De monasterio Fructuariensi
On the Monastery of Fruttuaria
1.
837DCum vix aliquid de Fructuariensi monasterio habeatur tum in Vita Guillelmi a Glabro conscripta, 838Dtum apud chronographum Benignianum, visum est hic paulo fusius de eo agere, cum hanc habeat super 839Acaetera monasteria, quae Willelmus noster rexit, praerogativam, quod ab eo in suae ipsius paternae haereditatis fundo conditum fuerit, indeque plurimum ejus initii notitia profutura sit ad illustranda ejusdem beati viri gesta. Situm est inter duo flumina Orcum et Amalonem in Gallia Subalpina, intra Eporediensis dioecesis fines. Conditum primo fuit et dotatum liberalitate fratrum beati Willelmi, aliorumque ipsius consanguineorum, tum variis aliorum donationibus auctum, ac demum principum et summorum pontificum diplomatibus et privilegiis firmatum et munitum, nulli fere totius Italiae monasterio tum nobilitate, tum divitiarum affluentia, cessit. Ejus natalia paucis exprimit vetus auctor his versibus, quos Franciscus Augustinus ab ecclesia, ex antiquo 839Bmonasterii Chronico descriptos, Historiae suae Pedemontanae inseruit Si quis Fructuariae mavult praenoscere quando Coenobii coeptum rite fuisset opus: Millesimus sublimis erat tunc tertius annus Partus virginei Principis aetherei. Martii septenae, seu indictio prima Kalendae, Tempus vel cursum ambo suum peragunt. Rex Ardoinus sceptri moderamine fissus Regnat in Hesperia, tendit in Ausoniam. Adjuvat ipse locum Dominus, quem munere dotat, Rebus consuluit fratribus assiduis. Praesul Ottobianus quod jure dicando sacravit, Abbas Willelmus construit hoc Domino.
1.
837DSince scarcely anything is to be had concerning the monastery of Fruttuaria, whether in the Life of William written by Glaber, 838Dor in the Benignian chronicler, it has seemed good to treat of it here a little more fully, since it holds this prerogative over 839Athe other monasteries which our William governed, that it was founded by him upon the estate of his own paternal inheritance, and that therefore the knowledge of its beginning will be of much profit toward illustrating the deeds of that same blessed man. It is situated between two rivers, the Orco and the Malone, in Subalpine Gaul, within the bounds of the diocese of Ivrea. It was first founded and endowed by the liberality of the brothers of blessed William, and of others of his kinsmen, then enlarged by various donations of others, and at length confirmed and fortified by the diplomas and privileges of princes and supreme pontiffs; and it yielded to hardly any monastery of all Italy, whether in nobility or in the abundance of its riches. Its birth is set forth in few words by an old author in these verses, which Francesco Agostino della Chiesa, copied from the ancient 839BChronicle of the monastery, inserted into his History of Piedmont:
If any prefer to know beforehand when The work of the monastery of Fruttuaria had duly been begun: It was then the sublime thousandth and third year Of the virgin-born birth of the ethereal Prince. The seven Kalends of March, or the first indiction, Both accomplish their time or their course. King Arduin, upheld by the governance of the scepter, Reigns in Hesperia, stretches toward Ausonia. The Lord himself aids the place, which he endows with his gift, He took counsel for the affairs of the assiduous brethren. What Bishop Ottobiano hallowed by the right of dedication, Abbot William builds this for the Lord.
2.
Sed nemo melius monasterii sui natalia exponit 839Cquam ipse Guillelmus, cujus ideo chartam a laudato auctore ex Fructuariensi archivio relatam describimus infra.
2.
But no one better sets forth the birth of his monastery 839Cthan William himself, whose charter therefore — reported by the author praised above from the archive of Fruttuaria — we transcribe below.
3.
Quo anno instrumentum istud confectum fuerit incertum mihi est, cum id aut non expresserit ipse Willelmus, au certe datam omiserit qui ipsum ex autographo descripsit, qui etiam aut ob legendi imperitiam, aut nescio qua alia de causa, monumentum istud adeo pretiosum multis mendis videtur respersisse. Caeterum ex variis chartis quae a Guichenone in Bibliotheca Sebusiana, et ab Ughello, tomo IV Italiae Sacrae in episcopis Eporediensibus referuntur, patet nihil a Willelmo abbate omissum fuisse ut Fructuariensis monasterii libertatem, tum in temporalibus, tum in spiritualibus, adeo firmiter 839Dstabiliret ut posteris temporibus, facile non convelleretur. Primum ab Henrico imperatore confirmari sibi curavit quaecunque aut a suis propinquis aut ab aliis piis viris monasterio tradita fuerant. Exstat ea de re ejusdem Henrici diploma, datum anno 1014, ex quo non solum multa de variis possessionibus quas jam tunc possidebat coenobium Fructuariense comperta fiunt, verum etiam exinde innotescunt, tum nobilissimum Willelmi nostri genus, tum alii nonnulli viri illustres, qui postpositis mundi illecebris tunc temporis eo in loco monasticam vitam ducebant; quin et Gonthardi judicatus, supra in Willelmi instrumento laudatus, ab Henrico confirmatur. « Domnus, inquit, abbas Willelmus nostram clementiam 840Aadiit petens quoddam monasterium nostra auctoritate corroborari, situm in loco qui dicitur Fructuaria, ex propria haereditate fratrum ejus Gotfredi, Nitardi atque Roberti, in honore sanctae Dei genitricis Mariae sanctique Benigni martyris constructum, velut in charta judicatus a Gonthardo diacono edita continetur. Cujus precibus susceptis prius regali praecepto confirmavimus, » etc. Inter alios monasterii benefactores recenset Otthonem Willelmum, nostri Willelmi consanguineum, ut supra diximus, cujus complures exstant chartae in Benigniani sicut et in Fructuariensis monasterii favorem datae. « Habeat et teneat quieto jure castellum Longobardorum cum omnibus suis pertinentiis, et omnia praedia illa et cortes, quas dedit Ottho, qui 840Bet Willelmus, comes, filius Adalberti, nepos Berengarii regis, ipso loco infra fines Longobardiae ex haereditate parentum et propinquorum suorum. Statuimus etiam per hanc nostri praecepti firmitatem in perpetuum habendas omnes terras illas, quas habere debet jam saepe nominatum monasterium ex haereditate Roberti, quondam viri nobilissimi, qui fuit genitor jam dicti abbatis Willelmi . . . Confirmamus omnem illam haereditatem et possessiones, quae ex paterno et materno jure debebantur Otberto, qui fuit filius Gerardi, et nepos Otberti comitis, qui fecit haeredem suam sanctam ecclesiam Fructuariensem, quando pater ejus et ipse reliquerunt mundum, dantes se et omnia sua Deo, factis monachis . . . » Sub finem enumerat cellas, seu prioratus, qui jam 840Ctunc a monasterio illo pendebant; scilicet cellam « Astensem, cellam Navigensem, cellam in Quaranta, cellam in Cavalliaca, cellam in Paderno, » etc.
3.
In what year that instrument was drawn up is uncertain to me, since either William himself did not express it, or certainly he who copied it from the autograph omitted the date — he who also, whether through unskillfulness in reading, or for some other reason I know not, seems to have besprinkled that so precious monument with many errors. For the rest, from the various charters which are reported by Guichenon in the Bibliotheca Sebusiana, and by Ughelli, in the fourth volume of Italia Sacra among the bishops of Ivrea, it is plain that nothing was omitted by Abbot William whereby he might so firmly 839Destablish the liberty of the monastery of Fruttuaria, both in temporal and in spiritual things, that in after times it should not easily be torn away. First he took care to have confirmed to himself by the emperor Henry whatsoever had been handed over to the monastery, whether by his own kinsmen or by other pious men. There is extant on this matter a diploma of that same Henry, given in the year 1014, from which not only are many things learned concerning the various possessions which the monastery of Fruttuaria already then possessed, but also from it there become known both the most noble lineage of our William, and certain other illustrious men who, having set aside the enticements of the world, at that time led the monastic life in that place; nay, even Gonthard's adjudication, praised above in William's instrument, is confirmed by Henry. « The lord abbot William, he says, approached our clemency, 840Aasking that a certain monastery be corroborated by our authority, situated in the place which is called Fruttuaria, out of the proper inheritance of his brothers Gotfred, Nithard and Robert, built in honor of the holy Mother of God Mary and of Saint Benignus the martyr, even as is contained in the charter of adjudication issued by Gonthard the deacon. Whose petitions being received, we have first confirmed it by royal precept, » etc. Among the other benefactors of the monastery he reckons Otto William, the kinsman of our William, as we said above, of whom there are extant several charters given in favor both of the Benignian and of the monastery of Fruttuaria. « Let it have and hold by quiet right the castle of the Lombards with all its appurtenances, and all those estates and courts which Otto, who 840Bis also William, count, son of Adalbert, grandson of King Berengar, gave in that place within the bounds of Lombardy out of the inheritance of his parents and kinsmen. We ordain also, by this firmity of our precept, that all those lands are to be held in perpetuity which the oft-named monastery ought to have out of the inheritance of Robert, once a most noble man, who was the father of the said abbot William . . . We confirm all that inheritance and the possessions which were owed, by paternal and maternal right, to Otbert, who was the son of Gerard, and grandson of Otbert the count, who made the holy church of Fruttuaria his heir, when his father and he himself forsook the world, giving themselves and all their goods to God, having become monks . . . » Toward the end he enumerates the cells, or priories, which already 840Cthen were dependent on that monastery; namely the cell « of Asti, the cell of Naviglio, the cell in Quaranta, the cell in Cavaglià, the cell in Paderno, » etc.
4.
Anno Christi 1023, aliud item privilegium ab eodem imperatore obtinuit Willelmus quo monasterium Fructuariense, « prout in charta judicatus a Gunthardo diacono edita continetur, » sub speciali sua defensione suscipit, ac privilegium Benedicti VIII confirmat. « Dehinc, inquit, ut stabilius permaneat imperiali auctoritate corroboramus, sub nostra defensione ea ratione recipimus, ut nullus dux, marchio, etc. Statuimus quoque et Dei nostraque auctoritate confirmamus, ut idem locus supra memoratam libertatem in cunctis obtineat, et quaecunque de ejus libertate 840Det stabilitate, de abbatis electione et consecratione a domno apostolico Benedicto multisque episcopis in privilegiis et synodalibus decretis statuta sunt, rata omni tempore et inconcussa firmitate subnixa conserventur. » Observat Hugo abbas Flaviniacensis in Chronico Virdunensi Willelmum nostrum, quem « rectorem strenuum et religione praestantissimum » appellat, beato Henrico acceptissimum fuisse. Et paulo inferius eumdem Willelmum « supra regulam dictum fuisse ait a rigore ferventioris propositi. »
4.
In the year of Christ 1023, William obtained likewise another privilege from the same emperor, whereby he takes the monastery of Fruttuaria — « even as is contained in the charter of adjudication issued by Gunthard the deacon » — under his special defense, and confirms the privilege of Benedict VIII. « Henceforth, he says, that it may remain the more stable, we corroborate it by imperial authority, we receive it under our defense on this condition, that no duke, marquis, etc. We ordain also, and by God's authority and our own confirm, that the same place obtain in all things the above-mentioned liberty, and that whatsoever has been ordained concerning its liberty 840Dand stability, concerning the election and consecration of the abbot, by the lord apostolic Benedict and by many bishops in privileges and synodal decrees, be preserved ratified for all time and resting upon unshaken firmity. » Hugh, abbot of Flavigny, observes in the Chronicle of Verdun that our William, whom he calls « a strenuous ruler and most excellent in religion, » was most acceptable to blessed Henry. And a little below he says that the same William « was called 'above the rule' from the rigor of his more fervent purpose. »
5.
Post Henrici Augusti obitum Conradus ejus successor, a beato Willelmo rogatus, iisdem pene verbis ac Henricus monasterii Fructuariensis libertatem sua pariter auctoritate roboravit, ut ex ipsius 841Acharta patet, quae ab eodem Guichenone refertur, in qua Joannes ejusdem loci abbas memoratur, qui in Chronico Benigniano, supra, appellatur Joannetinus et Henricus, ejusque successores Augusti « in fratrum sodalitium » dicuntur adsciti. « Dignum duximus Fructuariense coenobium litteralibus praeceptis confirmare, exorante domno Willelmo Divionensi abbate, qui, praedictum monasterium ex praediis, eleemosynisque propinquorum suorum ac caeterorum fidelium Christi a fundamentis construens, plurimos secundum regulam sancti Benedicti Deo servientes inibi congregavit. Nos nostrosque in perpetuum successores, prout divae memoriae praedecessorem nostrum Henricum suo ac fratrum contubernio sociaverit, omnium benefactorum suorum 841Bparticipium habere cupiens, primum ejusdem coenobii abbatem, nomine Joannem, ejus in praesentia consecrari fecit, et tam ipsum quam totum eumdem locum suae imperiali tutelae commisit, ea maxime pro causa ut eamdem illi in omnibus libertatem conservet quam Cluniacense monasterium habere dignoscitur. Nos ergo saluti nostrae consulentes, » etc. Privilegia quoque et synodalia decreta Benedicti papae caeterorumque episcoporum confirmat iisdem verbis ac in Henrici diplomate supra laudato; quod et ab aliis imperatoribus, imo et a pontificibus Romanis factum fuisse observat Franciscus Augustinus ab Ecclesia in Catalogo Fructuariensium abbatum, Historiae chronologicae Pedemontanae cap. 27, ubi Joannem abbatem hic memoratum Guidonis comitis 841Csancti Martini filium, Ardulnique Italiae regis nepotem fuisse dicit.
5.
After the death of Henry Augustus, Conrad his successor, being asked by blessed William, in almost the same words as Henry likewise corroborated by his own authority the liberty of the monastery of Fruttuaria, as is plain from his own 841Acharter, which is reported by the same Guichenon, in which John, abbot of that same place, is mentioned — who in the Benignian Chronicle, above, is called Joannetinus — and Henry, and his successors the Augusti, are said to have been admitted « into the fellowship of the brethren. » « We have judged it worthy to confirm the monastery of Fruttuaria by written precepts, at the entreaty of the lord William, abbot of Dijon, who, building the aforesaid monastery from the foundations out of the estates and alms of his kinsmen and of the other faithful of Christ, gathered together there very many serving God according to the rule of Saint Benedict. We, desiring to have — for ourselves and our successors in perpetuity, even as he associated our predecessor Henry of divine memory in his and the brethren's company — a share in all his benefactions, 841Bcaused the first abbot of that same monastery, John by name, to be consecrated in his presence, and committed both him and the whole same place to our imperial guardianship, chiefly for this cause, that he might preserve for it in all things the same liberty which the monastery of Cluny is known to have. We therefore, taking counsel for our salvation, » etc. He confirms also the privileges and synodal decrees of Pope Benedict and of the other bishops in the same words as in the diploma of Henry praised above; which Francesco Agostino della Chiesa observes was done also by other emperors, nay even by the Roman pontiffs, in his Catalogue of the abbots of Fruttuaria, in chapter 27 of the Chronological History of Piedmont, where he says that the Abbot John here mentioned was the son of Count Guido 841Cof Saint-Martin, and grandson of Arduin king of Italy.
6.
Non minori devotione Robertus Francorum rex erga monasterium Fructuariense tenebatur quam imperatores, quamvis esset extra sui ipsius ditionem situm. Unde cum ab eo requisisset Guillelmus bonorum aliquot confirmationem, quae in Francia monasterio suo concessa fuerant, ultro ei piissimus rex praebuit assensum, atque generali praecepto asseruit Fructuariensi monasterio quaecunque vel jam data ipsi essent, aut quae postea forte traderentur, intra regni sui fines ( Vide supra in ROBERTO rege inter praecepta ejus ecclesiastica.
6.
With no less devotion was Robert, king of the Franks, attached to the monastery of Fruttuaria than were the emperors, although it was situated outside his own dominion. Whence, when William had sought of him the confirmation of certain goods which had been granted to his monastery in France, the most pious king of his own accord gave him his assent, and by a general precept secured to the monastery of Fruttuaria whatsoever had either already been given to it, or might afterward perchance be handed over, within the bounds of his kingdom ( See above under ROBERT the king, among his ecclesiastical precepts.
7.
Proferenda nunc Lamberti Lingonensis episcopi 841Dcharta, qui Fructuariensis monasterii subjectionis a Divionensi immunitatem, quam a Brunone Guillelmus impetraverat, confirmavit. Cujus tamen nullum habebatur publicum instrumentum, quod Bruno morte praeventus rem non absolvisset. Haec autem charta est veluti caeterarum omnium quae ( sic ) asserenda monasterii ejusdem libertate supra protulimus compendium. Habetur centuria II, num. 79, ex archivio regio Taurinensi descripta.
Ego Lambertus sanctae Lingonensis Ecclesiae episcopus, notum fieri decrevi tam praesentibus quam futuris, quod quidam dilectus ex dilectis, abbas videlicet Willelmus, adiit paternitatem nostram justis precibus, ut synodali decreto quoddam testamentum, quod ad votum praeventu mortis beatae memoriae praedecessoris 842Anostri Brunonis adimplere nequivit benignitas, nostrae benevolentiae perficeretur auctoritate. Quod quidem non immerito tanto facilius debet impetrare quando Dei cognoscitur zelo id omnino postulare. Quidam enim suus carnali propagine germanus, nomine Godefredus, ad sanctam veniens conversionem totum quodcunque habuit secum Deo devote contulit, ea maxime intentione ut de proprio suo construeretur monasterium, quod ne alicujus episcopio vel caenobio fieret aliqua subjectione obnoxium, solerti pertractatum est consilio ut in quodam loco, antiquitus Fructuaria dicto, aedificaretur, quod legalem per chartulam a Nitardo et Rotberto germanis ipsius Gotefredi cuidam Guntardo levitae traditus est, ut ipse inde faceret judicatus testamentum sub liberrima 842Bomnino conditione. Quod et factum est, sed non sine multorum, maxime Arduini regis et Bertae uxoris ejus adjutorio; quorum sagaci industria legali legaliter confirmata sunt testamenta, et sancto Divionensi coenobio non parvi pretii, ut patet, collata sunt ornamenta, scilicet textum unum auro, gemmis et lapidibus mire ornatum, casula auro decorata, duae stolae deauratae cum earum manipulis, et unum cingulum, atque quatuor amicti similiter deaurati. Quod et ideo facere studuerunt ut et locus, unde Fructuariensis videlicet sumpsit exordium, his honestaretur emolumentis, et hoc memores in posterum non habeant unde scandalum struere iniqua possent voluntate. Et nos igitur aequitatis jura appendentes et animarum lucris magis quam cupiditatibus perversorum consulentes, 842Csed et sancti praedecessoris nostri promissa complentes, a privilegiis quoque apostolicis atque decretis episcopalibus, a praeceptis denique imperialibus ac regalibus non discrepantes, Fructuariense coenobium cum omnibus quas possidere videtur rebus, tam mobilibus quam immobilibus, in nulla subjectione, in nullo jure cuiquam nostri episcopii pertinentiae obnoxium proclamantes, quinimo sub proprio pastore, ut per omnia absoluta libertate a Romana sede sibi concessa potiatur et a sublato hujusmodi subjectionis vinculo constet alienum, volumus et nos et statuimus, sub synodali decreto, ut nullus monachus, aut praescripti videlicet domni W. abbatis successor, contra praefatum locum aliquid querelae vel calumniae inferat, vel quidquam proprietatis seu subjectionis requirat. 842DUt sit igitur ipse locus, Fructuaria dictus, nostra quoque auctoritate inconvulsa stipulatione liber et absolutus, et ab omni querela immunis, et in fructificandis animabus semper Christo duce sacris aptus incrementis, testibus ex nostro clero admissis nostra subscriptione signamus. Signum Lamberti Lingonensis sedis episcopi. Signum Beraldi archidiaconi. Signum Beraldi abbatis sancti Stephani Divionensis etc. Actum apud Divionem publice III Idus Januarii anno ab incarnatione Domini 1017, indictione XV regnante Roberto Francorum rege. Ego Oddo cancellarius in synodo sanctae Lingonensis Ecclesiae hoc testamentum perfectum, et ab omni synodo laudatum et confirmatum recognovi et subscripsi.
7.
Now must be brought forward the charter of Lambert, bishop of Langres, 841Dwho confirmed the immunity of the monastery of Fruttuaria from subjection to Dijon, which William had obtained from Bruno. Yet of this no public instrument was to be had, because Bruno, being forestalled by death, had not brought the matter to completion. And this charter is, as it were, a compendium of all the others which we have brought forward above in maintaining ( sic ) the liberty of that same monastery. It is to be found in the second century, number 79, copied from the royal archive of Turin.
I, Lambert, bishop of the holy Church of Langres, have decreed that it be made known both to those present and to those to come, that a certain one beloved among the beloved — namely Abbot William — approached our paternity with just prayers, that a certain testament, which the kindness of our predecessor Bruno of blessed memory was unable to fulfill according to his wish, being forestalled by death, 842Amight be perfected by the authority of our benevolence. Which indeed he ought not undeservedly to obtain the more easily, since it is known to demand this altogether by zeal for God. For a certain brother of his by carnal descent, Godfrey by name, coming to holy conversion, devoutly conferred with himself upon God all whatsoever he had, with this chief intent, that out of his own property a monastery should be built; which, lest it should become liable to any subjection to any man's bishopric or monastery, it was arranged by careful counsel that it be built in a certain place anciently called Fruttuaria — which was handed over by legal charter by Nithard and Robert, brothers of that same Godfrey, to a certain Guntard the levite, that he might thereof make a testament of adjudication under a wholly most free 842Bcondition. And this was done, but not without the help of many, chiefly of King Arduin and Bertha his wife; by whose shrewd diligence the testaments were legally confirmed by law, and ornaments of no small value, as is plain, were conferred upon the holy monastery of Dijon, namely one gospel-book wondrously adorned with gold, gems and stones, a chasuble decorated with gold, two gilded stoles with their maniples, and one girdle, and four amices likewise gilded. And this they were zealous to do for this reason also: both that the place, whence namely Fruttuaria took its beginning, might be honored by these emoluments, and that those mindful hereafter might have no occasion whence to contrive a scandal by wicked will. We therefore also, weighing the rights of equity and taking counsel for the gains of souls rather than for the cupidities of perverse men, 842Cand also fulfilling the promises of our holy predecessor, and, moreover, in nothing differing from the apostolic privileges and the episcopal decrees, and finally from the imperial and royal precepts, proclaiming the monastery of Fruttuaria, with all the goods which it is seen to possess, both movable and immovable, liable in no subjection, in no right, to the belonging of any man's bishopric of ours — nay rather, under its own shepherd, that it may enjoy in all things the absolute liberty granted to it by the Roman see, and stand free from the removed bond of subjection of this kind — we too will and ordain, under synodal decree, that no monk, or successor namely of the prescribed lord Abbot W., bring against the aforesaid place any complaint or calumny, or require anything of ownership or subjection. 842DThat therefore the same place, called Fruttuaria, may be, by our authority too and by unshaken stipulation, free and absolved, and immune from every complaint, and, Christ ever leading, fit for holy increases in the fructifying of souls, we sign it with our subscription, witnesses from our clergy being admitted. The sign of Lambert, bishop of the see of Langres. The sign of Berald the archdeacon. The sign of Berald, abbot of Saint Stephen of Dijon, etc. Done at Dijon publicly on the III Ides of January in the year from the incarnation of the Lord 1017, in the XV indiction, Robert king of the Franks reigning. I, Oddo, chancellor, in the synod of the holy Church of Langres have acknowledged and subscribed this testament as perfected, and as approved and confirmed by the whole synod.
8.
Fructuariensis monasterii celebritate multi allecti, non solum sua ei, sed et se ipsos tradidere; ex iis celebris fuit Arduinus, Italiae rex, qui, rebus male adversus Henricum imperatorem gestis, saeculo valedicens in monasterium praedictum se recepit, ubi defunctus et sepultus a nonnullis Beati nomine donatus est. Hoc titulo insignitur in Benedictino Menologio Bucelini, ubi die 2 Martii, anno 1018 obiisse memoratur. Haec sanctitatis opinio qua Fructuaria tunc temporis commendabatur, ad posteros etiam transmissa fuit, ut ex variis chartis facile colligi potest, quae a Guichenone referuntur. Locum hunc prae caeteris coluit Agnes imperatrix, Henrici Augusti mater, cujus, et beati Annonis Coloniensis archiepiscopi interventu Alexander II summus pontifex 843Bprivilegia ejusdem monasterii suo diplomate confirmavit anno 1070. Certe cum beatus Anno, ut refert Lambertus Schafnaburgensis, auctor aequalis, in Italia agens ad Fructuariense monasterium orationis causa divertisset, « ibi admiratus monachorum arctissimam et secundum regulae instituta conversationem, nonnullos eorum in opere Dei probatissimos secum rediens abduxit » quos in monasterio Sigebergensi a se ipso condito constituit. Quae, inquit idem auctor, occasio fuit ut in caeteris quoque monasteriis regularis observantia repararetur.
8.
Many, allured by the fame of the monastery of Fruttuaria, handed over to it not only their goods, but even themselves; among these was the famous Arduin, king of Italy, who, having fared ill in his affairs against the emperor Henry, bidding farewell to the world betook himself into the aforesaid monastery, where, having died and been buried, he was granted the name of Blessed by some. Under this title he is marked in the Benedictine Menology of Bucelinus, where he is recorded to have died on the 2nd of March, in the year 1018. This reputation for sanctity, by which Fruttuaria was at that time commended, was transmitted also to posterity, as can easily be gathered from various charters which are reported by Guichenon. This place was cherished above the rest by the empress Agnes, mother of Henry Augustus, by whose intervention, and that of blessed Anno, archbishop of Cologne, Alexander II, supreme pontiff, 843Bconfirmed the privileges of that same monastery by his diploma in the year 1070. Certainly, when blessed Anno — as Lambert of Hersfeld, a contemporary author, relates — while acting in Italy had turned aside to the monastery of Fruttuaria for the sake of prayer, « there, marveling at the most strict manner of life of the monks and according to the institutes of the rule, returning he led away with him some of them most approved in the work of God, » whom he established in the monastery of Siegburg founded by himself. Which, says the same author, was the occasion that in the other monasteries too regular observance was restored.
9.
Sed et ipsa Agnes Augusta, saeculi vanitate abnegata, prius quam Romae sedem fixisset, apud Fructuariam morabatur. Quantum vero ejusdem loci monachos veneraretur, ex ejus epistola, quam paulo 843Cante quam apud eos secederet scripsit, conjici potest, sic autem se habet apud Guichenonem, Centuria II, num. 77, ex Chartario Fructuariensis descripta:
A. imperatrix et peccatrix A. [Andreae] Patri bono et fratribus in Fructuaria congregatis, in nomine Domini. Servitutem ancillae, cujus oculi in manibus dominae 844Asuae sunt, conscientia mea terret me pejus omni larva omnique imagine. Ideo fugio per sanctorum loca quaerens latibulum a facie timoris hujus, nec minimum desiderium est mihi veniendi ad vos, de quibus comperi quia vestra intercessio certa salus est; sed nostrae profectiones in manu Dei sunt, et non in nostra voluntate. Interim vero mente adoro ad pedes vestros, rogans ut Gregoriana pietate in Trajanum petatis mihi veniam a Domino; quia namque ille unus homo ab inferni claustris exoravit paganum, multi vos facile salvabitis Christianam unam. Quod si decreveritis, peto ut in signum pietatis societatem et fraternitatem vestram mandetis, et mittatis mihi quam primum. Rogo etiam ut parvum quod mitto munusculum admonitionis signum suscipere dignemini, 844Bquatenus credam quia de me curare incoeperitis. Valete, et tu, Pater bone, diligenter commenda me spiritalioribus fratribus de coenobiis atque cellis, ut faciant me participem in orationibus et jejuniis atque omnibus benefactis suis.
9.
But Agnes Augusta herself also, having renounced the vanity of the world, before she had fixed her seat at Rome, tarried at Fruttuaria. And how greatly she venerated the monks of that same place can be conjectured from her letter, which she wrote a little 843Cbefore she withdrew among them; and it stands thus in Guichenon, second Century, number 77, copied from the Cartulary of Fruttuaria:
A., empress and sinner, to A. [Andrew], the good Father, and to the brethren gathered together at Fruttuaria, in the name of the Lord. The servitude of a handmaid, whose eyes are on the hands of her mistress, 844Amy conscience frightens me worse than any specter and any apparition. Therefore I flee through the places of the saints, seeking a hiding-place from the face of this fear; nor is it my least desire to come to you, of whom I have learned that your intercession is a sure salvation; but our journeyings are in the hand of God, and not in our own will. Meanwhile, however, in mind I adore at your feet, asking that with Gregorian piety toward Trajan you seek for me pardon from the Lord; for since that one man, from the barriers of hell, obtained by prayer a pagan, you many will easily save one Christian woman. But if you shall have so decreed, I ask that as a sign of piety you send me your society and fraternity, and send it to me as soon as possible. I ask also that you deign to receive the little gift which I send as a sign of admonition, 844Bthat I may believe you have begun to care for me. Farewell, and do thou, good Father, diligently commend me to the more spiritual brethren of the monasteries and cells, that they may make me a partaker in their prayers and fastings and all their good works.
10.
Eadem Augusta interveniente Henricus imperator, filius ejus, monasterio Fructuariensi Rivum totum cum omnibus appendiciis suis in comitatu Aquensi dedit, ut ex ejus charta certum est, quae centuria XI, num. 76, refertur. Initio saeculi sequentis patriarcha Jerosolymitanus cum Fructuariensis monasterii fratribus societatem iniit, cujus ea de re epistola habetur ibidem, num. 73. Totus est in Fructuariensis monasterii laudibus describendis Petrus Damiani opusculo 18, cap. 3, ad 844CAdelaidem comitissam, ubi se ibi decem diebus hospitio susceptum fuisse perhibet. Perseverat etiam nunc celebre istud coenobium spirituali simul et temporali jurisdictione amplissima gaudens, in quo Mauricius Sabaudiae ducis filius, qui eidem loco initio saeculi currentis praeerat, collegium canonicorum saecularium instituit.
10.
At the intervention of the same Augusta, the emperor Henry, her son, gave to the monastery of Fruttuaria the whole Rivo with all its appendages in the county of Acqui, as is certain from his charter, which is reported in the eleventh century, number 76. At the beginning of the following century the patriarch of Jerusalem entered into society with the brethren of the monastery of Fruttuaria, whose letter on this matter is to be found in the same place, number 73. Peter Damian is wholly taken up with describing the praises of the monastery of Fruttuaria in his eighteenth opusculum, chapter 3, to 844Cthe countess Adelaide, where he relates that he was there received in hospitality for ten days. Even now that famous monastery endures, enjoying a most ample jurisdiction both spiritual and temporal, in which Maurice, son of the duke of Savoy, who presided over that same place at the beginning of the current century, instituted a college of secular canons.