in Old French
in the series
See Bibliography for manuscript, edition and studies.
The Dijon Version of the Rule of St. Benedict was translated from the Latin into Old French in the early thirteenth century. The translator is identified as le pauvre Martin, about whom nothing else is known. The monastery for which this feminine version was produced is not known. It has not yet received much scholarly attention.
The Dijon Version presents almost all of the Latin text of the Rule. A few verses are omitted, e.g., 44:10, 46:6, 55:13-14, 58:13. There are also a small number of expansions, e.g., 57:5. The translator has provided a foreword of his own.
The text is generally feminine in grammatical form and vocabulary. Some gender-neutral language is also used, and some passages are balanced, speaking of monks and nuns together. Finally, a few sections retain masculine construction, e.g., chapter 1 speaks of monks instead of nuns. Chapters 60 and 62, on priests, are translated, using masculine language; the titles of these chapters include a statement saying that they pertain only to monks.
The Prologue and chapters 2, 7 and 48 are divided into sections that are treated rather as independent chapters. Presumably this reflects the way in which the Rule was divided for daily reading in the monastic chapter.
Chapters begin with the chapter title in Old French following by the Latin incipit. The first letter is large and decorated; this is represented here by bold-face, upper-case letters.
The version presented here was transcribed from the printed edition of Philibert Guignard, Les Monuments primitifs de la regle cistercienne, publies d'apres les manuscrits de l'abbaye de Citeaux. in Analecta divionensia, vol. 10. Dijon: J.-E. Rabutot, 1878. Appendice. "Ancienne Traducion Francaise des Ecclesiastica offica, Institua generalis Capituli, Usus conversorum et Regula sancti Benedicti," pp. 585-642. Guignard made a small number of emendations, indicated by square brackets.
Each verse is identified by number and begins on a new line.
Individual chapters of the Dijon Version of the Rule of St. Benedict are linked to the chapters of the following Table of Contents. (These chapter headings are taken from the translation, RB1980.)
[Foreword]
Chapter 1. The Kinds of Monks
Chapter 2. Qualities of the Abbot
Chapter 3. Summoning the Brothers for Counsel
Chapter 4. The Tools for Good Works
Chapter 5. Obedience
Chapter 6. Restraint of Speech
Chapter 7. Humility
Chapter 8. The Divine Office at Night
Chapter 9. The Number of Psalms at the Night Office
Chapter 10. The Arrangement of the Night Office in Summer
Chapter 11. The Celebration of Vigils on Sunday
Chapter 12. The Celebration of the Solemnity of Lauds
Chapter 13. The Celebration of Lauds on Ordinary Days
Chapter 14. The Celebration of Vigils on the Anniversaries of Saints
Chapter 15. The Times for Saying Alleluia
Chapter 16. The Celebration of the Divine Office during the Day
Chapter 17. The Number of Psalms to be Sung at These Hours
Chapter 18. The Order of the Psalmody
Chapter 19. The Discipline of Psalmody
Chapter 20. Reverence in Prayer
Chapter 21. The Deans of the Monastery
Chapter 22. The Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks
Chapter 23. Excommunication for Faults
Chapter 24. Degrees of Excommunication
Chapter 25. Serious Faults
Chapter 26. Unauthorized Association with the Excommunicated
Chapter 27. The Abbot's Concern for the Excommunicated
Chapter 28. Those Who Refuse to Amend after Frequent Reproofs
Chapter 29. Readmission of Brothers Who Leave the Monastery
Chapter 30. The Manner of Reproving Boys
Chapter 31. Qualifications of the Monastery Cellarer
Chapter 32. Monks and Private Ownership
Chapter 33. The Tools and Goods of the Monastery
Chapter 34. Distribution of Goods According to Need
Chapter 35. Kitchen Servers of the Week
Chapter 36. The Sick Brothers
Chapter 37. The Elderly and Children
Chapter 38. The Reader for the Week
Chapter 39. The Proper Amount of Food
Chapter 40. The Proper Amount of Drink
Chapter 41. The Times for the Brothers' Meals
Chapter 42. Silence after Compline
Chapter 43. Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table
Chapter 44. Satisfaction by the Excommunicated
Chapter 45. Mistakes in the Oratory
Chapter 46. Faults Committed in Other Matters
Chapter 47. Announcing the Hours for the Work of God
Chapter 48. The Daily Manual Labor
Chapter 49. The Observance of Lent
Chapter 50. Brothers Working at a Distance or Traveling
Chapter 51. Brothers on a Short Journey
Chapter 52. The Oratory of the Monastery
Chapter 53. The Reception of Guests
Chapter 54. Letters or Gifts for Monks
Chapter 55. The Clothing and Footwear of the Brothers
Chapter 56. The Abbot's Table
Chapter 57. The Artisans of the Monastery
Chapter 58. The Procedure of Receiving Brothers
Chapter 59. The Offering of Sons by Nobles or by the Poor
Chapter 60. The Admission of Priests to the Monastery
Chapter 61. The Reception of Visiting Monks
Chapter 62. The Priests of the Monastery
Chapter 63. Community Rank
Chapter 64. The Election of an Abbot
Chapter 65. The Prior of the Monastery
Chapter 66. The Porter of the Monastery
Chapter 67. Brothers Sent on a Journey
Chapter 68. Assignment of Impossible Tasks to a Brother
Chapter 69. The Presumption of Defending Another in the Monastery
Chapter 70. The Presumption of Striking Another Monk at Will
Chapter 71. Mutual Obedience
Chapter 72. The Good Zeal of Monks
Chapter 73. This Rule Only a Beginning of Perfection
Rev. 12.ii.2000 / www.osb.org/aba/rb/feminine/dijon/index.html