BENEDICTINS, in church-history, an order of
monks, who profess to follow the rules of St Benedict.
The Benedictins, being those only that are properly
called monks, wear a loose black gown, with large
wide sleeves, and a capuchon, or cowl, on their heads,
ending in a point behind. In the canon law, they
are styled black friars, from the colour of their habit.
The rules of St Benedict, as observed by the English
monks before the dissolution of the monasteries, were
as follows: They were obliged to perform their devo-
tions seven times in 24 hours, the whole circle of which
devotions had a respect to the passion and death of
Christ: they were obliged always to go two and two
together: every day in lent they were obliged to fast
till six in the evening, and abated of their usual time of
sleeping and eating; but they were not allowed to
practise any voluntary austerity without leave of their
superior: they never conversed in their refectory at
meals, but were obliged to attend to the reading of the
scriptures: they all slept in the same dormitory, but
not two in a bed; they lay in their clothes: for small
faults they were shut out from meals; for greater, they
were debarred religious commerce, and excluded from
the chapel; and as to incorrigible offenders, they were
excluded from the monasteries. Every monk had two
coats, two cowls, a table-book, a knife, a needle, and
a handkerchief; and the furniture of their bed was a
mat, a blanket, a rug, and a pillow.
The time when this order came into England is
well known; for to it the English owe their conversion
from idolatry. In the year 596, Pope Gregory sent
hither Augustin, prior of the monastery of St An-
drew at Rome, with several other Benedictin monks.
St Augustin became archbishop of Canterbury; and
the Benedictins founded several monasteries in England,
as also the metropolitan church of Canterbury, and all
the cathedrals that were afterwards erected.
Pope John XXII. who died in 1334, after an exact
inquiry, found, that, since the first rise of the order,
there had been of it 24 popes, near 200 cardinals,
7000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, 15,000 abbots of
renown, above 4000 saints, and upwards of 37,000
monasteries. There have been likewise of this order
20 emperors and 10 empresses, 47 kings and above
50 queens, 20 sons of emperors and 48 sons of kings;
about 100 princesses, daughters of kings and emperors;
besides dukes, marquesses, earls, countesses, &c. innum-
erable. The order has produced a vast number of
eminent writers and other learned men. Their Rab-
anus set up the school of Germany. Their Alcuinus
founded the university of Paris. Their Dionysius Ex-
igonus perfected the ecclesiastical computation. Their
Guido invented the scale of music; and their Sylvester,
the organ. They boast to have produced Anselmus,
Ildephonus, Venerable Bede, &c.
There are nuns likewise who follow the rule of St Be-
nedict; among whom those, who call themselves miti-
gated, eat flesh three times a-week, on Sundays, Tues-
days, and Thursdays: the others observe the rule of St
Benedict in its rigour, and eat no flesh unless they are sick.