The Success of the Order of Saint Victor. A Comparative Study of the Patronage of Canonical Foundations in Thirteenth Century Flanders and Hainaut

Abstract

Despite their obvious impact on the religious landscape of the period, the canons and canonesses of Saint Victor have remained rather elusive figures in the historical record, and their significance has remained largely under-appreciated by modern scholars. By briefly surveying the origins and early evolution of several of the more prominent congregations of Augustinian canons which prospered in the counties of Flanders and Hainaut, including the Premonstratensians, Arrouaisians, this study attempts to situate the Victorines within the spiritual context of the region during the thirteenth century. This study identifies the differences in ideal and practice which distinguished these congregations, and assesses policies regarding the inclusion of women which may have affected popular perception and potential patronage of individual foundations. In particular, the actions of the countesses of Flanders and Hainaut are assessed in order to explain why some foundations appealed to powerful patrons while others provoked little, if any, interest. While both countesses proved to be avid supporters of the canonesses of Saint Victor, they directed few donations towards communities of Premonstratensians or Arrouaisians. This article seeks to explain this disparity in order to broaden our understanding of the concerns and considerations which motivated medieval patrons, and to foster a modern appreciation for the complexity and diversity of medieval religious life in the thirteenth century.