Pons, born to a noble family in the south of France in 1075, is given to the Church at the age of four. He becomes a Benedictine monk and thrives in the monastery as a devotee of the Order's rules, working, praying, and studying.
Reaching adulthood, he falls in love with Primavera, a woman in the nearby village, but the Church's renewed enforcement of celibacy endangers their relationship.
It is a lawless time when people of the land are threatened with violence as they cultivate their fields or travel on pilgrimage. The monks are compelled to become warriors, defending themselves with farm tools and walking staves.
Pons is elected as Abbot of Cluny Monastery. He is torn amidst his sense of duty as the powerful leader of Cluny, rivaling the Pope, his love for Primavera, and the calling to join the crusade to save Jerusalem.
Pons of Melgueil was the abbot of the powerful and influential Benedictine monastery at Cluny, France, from 1109 to 1124. At the time, Cluny administered hundreds of satellite monasteries in Europe and had influence over a greater number of clergy than the Pope himself.
As abbot, Pons made commendable progress in the construction of the Cluny basilica, which became the world's largest church. He inherited financial difficulties, but he campaigned and successfully procured valuable donations of property for the Benedictine Order and obtained sacred relics to increase the number of pilgrims visiting Cluny. Historical sources also reveal he was an excellent negotiator and his participation in major councils was beneficial to the Church1. In contrast, other sources called him secular-minded, contentious, and short tempered2.
Controversy began when Pons tried to return the lifestyle of the Cluniac monks to the austere ways advocated by Saint Benedict, the founder of their monastic order3. The monks of Cluny had become lax and contested a return to a strong work ethic. In retaliation they alleged that Pons was wasting the monastery's resources. This was, in fact, the opposite of his initiatives. The local bishops and nobles were jealous of Cluny's privileges and wealth4 and joined the conflict.
Did Pons maintain the leadership of Christendom in western Europe achieved by previous abbots of Cluny, or did he drag the monastery further into decline? Read Warriors and Monks: Pons, Abbot of Cluny and make your own judgment.
