More Catholic Aspirations

Grad school has me busy, far busier than I expected, which has dramatically cut down on the work I am able to do on my world.  However, one of my classes focuses upon medieval liturgical life, with an emphasis on monasteries - it's where I found the source for my previous post.  I have no idea how much work I'll be able to get done, but as I come across these kinds of gems, I'll post them - when I have more time, I'll collate them into a different idea of the 'cleric,' perhaps called the 'cantor' or something similar.

Today's insights come from Susan Boynton's article, "Orality, Literacy, and the Early Notation of the Office Hymns."  It's a fascinating text on the relationship between oral and written traditions in the 11th c.  While rather technical and detail-oriented, the scholarship is phenomenal.

The monks of Cluny, a Burgundian abbey, attracted widespread renown for their wholesomeness and purity, inspiring many other monasteries to follow their customs (at least, in theory).  Consequently, the Clunaic monks produced dozens of texts called 'customaries' which listed the ways they practiced their faith, "including its liturgy, the duties of monastic officials, and the routine of daily life in the community" (135).

The reason for this admiration, and the purpose of this post, is that the purity of these monks was believed to grant divine power: "the abbey's fabled way of life... in addition to its salvific power through intercessory prayer for the dead, was thought by some to transform monks into angels.  The training of oblates at Cluny... aimed to instill in them the purity that would enable them to lead a celestial life on [sic] earth..." (136).

The parallel between this and becoming a Buddha by reaching Enlightenment are striking.

I guess the takeaway is that the reward for a character who's powers come from a divine authority (at least within some sort of Christian-ish tradition) is becoming an angel and still dwelling on Earth.  Do with that what you will.