Ora et Guberna. The Economic Impact of the Rule of St Benedict in Medieval England

92 Pages Posted: 2 Oct 2019 Last revised: 21 Mar 2024

See all articles by Domenico Rossignoli

Domenico Rossignoli

DISEIS & CSCC, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Federico Trombetta

DISEIS, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Date Written: May 17, 2019

Abstract

Within the turmoil of the Norman Conquest, did religious institutions affect the economic outcomes of their land? Exploiting historical data about the changes of holdings’ lordship occurred after the Conquest, we compare the economic performance of estates controlled by different types of lords. Holdings controlled by Benedictine Monasteries (vis-à-vis secular lords) experienced a better performance, although, once accounting for the unchanging upper level of the feudal structure, we cannot fully disentangle this effect from the persistence of Benedictine overlordship. A comparison with Celtic monasteries, with a different organisational structure, suggests a role for the governance structure of Benedictine monasteries.

Keywords: Institutions, Growth, Religion, Monasteries, Norman Conquest, Medieval England

JEL Classification: N33 O43 Z12 D70

Suggested Citation

Rossignoli, Domenico and Trombetta, Federico, Ora et Guberna. The Economic Impact of the Rule of St Benedict in Medieval England (May 17, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3457764 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3457764

Domenico Rossignoli (Contact Author)

DISEIS & CSCC, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore ( email )

Federico Trombetta

DISEIS, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore ( email )

Largo Gemelli
1
Milano, Milano 20123
Italy

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