the cartiiusian order from its foundation to tiie

JamesHogg
The Carthusian Order from its Foundation to the Present Dav
THE CARTIIUSIAN ORDER
FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO TIIE PRESENT DAYI
JAMES HOGG
Bruno from Cologne,2who directed the cathedralschoolsin Reims
from 1056 onwards, where he himself had received his education, was
nominatedChancellorof the archdiocesein 1075,althoughhis relations
with the simoniac Archishop Manasseswere already strained. He felt
himself drawn to the eremitical life and after an experiment with two
companionsat Sèche-Fontainenear the Abbey of Molesme, from which
lFor bibliographical indications see the end of this article. Recent articles in encylopediasinclude:
JamesHogg, "Der Kartáuserordengesternund heute", in Analecta Cartusiana 193,2002, pp. 33-38, an expandedversion of the entry in Religion in Geschichteund Gegenwa#; JamesHogg, "Kartause"
in Lexikon fiir Theologie und Kircher 5, cols. 1266-67; James Hogg, "Kartáuser", in Lexikon fiir
Theologie und Kirche3 5, cols. 1268-1270;JamesHogg, "Kartàuserinnen",in l*xíkonfirTheologie
und Kirche3 5, cols. l2to-7l;James Hogg, "Kartáuser",in TheologischeRealenryIopëdie l7,pp.66673. Among the older entries the following can still be consulted with profit: Anon. [Maurice
Laporte/JohnBaptist Brigliol, "Certosini", Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione 2, cols.782-802:
Stanislas Autore, "Chartreux", Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 3, cols. 1045-71; H. Becker,
"Liturgie [der Kartàuserl", Lexikon des Mittelalters 5,2002, cols. 1020-21; Amand Degand,
"Chartreux", Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie 3, cols. IO45-7L; JacquesDubois,
"Certosini, II. Osservazioni critiche nel quadro della storia monastica generale", Dizionario degli
Istituti di Perfezione 2, cols. 802-21; Jacques Dubois, "Kartàuser, Kartáuserinnen", Lexikon des
Mittelalters 5, 2002, cols. 1018-20; Yves Gourdel, "Chartreux", Dictionnaire de Spiritualité ,
Ascéti4ueet Mystique. Doctrine et Histoire,2, cols. 705-76; F. Macalli, "Certosini:, Architettura dei",
in Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione 2, cols. 821-38;Monaca Certosina,"CeÍosine", in Dizionario
degli Istituti di Perfezione 2, cols. 772-82; Longin Ray, "Chartreux(Règle des)",Dictionnaire de droit
canonique 2, cols. 632-662; Longin Ray & Pierre Mouton, "Chartreuses(Règle des moniales)",
Dictionnaire de droit canonique 2, cols. 626-32.
2How little we really know of St. Bruno is demonstratedby the proceedingsof the Paris Conference:
cf. Alain Girard, Daniel Le Blévec and Nathalie Nabert (eds.), Sainr Bruno et sa postéité spirituelle:
Actes du colloque international des 8 et 9 octobre 2001 à l'Institut catholique de Paris, Analecta
Cartusiana 189 (2003); cf. also Analecta Cartusiana 214 (2003), which contains: JamesHogg, "Der
heilige Bruno" (pp. 5-16), JamesHogg, "Lives of Saint Bruno" (pp. 17-41),Un Cartujo de Aula Dei
[Dom Servilio Betancur(t 1993)],"Vidas de SanBruno (c. 1030-1101)(pp. 43-52),StanislasAutore,
"Bibliothèque de Saint Bruno" (pp. 53-l l1). GérardPosada,Vie de Saint Bruno, Analecta Cartusiana
I l5 (1990),and his later San Bruno: Biografia y carisma (-1030-l l0l), BAC Madrid 2001, both of
which also treat the spiritual dimension of the Saint. Bernard Bligny, Saint Bruno, Ie premier
chartreux, Rennes 1984, offers the most perceptive purely historical biography. Virtually all the
known facts of Bruno's life are alluded to in JamesHogg, "Bruno, Ie premier chartreux" in In Grande
Chartreuse:Au delà du silence, Grenoble 2002, a collaborative volume, coordinatedby Chantal
Spillemaecker,adviser Pierrette Paravy, with remarkable photos taken by Michel Lecomte, pp. 8-16.
Unfortunately,the publishercould not be convincedto distinguish"Lanuin" in Calabria(p. l6) from
"Landuin" at the GrandeCharreuse and dated the retrocessionof the GrandeChartreusewith I190
insteadof 1090 (p. 14). The further contentsof this otherwisesplendid publication are: Sylvain
Excoffon, "Le désertde Chartreuse"(pp. 18-31);Daniel Le Blévec, "Histoire d'un monastèreet d'un
ordre" (pp. 32-42); René Bourgeois, "L'expulsion de 1903" (pp. 43-45); Robert Bornecque,
"L'Architecture de la Grande Chartreuse"(pp. 46-63); Chantal Spillemaecker,"Du monastèreau
musée"(pp.64-67);Alain Girard, "La galeriedesCartes"(pp. 68-79);Paul Hamon,"La bibliothèque"
(pp. 80-87): Marie-FrangoiseBois-Delatte& SandrineMarchand, "Les manuscritsdu Moyen Age"
(pp. 88-99);DominiqueMielle de Becdelièvre,"Les moinescopistes"(pp. 100-09);PierretteParavy,
"Les incunablesde FrangoisDu Puy" (pp. 110-17); Nathalie Nabert, "La spiritualité cartusienne"
(pp. 118-29);GéraldChaix, "Le rayonnementde l'ordre" (pp. 130-43);ChantalSpillemaecker,"Mille
ans d'économie"(pp. lM-55); "Seul avec Dieu": EntretienavecDom Marcellin Theeuwes(pp. 15668).
t
,ames Hogg
The Carthusian Order from its Foundation to the Present Day
the cistercian order was to
take its
^origin,he settredin the chartreuse
mounrainsin the
ru*.i
of r,g+"wirh -; companions
9trly
under rhe
prorecrion of the Bishop of
Gienobre,Hulh oI cnar.uuneuf,r
where a
hursround a simpr. urEtr;;tg
ere*ed at casaribus,
:y than the presentbu'dingr
"t
ài tn" Grandechartreuse.
uno had to leave the Chanr"or"
.ountains, as pope
pupil at Reims,summoned
him to Rome owing to the
ment
III Bruno'JÏà"i'3i1
f3ff"'lilfitr'"ï,:i'
fttiïïf",fu.ffi
erectionto the archbishopric
àr
É"À!i"ïëàiuu.iu,
rn to withdraw.to Calabó,
where he founded a new
ra San Bruno in_1091. He died
there on 6 October
" ^ a 1'
opegindepenà"rrtlyand
Order, as cenóbitic
aspectsof the
-wil"
observanceh
11
inientions'
thecarthusians
returned
in the:1ïi"Ï*fffi':i*il
Portes,sSt. Sulpiceoand Meyriat.z Bruno did not write a Rule, but the
revealhis thoughtsand intentions,adaptedby
Consuetudines-Cartusiae
the experienceof the daily observanceover the years. Although the
stresstày on the eremitical aspects,excluding all direct pastoralactivity,
certain óenobitical elementswere also present,- the communal chanting
of Matins, Lauds and Vespersin the church and the refectory on Sundays
and major feasts, though the other canonical hours were recited by the
individual monks in their cells. The Mass was seldom celebratedin the
early decades,but from the thirteenth century onwards a considerable
incrêasein the frequencyof celebrationand a multiplication of feastdays
can be observed,though after Vatican II many feastswere reducedor
sanctaeMariae,in maiorialtareet adhuclocusvacuus
corpustranslatumfuissedicitur in ecclesiam
a quo translatumfuissefertur et in hac sanctiStephaniecclesiaet positumin pedearcis
"pp"r"t,
et ibidemsecretemultumtempusiacuissedicituret ex
sacerdotis
a partecathedrae
màoris
"upàilu"poiitum fuissecorpusbeatiLanuinieiusdemsuccessoris
et ibidemiacuisseusquead
alio latere-arcus
posuitin altari,ubi modoiacetsicutpatresoculata
tempusabbatisÉandulphiultimi, qui eadeponens
fideviderunt."
I 133.
surles
7Cf.DanielLe Blévec,"La transmission
spirituelde saintBruno. Remarques
de I'héritage
pp.4445.
premières
affiliationsà la Charfeuse",
r0
James Hogg
even eliminated to underline the essentiar
solitary aspects of the
Carthusian vocation.
:ommunity to transfer ca. two kilometres
lower down the vailey to the
;ite of the actual Grande Chartreuse.
st General Chapter in 1140 or ll4l
The Carthusian Order from its Foundation to the Present Day
priors
Reposoirr(1151) were affiliated in the following years. -fFt:
diocesan
their
from
letters
presented
whb attendedthó General Chapterz
which
bishop, renouncing his jurisàictio-t ou"t such communities,
the
first
at
Though
Chapter'
the
General
ïo
henceforth were t.íb3".t
the
until
from-ll5-5
irregularly,
convened
been
háve
to
;;s.e-À-blyr""À"
onwards
1837
French Revolution it met annually; therèafter from
ereíthe meeting impossible' Presided
reuse,legislationanddecisionswere
, elected from the assembledPriors,
ande Chartreusewas a Permanent
J lír" àiffinitory, the other priors not being eligible for re1|g;#
Thus alfnew legislation had to be ratified
electionin the following í"*
all the
ty two different diffiniïories. After the SecondVatican Council
The
plocess'
legislative
the
in
participate
to
priors presentwere invited
with
charged
provincial.visitors,
thê
nominulet
also
b"n"rál Chapter
to
uiriting the indivual houses in their province biannually in.order
been
having
Order
the
ascertainthat the observanceis satisfactory,
with the
divided into 18 provincesbetween 1301 and 1442' though
for the
nominated
were
visitors
decline of the ,ro-b", of charterhouses
reduced
much
the
for
than
rather
2003
in
individual charterhouses
of the
prànin..r. Between the sessionsof the GeneralChapter,the prior
urgent
Grande Chartreuse is empowered to take a1l importan! ?nd
of four
decisions,whereby he muy request the assistanceand advice
charterhouses
norm_ally
ItoP
friotr nominated by the Gáeraf Chapter,
priors not too distant from the Grande chartreuse. The individual
their
including the prior of the GrandeChartreuse are required1ot91d9r
each
in
decide
then
resignaón at^eachGeneralChapter.-.TheDiffinitors
not.
or
office
in
casJwhetherthe prior shouldbe confirmed
quía
The provËrbial assertion Cartusia numquam leformata
because
reformed'
been
never
has
(the
chanerhouse
numquamdàformata
it was never deformed)has to be understoodin the context of the Order's
the
vigilance to maint aín a high level of observance,3though over
'hey
were situatedat an altitudeof 1,175metres
le wasprior I139-51.
er, Ia chartreuse de Montrieux aux XII?
et XIIF
& Raymond Boyer, L"s ,nair"ii"s
lflit
a,
t985), andDaniel Le Blévec, "La transmission
Oe
s premièresaffiliations à la Charaeuse,,,
in Alain
uno_enChanreuse,pp.39_46,herepp. 45_46.
A
ier, however.
Morerod,Notre-Dame d'Oujon ( I I 46_I 537):
Une
nde 65 (Lausannel99g).
11
Chrétiennes 274 (1980)'
12
JamesHogg
centuries numerous modifications and supplements
to the Rule were
promulgated. under Anthelm various iit,rrgirut
approvedand in ll70 the substantialConsuetudines "nu"t*"oi, were
Basilii,L divided into
48 chapters, ordained numerous amendments.
Further significant
modifications were p-romulgatedin ne staliti iancelini
(1222i andthe
De Reformatione of PrioiBernard in 1248.2
The original fasting on
bread and water three d,uyr a week was reduced
to once a week and the
monks were no longer obliged to cook for themselves
indi"ià""1v during
the week. The priors,ineuitubly hud more ;;;;;
with the oursideworrd
as the order expanded,- in ihe twelfth century
there were 36 new
foundations,of.which 2g in present-dayFrance,3
the rest spread over
styria, at Seitz 1160and Gairàch1169,Éi"a-onr,
yal
ar caso tto4
de Pesio l773,,Losa5 lrg1' transferredto uàotruenedetto ll7l,
in 1200,
FlÊl*dr:l Ytrlq* in 1178,andin arulon,ui s.uruDeioin cararonia
;i:ï:ï1
iffi":'ï"fiH:f if,ilïïí
ficulties, but was soon promoted to the
rmportant see of Lincoln, whilst other carthusian,
oi"r.
to
French sees'fut"F
dyirg in rhe odour of sanctity as Bishop"t"àt"o
of Belrey.s
Between rr40 ana ftso the nuns of St. André
de Ramières,who
IPP{ently followed the Rule of Caesarof Arles, soughtcontactwith the
carthusiansand John of spain (ï r 160),prioi oï
Montrieux near Touron
and later of Le Reposoirin ttre àountaiír'oi sÀy,
,upplied them with a
copy of the ConsuetudinesCartusiae and possiuty
titurgi"ai-uoots.
Meanwhile the nunshad moved to Prébayonin'Érovence,
but the official
affiliation to the order followed in the áio-tltirteenth
cenrury
under the
priorate of Bernardde la Tour.e various
communitieswere founded in
t8.
2).andthe De Reformationeof prior Bentard (124g,
alecta Cartusiana65'21tSZáy. The critical edition
eux dans le royaume de Bourgogne au XIe et
XIIe
sme et les chartreux,,,in L,eremiiismo in Occidente
nedioevali 4, Milan 1965,24g_63.
rasi Medievali,2 vols.,
Analecta Cartusiana 6O:4,
t di Losa e Monte Benedettodal l|gg al 1252,
Stoica Subalpina 195(1974).
ralecraCartusiana 4l:3 (19g0); Ezequiel Gort
i
eccio Tostemps27, Reus l99l; ScalaDei: primera
t_ixa:Actes Congrés Intentacional 21, 22 i
23 de
íxa de Scala Dei, Analecn CarÍusiana 139(1999);
t.ade
i, Barcelona 2003.
lita SanctiHugonis,2 vols.,London
196l_62.
Day
The carthusian order from its Foundation to the Present
L3
all suffered from
alpine valleys in France and Northern ltaly, but they
legislation
specific
is
There
*"athe
in
y*g"
*O tft" ftA**
ó";y
chapter
III,
Part
statuta.(r271),
for carthusian nunr in the Antiqua
vith the direction of her community,
ricar, a Carthusianappointedby the
to the nuns. The vicar was often
nall group of laybrothers for heavy
,ue.Jmonks residedat a nunnery in
virginal consecration and as
receive
nuns
the Middte Ages. The
mass' The Rule for
diaconnes*.,*" p"rmitted to read the-gospelat the
and they inhabited
the nuns *u, ,oÁewhat milder than fór tLe monks
The mealsrwere
houses'
singlerooms on a corridor rather than individual
of recreationin
taken in the ,"f".táty auify and there were regular times
to be in less
tended
founáations
century
coÍnmon. In the latór tnití""nth
but
plundering'
from
remote areas, so that the nuns might be protected
to
had
even
several
remainedpoïerty-siricken, and
most of the ,,*"ri",
Poleteins'
prioresg.of
The
educategirls in order to help oui the finances.
which are also a
Vf*e""tït" d'Oi;;a (i tf tOj, compiled mystical treatises
period't
the
of
iiterature
veniacular
significant contríbution to the
arosebetween
In the middle of the thirteenthcentury a controversy
and the other
community
Éis
and
Chartreuse
Grande
the
the prior of
the Grande
that
houses of the Order, - there was a general feeling
of the
superior
The
....
tÓ1"
Chartreuseenjoyed a too prepondetuát
on
and
arbitrate
to
upon
called
was
Dominican OrOáí,Hubert OËnómans,
he
which
cómpromise
the
to
agreed
parties
16 February tiSS- all
presented.
after a decade
In 1271the Antíqua statuta were finally approved
and
amendments
addiiioil,
of discussion,--*tttt"Uy the various
single
a
in
collected
were
Cartusiae
modifications to the Coníuetudines
for all practical
text, which thereby defacto replaced the Consuetudines
of the General
purposes. A furthêr cólectionbf mot" recentenactments
in
promulgated
was
Chapterfollowing the scheme.of the Antiqua S-tatuta
enjoyed
then
1368, entitled N"ovaCollectio, whereby'both.collections
Tertia compilatio
legislativeforce. The processwas repeatg{ with the
Consuetudines
the
with
printed_ulglg
being
in 1509,all three coileËtions
indices
excellent
with
1510
in
Básel
in
cartusíae by Amorbach
of the
prior
compiled Uy the-óarthusianhumanist Gregory Reisch,2
charterhouseof Freiburg-im-Bresgau'
Mendicant
In the thirteenth century, íittt the rapid spreadof the
diminished
Carthusians
the
of
Orders,the momentumof the expansion
Le Seigneur,L'Ordre des Chartreux dans Ie
of the nuns of Bertaud is treatedin detail in Piene Jacques
,,.
\- - )-
F--
A-^l-^t^
fa*tteinnn
1ql
í20o4\-
t4
James Hogg
somewhatwith only 31 new foundations,but in the fourteenthcentury the
apogeeof the CarthusianOrder was reachedwith 106 new charterhoír"r,
of which 13 were locatedin the Low Countries. Thereaftera numerical
decline can be observed,with onty 45 new foundationsin the fifteenth
century. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuriesnew foundations were
often situatednear towns,l in opposition to the original sites in remote
alpine valleys, sumoundedby estàtesappertainingtó the charterhouseto
ensurealmost total isolation. Certainly this changewas partially due to
the wishes of founders, rich merchanti increasing-lyreplácing róyal and
aristocratic benefactors, who required easier accesJ,as well as for
motives,ofgeneralsecurity,- isolátedmonasteries,suchàs pesio,2were
repeatedly sacked by bandits and marauding troops. Also the total
rejection of all ecclesiasticalbeneficesbecamJless àbsoluteand esrates
outside the boundarieso-fthe original Carthusian"deserts"were accepted
periodically to assurethe economic stability of various coÍrmunities.
;oÍrnel to a prior and twelve monks
rmitted at the Grande Chartreuse,
)n,3to name only three examples,4
natedin the late nineteenthand early
r in England and Aula Dei near
Sarragossaunder the threat of Frenchanti-cléricallegislation. Over the
centuriesthe architectureof the charterhouses
evoluJd, ulro. The early
wooden buildings were replacedby more durable constructionsin stone.
and, though there was no distinctive Carthusianarchitecturalstyle to
match that of the Cistercian Order, the essentialelements- the Great
Cloister with the monks' cells and their individual gardens,the church
with the refectory and chapterhousegrouped round ïhe Little Cloister remain constant.
_ Futl today such chartèrhousesas Montebenedetto,s
foundedin 1200,Mombraccoin 1310,and Bandain 149gin piedmonror
Schnals,6founded 1325 in South Tyrol, fascinatethe beholder in their
le.g. Vauvert in the suburbs paris
of
alreadyin
Íl_335),Cologne(1334),Bologna(1334),Lucóa(ll
Wiirzburg (1348),London (1370),Rome - SantaC
lern {t.J!!. Seville(1398),Basle (1401),Ferrara(
Evora (1587),- the list is not exhaustive. Foundal
one acceplsthe foundation charter, the anival of tl
Order by the GeneralChapter.
zCf' Giorgio Belnutti,
Le grande abbaziedel Piemonte.Vol. 2: La Certosadi pesio;t,icendestoriche
della grande Certosa e del Piemonte narrate datle Chronica Carthusiae Vallis pisq,
Cuneo l97g;
Giorgio Beltrutti & JamesHogg, La Certosadi Pesio,Analecta Catrtusiana
13 (1979); and James
Hogg, "The Constructionof the Charterhouse
of Pesio';,in Analecta Cartusiana 2Ol (ZOO3),pp.9t127.
3Cf' ruain Girard & Daniel
Le Blévec, Chartreusesdu Paysd'Avignon: valbonne,Bonpas, VilleneuveIès-Avignon,Analecta Cartusiana IZZ (19g6).
4Muny charterhouses
addedadditionalcells,suchasMount Grace,foundedin 139g,without becoming
"double charterhouses".others erecteda completesecondGreat
cloister.
5Cf' Silvio Chiaberto (ed.);
Cerrose-diMontagna certose di pianura: Contesti Territoiali e sviluppo
Monastico, VIII Centenario della Certosadi-iulonteBenedetto,Villar Focciardo Susa- Avigliana CollegnoI 3/I 6 Luglio 2000,BorgogneSusa2002..
ocf. Georg Miihlberger,
Die Kartause Allerengetbergin schnals,Lana 1995.
the Present Day
The Carthusian Order from its Foundation to
15
re grandeur of such well-endowed
3í2,or eventhe grandiosePadula'2
'af1ores6and Jerez de la Frontera'7
:enth centuries,shardly seem' with
res, to fully accord with the severity
of the Carthusianideal.s
In the ear1YdaYs sixteen li
mercenariesor paid workers were n(
estates of a charterhouse and as
community, but inevitably elderly k
the later ntiOat" Ages the number oí
markedly, so that new categoneswere I
to. less austere
whom assistedï-choir, tÉough they werg :u'je9t"g
and the
taybrethren'
the
aided
othárs
wtrilst
discipline ttran the Áoorc,
faithfully
the charterhouse
more numerous d.onati,whopromisedto Serve
of female donataeare
cases
Rare
vows.
no
took
but
without salary,
women totally from
known, though the original ideal excluded
pr91ot9{1t9 the status
be
to
Carrhusianertat"r.- Aspirítions of conversi
1453, 1470and again
in
ChapterGeneral
by ttt"
of monks \ilere ;"j;rj
betweenthe choir monks
in 1889, though ^ft", Vatícan II the sepaÍatiron
lcf. JamesHogg,La certosa di pavia,2 vols.,Analectacartusiana 52,1992,1994..- ^_^.
Album (1978)'
2JamesHogg, The Charterhouseof Padula, Analecta Cartusiana 54' Vol' 2:
57' Vol' 2: Album'
3Cf. James Hogg, The èharterhousesof Naplesand Caprí, Analecta Cartusiana
(1978).
. -: --^__^a!^^_ t
certostna't,|nalecta
4Cf. Giovanni Leoncini, La Certosadi Firenzg nei suoi rappo(í con l'architettura
Tuscíae"' 2 vols'' Analecta
"Prouincia
a'tÍá
Critoii
Le
later
his
Cartusiana ?1 (1980), and
cttatt"ttrousesof the CarthusianProvinceof Tuscany'
Cartusiann 60, (1989), which dealswith all tf'"
(1982)"
de EI Paular' Analecta Cartusiana 77
Carntja
5ndefonsoM. Gómez M.B. & JamesHogg, ln
jartusiana 19 z2(1979)'
4nalecta Cartusiana 47:2 (1978)'
in the ChaÍerhouse in the Fourteenthand Fifteenth
ituts fíir
en des I ns-t
t:mittelalte
r s, VerÓffentlichung
tu iggo, pp. 113-lï6; JamesHogg' Mittelalterliche
tusiana 2 (1971)-
I6
James Hogg
Foundation to the Present Day
The Carthusian Order from its
T7
veaÍsinthecharterhouse,andNicolasKempfr.DenistheCarthusian,2
of the religious
;
:Ï:n"tts
lh, fri"nd of Niroiu' of C"'u''""ff*;í
k n o w i e d g e o f h i s d m e s i n m o s t o f i t s a s pp{9t
e c t sof
i n hthe
i s vcharterhouse
oluminousw
ofo r k
The
compiled in the fifteenth t"tto'i' '(l
the
to
zíi-ti+z)' was elevated
Bologna, Ni."oiJ- a;Àit"'gati
important peace missions as Papal
wiitr
carclinalat",urrOï-ur-"rrtr,rrtád
t"tu,ï*oughout
had been ardent
the Middle Ages rh.ecTll:sians printing they soon
of
the invention
uq
copyistsor **ïr"trógrf
"lÉ
The first Uoót printed bv the
furititi"''it,
avaited themseiï;ïi
At-l1lious peiiods thereafter
lyl,
Carthusian*uppr-"d at Parm"íy
including the
p-rinting
^Ir-'
.eqqlpme;l
fifteen charterhouses pos'""J
century a real
hineteenth
the Iate
Correrie of the Grande Chartreus".
Montreuil-sur-Mer
of
it tit" tttarterhouse
printing press *;;;toblished
and works concerning the
ri,orgi;i'b;;[r
proao"f,Lrr"Ii
lor the
tá ïr"rnai in 19,01:Ylen anti-clerical
carthusianord;;:"ïr*ri;íntJ
imminent' the
of ittl ftench charterhouses
legislation*uO"'tt".iárutt
of
charterhouse
the
in
halt
anriquared machinery _srufte;;-;;
computer
in
developments
Modetn
tg54.
parkminster
"iá""0
suchpressesin ánv event obsolete'
rendered
technologysubsequently
importancó of books in the
Although Guigo 't1'-9g the
be
''' Luv Carthusianscould scarcely
Consuetuane, Ciil,Áio, XXiÀf,-ltte
of
charterhouses
the
eh
classifiedas an order '
humanism'
spread
J
'of
Basle and Cologne pli
'ogr"tt ttran a meansof
m
Books were intended
Chapterwarned
pursuing abstractlearning'
^^,t"ít'ul
L462 against
rn
o-ol Law'
ásainst devoting too much
and 1380'
prophecies'
preoccupatronwith
aítrology, t4gó''ugilfi;;i;ss
-presumabtv in ttre wider senseof
t470,and 150í ;ffii#tË.ulitrr,,'y,
th^anthe conïersion of basemetals
seekingtr," qoiritJ*"r." óírif";h#
into gold!
e
r
-zt^- +L^
highly esteemed
still hishlv
was sfill
order *rrqc
the A-Áor
-sixteenth
on the eve of the Reformation
new
fifteen
saw
century
una"tt
for its strict ;bt;;*"r"
"
f o u n d a t i o n s , s e v e n o f * t ' i t t ' - * " t t i n S p a i n u t t athe
P o rchaos
t u g a lof
' 3 9the
charterhouses were, to*"u"r, *n1"r:ed^during
in
English Póvince and those
Reformation,including the w;;il;i',he
where
countries and switzerland'
areas in Germany, the L;of the
whole
the
In Germany
Lutheranism or calvinism ptËuÀáá.
monks
of
number
A
tno. -lost.
carthusian province of su^oiyïá,
not insignificant group of
H"il""d-a
EnglanïàJ
in
aposrasised,though
-Barbet
s Kempf: Tractatus de Mystica
& Francis Ruello (eds)' Nicola
}artusianag(|973):Denniso.t',tu,'in,Fifte.inth-CenturyCarthusian
sKempf,s*i),'i,'ii"ii.i*,lo7ci)i'tio"Tnougnt4g,Leiden|992.Analecta
fin\iinilng in Werk und Gedankenwelt'
ysiusder íoíi'''"i'
Erfahrung bei
zur Hermene,irtià", religidsen
podlech,
Discretio;
an
(2OOZ)'
194
Cartusiana
ilecta
t8
JamesHogg
)-renouncingtheir taith. The Cologne
ily active in supportingthe Couníer_
r of Denis the Carthusian,as well as
, such as JohannesJusfus Lansberg
entiusSurius(1522-157g),also aideá
rs of the developmentof the Society
or Erasmu
s andadmo
nished not ï:ït;Ji""1i#",1ïËïf*"à'*il
ïfj
Hebrew.
The Carthusiannuns also suffered during the Reformation
period.
The Generalchaprer insisredthat rhe numb", óf
;h;;il^il" tirrrir"o
in accordancewith the revenuesavailable. The""r;
nunneriesof prémol,
Salettes,Gosnay,andBrugeswereall plundered.
In 1582,during the priorateoi Bernard carasse(1566_15g6),
a
new edition of the Carthusian Statutes, the Nova
colteciio Statutorum,
separatingthe Rule from the liturgical prescriptions,
which ioi the first
jiT" yerg printed separatelyur th" ordtnarrïm, was promulgated
to
9-dngthe Rule into acóordwith the legislution ái tn" Council of Trent. A
Novice Master had been introduced-alreadyii rcal,
tnough-thevicar
continued ro play an im_porranr
róre in the formation .f ;";i;;; ,rp to tt"
French Revolution. Efiorts to found u
in the New world
founderedon the resistanceof the Spanish
"trurt"irrouse
-on*.h, who felt the needfor
missionarieswas more pressingthàn for contemplative
monks, though
the project was approveàby the CarthusianC"""*r
chapterin i563 and
1564.
In the seventeenthcentury twenty new charterhouses
were
founded, twelve of which in Franóe,but in ttre eighteenth
century there
were no new foundations. In the Age of Enlightenment
no benefactors
could be found, who were willing ïo donateïe
substantialresources
necessaryto found a charterhouse.Subsequently,
all new foundations
were financed by rhe order, with the àio - -where
por.iuil _ of
benefactors.
In the seventeenthcentury the spanish carthusian
Antonio de
(ï 1612)wrote an Instruóción de'sacerdotes
Yglilu
inrhe charrerhouse
of Miraflores near-Burgos,which exercisedan important
---'
influence on the
trainin_gof priesrsin thé posr-Tridentinep"riÁà.
In the late seventeenthcentury the Grande chartreuse
was once
again rebuilt under the direction of Innocent
ie Massor,,prioi of the
Grande chartreuse 1675-1703,after trre eilrrih àisastrous
fire over rhe
centuries' The monasterythen took on rts pËr"nt
uusterebut harmonious
appearance.Endowed with a strong perionality,
Innocent Le Masson
was a qifted spiritual writer, who árro pro-át"a
hisrorical studies
concerninghis Order, culminating in the Ànnales
of Dom Charles Le
TheCarthusianOrderfromitsFoundationtothePresentDay
vasseur, besideshis own
couteulx and the Ephemerídes of Leo Le
as the frst volume
published
Disciplína Ordinis Cartusiensis,originally
and he was
formidable
of the Annales.r His correspondàncez-was
largely
remained
which
Jansenism,
successfulin limiti"ftft" inroáds of
^^-G-oÁ
rn rlre nhqrre.rhnrrses of Northern
France.
He also engaged in a
Jeande Rancé(1626-L700),Abbot
tive Carthusianobservanceand the
ginal ideal. He was responsiblefor
in L679,owing to the
Ë'etaYbrothers
up living at some distancefrom the
to the
. biotherJ had been recalled
to
foolish
be
would
It
charterhouseproper in the later Uiaat. Ages'
was
century
seventeenth
late
pt",r"J tf,at life fi the charterhousein the
The expansionof the
identical with ttt" ri*a experienceof st. Bruno.
benefactors' so that
and
founders
to
Order led to ,roÀÀos obfigations
the mass, seldom celebratedin the
was content with a single altar, h
conventuallY three times, not to r
individual monks. Nevertheless,dr
the Order still counted t73 houses,
choir monks, 1,300laybrothersand 70 nuns'
the spread of
Innocent Le Massor, *u, also vigilant to avoid
spiritual
number
a
penned
whom he á1so
euietism u-orrgth" nrrnr, for
Anne
of.life'
way
their
in
a gulde to aid them
writings una
the
in
experiences
"o"-pited
mystical
her
Griffon or co,tuy'ii ro+il' had recorded
from
suffered
have
to
she
but
century,
fust half of the seventeenth
*"PS
of Nonenquein the
psychologicufpiottems, as did TeiesaBunn (ï 1967)
t'wentiethcenttrry.
Jansenismcontinued to trout
charterhousesin the early eightet
earlier Carthusianlegislation'
"Historiographie des
lFor a survey of historical studies concerning the Carthusianscf' JamesHogg'
(21
215
Cartusiana
Kartàuseroróns", in Analecta
Cartusiana 206, 2003-2005'
t"{;oj*lg
thl*, Réforme.etconte'Réforme catholiques:Recherchessur la chartreuse de cologne
au XVIe siècle,3
vols, AnalectaCartusiána g0 (l9gl).
19
"È:;ox";'iï::ï,i,";:i",^;r7,i:i::;:"à
pp.43-106.
20
JamesHogg
In 1775 and r7g2-r793 rhe Emperor Joseph
II ordered the
suppressionof all charterhousesin his terri^tories,Austria, Flanders,and
LombardY,- fls he regardedcontemplativeOrders
u, ur"l"r, ià society.
The carthusiannunneryin Brugeswàs thus alsoclosed
in 17g3. rn l7g4
the sixteen Spanish charteihouses were united
in a National
Congregation,which no longer re<
the GrandeChartreuse. EvJn so,
there were still 126 charterhouses,I
by the French Revolution and the
Carthusianssuffered martyrdom c
Carthusian nunneri"s *"ri victims
closedby 1794,the prioressof Gosnayeven suffered
martyrdom through
the guillorine.
2l
TheCarthusianorderfromitsFoundationtothePresentDay
by the Generalchapter of 1973'
receivedtheir own statutes,approved
Chapterat the Grande
which permittedïtt"* t" holdfheit;;;General
in
for gt"ui"i roiitod" led to nèw foundations
Chartreuse. tr"iiaàrire
life'
of
way
to a more eremitical
the later twentieth centur!, better suited
had been't:"R?i:1::i:
*tti"tt
charterhouses
The Italian
?Ë?ï
After the restorationof the monarchyin Francein
1g L5,a small
grgup of Carthusiansfrom the Part-Dieu in
Switzerland united with
others who had secrerlyremained
to
_rogetherat Romanr-ilD;;;hiné
reopen rhe GrandeChartreusein 1816.
Thus a revival of the Order in
France and Italy began, which grined iTp;,
during John Baptisr
Mortaize'slengthy priorate of the-Grandech'urt
(lg3r-1g63). The
General Chapter was convened again in tg7"u.e
and the Carthusian
Provinces of Fran... utd Italy r"-"itablished
in 1g39. Anti-clerical
legislation causedthe closure of the two eortugu.se
charterhousesat
Evora and Lisbon in 1834, which had survived the
French Revolution.
The charterhousesincorporatedin the Nationut
spuniJ ó;rg*gation
y:t. similarly suppressea
in tg35, thougha few monks were toleratedat
Miraflores as custodians of the charierhouse,to protect
its artistic
treasures' The charterhousesin Poland were ciosed
at much the same
period, Gidle (1819), Dantzig (lg26) and
Bereza(1g31). Ittingen in
Switzerlandfollowed in 1g49.
The carthusian nuns were also revived at this period,
a group
having gatheredat osier in rgr9, but *
site was scarcery
niÉmage
suited to a community leading a solitary rirel
ih. Grundechartreuse
thus aided them to puichaseBéauregardllsère).
New foundationswere
made at Montauban(Tarn-erGaronné; in 1g54and
Notre Dame du Gard
(Somme), a former Cistercianmonastery,
in 1870, but the anti-clerical
legislationin Francecausedthem to be-evacuated
in 1901,though the
nuns were able to remain at Beauregard.Those
from Montaubansettled
at Motta Grossa,near Riva di pinàr,
rtreuse and the regular observance
,hoo*", of Montrieuxo and Sélignac
o*urdt, the monks being PassivelY
CertosaReaIediTorinoaColIegnoeIuoghididevozioneperIa
c ittà( I 64I - 1853),Turin 1998'
diTrisulti'
2cf. Jamesttogg, Ciou"nni Leoncini & Michele Merola, La certosa
vols''
Cangemi'La Certosa di Roma' 2
3Cf. James Hogg, The Charterhous" o7 noÀ"; and Lidia
n Francescoat Giaveno, but the
cedinto exile. The buildings of the
two new Italian foundationswere, however, not
really suiteá to the
Carthusianlife- After the SecondVatican Council
the nuns finally
t*:';:r?TiJí::,,iÏ"Íi,1?];ed
in 1e01'
or therurewasonrvestabrished
theruuprescriptions
however'
5Nosuitableusehadbeenfound.forthebuildingsaftertheexpulsionoftheCarthusiansin1903.
etrorutoinstallaSummeruniversityprovedabortive'
in 1901'
6Themonks or uon;eu* hadsettledat La cervara, southof Genua'
22
JamesHogg
tolerated,whilst the communitiesof Valbonne and
Vauclaire settledin
the Spanishcharterhouse
of Aula Dei,r t"p*"hu.ed in 1901.
During the SpanishCivil War sevàralCarthusians
of Montalegre
were assasinated,2-though
General Franco restoredPorta Coeli to the
order in 1945and Jerezde la Fronterain 1948,the Spanish
charterhouses
forming their own province from lg4g onwards,
to which Evora in
Portugal,reopenedin 1960,was affiliated.
After the SecondWorld War a group of Italian charterhouses
had
to be successivelyclosedowing to diminisËedrecruitment,rrisulti and
Paviain 1947,Florencein 1951andpisa in r969,as
weil as Mougèresin
France in 1977- The German charterhouseí uuin
near Dtisseldorf,
which lay in closeproximity ro
airporr,
was
also
,uppi"rrJ
and the
l!9
community transferredto new buildingi
at Seibranznear Bad V/urzach in
Allgàu in 1962. The nunsof Beauregard,housedin unsuitabte
uuitaings,
were transferredto a new charterhóuseat Reillanne
in itr" Àip"s-deHauteProvencein 1978,whilst the Spanishnuns]rom
SanFrancescohad
tk99dy moved to the former Cistercàn abbey of Benifaza fcuri"llon o"
la Plana),situatedin a formidablesolitude,ií pal.t
rn 1977the monks
of vedana, near Belluno, were repraced6y r group
of nuns from San
Francesco,seekinga more soritaryàbr"ruunt", 'ího remained
until rgg4.
when the charterhouses
of Monte GrossawaÁclosedin 199g,tÀe nuns
were transferredto Vedana, whilst
1994, the community occupying th
province of Savona. Neverthêtess,
r
recenfly founded Order of the Sisters
the charterhouseof Jerezde la Fronr,
tl"it inspiration, having attractedco
Carthusiannuns.
The first foundation in the New world, envisagedat
Sky Farm in
1951,was finally realisedat Mount Equinox ín D7r, the charterhouse
of the Transfiguration in vermont -, foilowed by
a charterhouse
-under
in
Southern Brasil, Mostero Nossa Senhora Medianeiru,
ruÀrà,
constructionsince 1985, and Ia cartuja san Joséat Dean
Funes,in the
province of cordoba in.Argentina,whJre building
operationscommenced
in 1997. After consideiing rhe possibility Jr a
foundation on the
Philippine Islands,the decisionwai taken to undertake
foundationsfor
both monks and nuns in south corea in 1999,qbut the
charterhouses
of
'eMon-taleg re. Compendio H istórico, Montalegre
ulontalegre,Sant pol de Maresme,Vallparadis,
ira
Montalegre asesinadosen Tiana y en Barcelona el
o afio, GrandeChartreuse1996.
: by the GeneralChapterof 1971. For rhe buildings
)artusiana al:7 (1980).
Lildingsof the charterhousefor monks at Modong,
TheCarthusianorderfromitsFoundationtothePresentDay23
SélignacandJerezdelaFronterahadtobeclosedin200lforlackof
llnDecemberlgggtherewere340C.arthusianmonks,includingthelaybrothers,24novicesand12
ln*ïn**H$Èff*1ff#'3ïïlï1ï'"'T.lïi*Ë;
n.Ëí"i-"tná
and
Matins
after
tobed
toreturn
Laporte'
midnight at this period: cf' Maurice
Cartusiae1953'
oa onnu^- isit' In Do'no
Lauds, ,o pr"ru*"Ëiv *,ár" ofhces'were.
Generalium eï"i'niàiiqu"
Ex Chartis Copiiuíái*
Admonition 2428'
1965'
3Cf. André Ravier, Dom AugastinGuillerand' Bruges
in Analecta
in the EasterWeek of 1993"'
4Cf. JamesHogg, "A Visit to {r9-fa1i1oi-Jóartnïsians"
-25
(with
illustrations)'
4
Carrusiarn OZ,Z 6ggS)t,pp' 235
The Carthusian Order from its Foundation to the Present Day
25
reissuedas Analecta Cartusiana 84 in22 vols., 1981-83; G. Vallier, S-igillographie
ie I'Ordre des CharTeux, Montreuil-sur-Mer 1891. The secondary.literature has
b"ro*" extensive in recent years, so only a limited selection can be indicated here:
É.fr4.Ín"*pson, The Carthusian Order'in -Englgnd, London 1930; Yves Gourdel,
;i" rutt" C"'la Sainte Vierge dans l'Ordre des Chartreux" , in Maria 2, Paris 1952'
Die Karttiuser in Ósterueich. 4 vols., Analecta
pp.625-78: James
-8á, Hogg íed.),
'Marijan
Zadnlkar, Die Karttiuser: Orden den
tgsilgS;
ïàrt^itià
Mónche, Cologne te_Qi; Jan de Grauwe (ed.), Historia et Spiritualitas
iiiiri7iiàtn
Cartusiensis, Destelbergen íqgf ; Ildefonso Maria Gómez, I'a Q-artuja en Esp-afia,
"114, l9'áq; James Hogg (ed.), Die Kartiiuser und die
'Cartusiana Analecta Cartusiàia
108, 1984; Jame-s Hogg ("4.)'
Z voli., Analecta
fi.tfiàotio",
und.Kartriuserleben,4 vols., Analecta_Cartusiana ll3, 1984-87;Jan
Xáíaiíiirrgeí
dá Gtuu*","Historia Cartusiana Belgica, Analecta Cartusiana 51, 1985; Bernard
ÉfiÀ"y a óeàa Chaix (eds.),La_Naíssancedes Chartreuses,Grenoble 1986; Janez
HoÍeístein & T. Lauko,Wo'di, StiIIespricht,Pleterje 1986; Elena Barlés !áqte1a'
;Àpi"i-iÀ*ióo
u ta bibfografía generai sobrg la arquillrctura monástica de la Orden
"4, lg8i, pp.259-75; Robin Bruce Lockhart, Botschaft.des
Curtlr];t;, in ArtigiaÀo
i'Die Ausbreitung dgr Kartáuser", in
Jamèjsëoqg,
1987;
WiirzËurg
itniLigt"í,
Posada,Der he.ilige.Brryng'Vater
Óérlao
Analecta Cartusiana ig, tgïi,pp.5-26;
iií Xoia"ser, Colàgne'I987; p.^nmargier, Régjs Bertrand, Alain Girard & Daniel
i" Ètén"" , ihartríuses de i'rovence,-Aix-en-Provence- 1988; VTgtit Frtih, Jtirg
Ganz & Robert Ftrór (eds.), Die Kartiiuser im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert,Ittinger
und Kartiiuserschrifttum,
i,1988; iu-"í'Hog Z lelr),-$a4g1u-serliturgie
írnÁni"rrii"
5;i".., Ànatectá Càiíustana t tí,-tg88-9o; Wilhelm Bó9en,lyf eysam.erSffaJ3e-zu
C"ii, fiiburg-im-Breisgau 1989; Daniel Le Blévec & Alain Girard (eds'), les
Chartreux et l;art XNe X1ilile siècles,Paris1989; JamesHogg (e!t),l\e Eu-olution-of
ihe Carthusian Statutes,35 vols., Analecta Cartusiana 9t, 1989-99; W' Scháfke
(9!-)' nte
11o-8-9
f"á.i óii Xat"er Kartause um 1500.2 vols., Cologne l99l; James
Ange
125,l99I-92;
Analecta-Cartusiana
vols.,
Kartiiuserordens,2
èes'chichtedes
ftílíy, nr"no von Kiiln, Wtirzbuig l2gZrl1m"g fjogg (ed.)-,Die Karttir!!.e.r und ihre
("d!.)'
wiíí,7 i"ls., Analeita bartusianí 62,1993; Alruin Glard & Daniel Le Blévec
d.e ripture en Chartreuse, Analecta Cartusiana New Series 6, 1994;
ó;;;;;
fruff A ltitg G^n (eds.), Akten des Il. Internationalen _Kongrgsysfir
Vf*Éiii "'iítip,t
der Kàrtaíse ltting3n,.Ittingen t995; James Hggg (e,!'),l\t
Xír$iiirfàrtchun[7,
Iríy;;i;;í i;"àitUn"ora the Carthusians, !4 v9h., e1ql9u9 Cartusiana 130,1995-97;
La Poésie
M1 folter (ed.),
' Kartiiuser in Franken Wtirzburg 1996; Augustin Devaux,
Jam99
1997;
131,
Cartísiana
Analecta
Ies
Chartreux,
-Hog-g,
Latine chàz
"Kartàuser", in Peter Dinzelbacher & James Hogg (e-d-s.),Kul-tu.rg3lchichteder
Ka.rtiiuser
Die
Jàóes Hogg (:Q,
Orden, Stuugart lgg7,pp.275-296;
Ciiititrntn
-,{nalecta
Cartusiana 140, 1998; Jan De Grauwe
und das HI. Rómische neiih,4 vols.,
& Francis Timmerman s, P ro sopographia
2 vols., Analecta Cartusiana 154,1999; Cartuja, Analecta Cartusiana I59, 2l
Cartujos en Ia religiosidad y Ia socieda
Cartusiana L66,2000; Jtirg Ganz & Ma
Analecta Cartusiana 160, 2000; James
ihrer Zeit, 3 vols., Analecta Cartusit
Formazione dell'Iile'ntità Certosina (1084-1155),AnalectaCartusiana I55,2002;
Karl Thir & James Hogg, Der hI. Bruno und die Kartausen Mitteleuropas,Analecta
Càrtusiana tgO QOóZïi JamesHogg (ed.), Die ReichskartauseBuxheim 1402-2002
und der Karttius erordei, 2 vols., Aííle cta Cartusiana I82 (2003, 2004).
t This bibtiography
containsessentialtitresnot mentioned
in the precedingnotes.
26
Carthusian SPiritualitY
JamesHogg
Abbreviations for the article "carthusian
CARTHUSIAN SPIRITUALITYI
spirituality"
Ac
Analectacartusiana.ed.JamesHggg,Berlin 1970,sarzburg
r97rff.
PAC Biblíotecade AutoresCrisliànos,fríaïria.
BBKL Biosraphisch-bíbriographisihes.
xiiiiiii"rikon,
ed.F.w. -r*q"Lr""tl
Bautz, rg75ff.
"i*ïïïf.#scatholicismi
Éiói,ï":"*d'h;l;il;;in',
"4.
c.
27
e vols.,
Devaux/van Dijcklugustin-Devaux,./
Gabriel van Díjck, Nouvelle Bibliographie
CD-Rom, La Grande Chartreuse 2iói:'_ -cartu_si9nne,
Ds
Dictionnaif.e d". spyilufiié, Asc4ique-t-vtystique.
Docrrine et
-aebuiu"rt,
Histoire,
publié sous la direction de M. viiler, si,ái.irte
àJË.'óauar;;;fÍ.
SJ, Paris I93Z-95.
, Escritores Cartujos de Espaftu 2 vols.,
JAMES HOGG
1.MedievalCarthusianSpirituality
writetsz quite to match
If there is no school of medieval Carthusian
rument heurístique. paris 1976_79,3 vols.
wles Ordinis Cartusíensis ab anno I0g4 ad
r 1887-1891.
hemerides Ordinis Cartusiensls, 5 vols.,
attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux
Leauthorshavebeen printed perhaps
the translatorHeinrich Haller of the
iyrol, due to the devotion and
t-ignaab origine usque ad tempus auctoris
)3-1906.
nza anno; sin afro
luogo; sin lugar
ff.
Cartusiana, Cologne 1609 (reprinted:
rvrittenas
m is habituallyemployedarefrequently
no
;i iorm has,óf "outsé,beenretained'where
"ía critíco chronologica diplomatica d.el
rc Cartusíano, lO Vbls, Nàples 1773_79
ncluded.
1932,217-60.