Cerne Abbey
Encyclopedia
Cerne Abbey was a Benedictine
monastery
founded in 987
AD in the town now called Cerne Abbas
by Æthelmær the Stout
. Ælfric of Eynsham
, the most prolific writer in Old English was known to have spent time at the abbey as a priest and teacher.
King Canute is known to have plundered this monastery during an attack upon the town, but afterwards became a benefactor of it. The later history appears to have been uneventful. The abbey's history ended on a less positive note, with the last abbot accused of various offences including that of allowing the abbey and lands to become ruinous and of keeping a mistress who seems to have borne him children. The abbey was closed in 1539.
Following the dissolution, the buildings were mainly demolished with only parts of a gatehouse and possible guesthouse incorporated into later buildings. Strangely, the very elaborate stone vaulted porch of the abbot's hall also survives in the midst of a wooded lawn.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
founded in 987
987
Year 987 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* The Zirids fail to reconquer the western part of the Maghrib which they have recently lost to the Umayyads....
AD in the town now called Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas is a village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in central Dorset, England. The village is located just to the east of the A352 road north of Dorchester. There was a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.In...
by Æthelmær the Stout
Æthelmær the Stout
Æthelmær the Stout or Æthelmær Cild was ealdorman of the western provinces from c. 1005 to 1015. He was the son of Æthelweard the historian, and descended from King Æthelred I....
. Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham was an English abbot, as well as a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as Ælfric the Grammarian , Ælfric of Cerne, and Ælfric the Homilist...
, the most prolific writer in Old English was known to have spent time at the abbey as a priest and teacher.
King Canute is known to have plundered this monastery during an attack upon the town, but afterwards became a benefactor of it. The later history appears to have been uneventful. The abbey's history ended on a less positive note, with the last abbot accused of various offences including that of allowing the abbey and lands to become ruinous and of keeping a mistress who seems to have borne him children. The abbey was closed in 1539.
Following the dissolution, the buildings were mainly demolished with only parts of a gatehouse and possible guesthouse incorporated into later buildings. Strangely, the very elaborate stone vaulted porch of the abbot's hall also survives in the midst of a wooded lawn.