Ora et Guberna. The Economic Impact of the Rule of St Benedict in Medieval England

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050724000330
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 838-873
• 关键词: GOVERNANCE

摘要

Within the turmoil of the Norman Conquest, did religious institutions affect the economic outcomes of their land? Exploiting historical data about the changes in holdings' lordship that occurred after the Conquest, we compare the economic performance of estates controlled by different types of lords. Holdings controlled by Benedictine monasteries (vis-& agrave;-vis secular lords) experienced a better performance, although, once accounting for the unchanging upper level of the feudal structure, we cannot fully disentangle this effect from the persistence of Benedictine Overlordship. A comparison with Celtic monasteries, with a different organizational structure, suggests a role for the governance structure of Benedictine monasteries.