Textual Diversity and Textual Community in a Monastic Context. The Case of Eleventh-century Marchiennes

Abstract

In 1024, the nuns of the Flemish monastery of Marchiennes were expelled from their nunnery and replaced by monks. Soon after this reform, the monks created a manuscript (Douai BM 849) that contained all known stories about the monastery’s patron saints. It is tempting to construe this codex as the creation of ‘a central text’ by the community of Marchiennes, referring to Brian Stock’s acclaimed concept of a ‘textual community’. However, a closer look at the manuscript reveals that it did not lay the foundations for a unified interpretation of Marchiennes’ history, but rather emphasized diversity and consciously targeted various subgroups within the monastery. Although it was vital for a newly reformed community to develop a basis of shared stories, interests and values, Douai BM 849 testifies that this did not necessarily require the creation of one shared, monolithic interpretation of its history.