CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: A - Benedict of Nursia founded a monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy in 520, creating the Benedictine order, which was the dominant form of monasticism in Europe until the 12th century. Benedict wrote the Rule of Saint Benedict (also known as “the Rule”), a book that detailed the way of life he believed monks should follow. Its primary thesis was that monks should live austere lives of prayer, education, and manual labor (in that order), removed from society. With encouragement from Pope Gregory the Great and Charlemagne, the Rule ultimately became the model for all of western monasticism, though later orders modified certain aspects of it. In particular, the Franciscan and Dominican orders, founded in the 13th century, believed that they should live among the people.