Fraternity as forging unity of local societies in Anglo-Norman England

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It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the religious fraternity as an institution of intercession, which had an influence on European societies in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries. This fraternity is a covenant (conventio) made between a monastery and another individual monastery, monk, priest, gild or lay person, for the salvation of one's soul through the prayer of the monks. In England its study, has been strangely neglected. In this research I am concerned with the fraternity of laymen with the monks after the Norman Conquest, and I have limited the discussion to the relationship between fraternity and land-grants at Ramsey Abbey, so that we may see here one aspect of local society.In the course of the ceremonial entrance into fraternity, land was granted to laymen. We should take into consideration a close relationship between the so-called feudal ties (the personal ties between abbot and man through the land-grant) and spiritual ties through the establishment of fraternity.The members of Ramsey Abbey's fraternity covered a wide range of social classes from noble families, minor noble families, shrieval families, local worthies, members of local English families, and even someone with a landed interest in London. The fraternity also included some local priests and even a parish.The content of the fraternity given by the monks differed between people according to their donation, status and power. In all cases, however, worldly ties and spiritual ties, or in other words, ties for the living and ties for the dead, got married in the fraternity covenant. This 'marriage' seems to have contributed to the solidarity of the lordship of Ramsey Abbey. We may also say that although the bond was vertical as between lord and man, the sense of sharing in prayers or burial places also gave a sense of unity to the members of the fraternity within their local community.