MEDIEVAL MONASTICISM There is little doubt that the monastic ideal exercised a powerful influence on the communities in which monasteries were found. It has been estimated that there were around 340 religious houses and about 15,000 men and women in religious orders in the last quarter of the twelfth century in England and Wales. Rievaulx and the other surviving Yorkshire abbeys are testimony to the major building work then under way in that part of the European …showed first 75 words of 683 total…

…showed last 75 words of 683 total…The order had 37,000 monks in the 14th century; in the 15th century it had 15,107. The Reformation drastically reduced the numbers of the Benedictines, but today, 1400 years after its founding, the order not only still exists, but is quite active in diverse areas of the world. Present-day Christians are often cautioned, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.” The admonishers could have taken their cue from these active, caring, involved monasteries.