The creation of a past for themselves was of pressing importance to religious communities, enabling them to increase their status and legitimise their existence. This book examines the process in a group of communities from the southern part of Flanders (the monks of Saint-Bertin at Saint-Omer, the community of Saint-Rictrude at Marchiennes and the canons of Saint-Am at Douai) over a period running from the ninth to the end of the eleventh century. The central contention is that the communities produced their narratives (history, hagiography, charter materials) for a specific time and...
The creation of a past for themselves was of pressing importance to religious communities, enabling them to increase their status and legitimise their...