istoryworld
Events relating to monasticism
Buddha introduces a vigorous tradition of monasticism, in the order of Buddhist monks known as Sangha
Pachomius organizes in Egypt the first community of Christian monks, at Dandara on the Nile
Monks in Ireland live in stone beehive cells on rocky islands, to achieve maximum discomfort
St Benedict gathers fellow hermits at Subiaco into a series of small monasteries
St Benedict founds a monastery at Monte Cassino and writes a Rule for the monks which becomes the basis of the Benedictine order
Augustine, arriving with a party of monks from Rome, reaches Canterbury and is well received by the pagan king of Kent
The Irish monk St Aidan moves from Iona to establish a monastery on Lindisfarne
The Lindisfarne Gospels are written and illuminated by Celtic monks on the Scottish island of Lindisfarne
On the orders of the T'ang emperor, 4000 Buddhist monasteries are destroyed in China and 250,000 monks and nuns are forced into secular life
Monastic reform, begun at Cluny, is so successful that more than 1000 Benedictine houses eventually follow the Cluniac example
St Bruno and six companions retire to Chartreuse, in the French Alps, and establish the Carthusian order
Peter the Hermit, an old monk on a donkey, leads the largest of the popular groups from Germany on the first crusade
Benedictine monks, wishing to return to the early ideals of the order, form a community at Cîteaux which becomes the Cistercian order
St Bernard establishes a new monastery at Clairvaux, from which he presides over the rapid expansion of the Cistercian order
St Francis and eleven companions tell Innocent III of their wish for a life of holy poverty in the bustle of the towns
St Dominic and his companions tell Innocent III of their wish to teach and preach in the bustle of the towns
The Dominicans are formally established by Pope Honorius III as Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum, the Order of the Friars Preachers
St Francis of Assisi joins a crusading army in Egypt and attempts to convert the sultan Melek-el-Kamel and his followers to Christianity
The Franciscans are formally established by Honorius III as Ordo Fratrum Minorum, the Order of the Friars Minor
Gregory IX sends Dominican friars to root out the remains of the Catharist heresy in France, thus launching the Inquisition
Pope Alexander IV establishes a third order of preaching friars, the Augustinians
The local sale of indulgences by Johann Tetzel outrages a friar teaching in Wittenberg, Martin Luther
Ignatius of Loyola, recovering from a wound received as a soldier at Pamplona, is inspired by reading the lives of the saints
Luther, a former friar, marries Catherine von Bora, a former nun who has just emerged from her convent
Pope Paul III establishes Ignatius Loyola and his followers as the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits
