The thesis breaks down into three parts. The first part looks at the collections of papal letters which were either held by English Cistercian houses or to which they had easy access and of which they were aware. This evidence comes together to show that most, if not all, Cistercian houses in England had access to large collections of papal letters and that they were familiar with their rights as part of the wider Cistercian Order. The second part of the thesis examines the detail of those papal letter collections, focussing upon their 'spiritual' aspects. Other sources are used to flesh out the detail provided by the papal letters and to seek to show whether those letters were effective on the ground. Finally the third part of the thesis gives a detailed case study of Cistercian involvement in the lives of the laity. It looks at the church court which was administered by the Cistercian monks of Whalley in Lancashire.