Buried treasure from Cluny

By coincidence I having been reading a book about monasteries and their relationships with their peasantry in eleventh and twefth century Burgundy and Champagne and today I came across a report about an important archaeological find at the abbey in Cluny. There is a good introduction to the history of the monastery and the Cluniac Order from Wikipedia at Cluny Abbey

The Archaeologist has a report on the 2017 discovery of a hoard there which included a signet ring, 21 gold dinars minted in Muslim Spain or Morocco in the years 1121-31,and over 2200 silver deniers and oboles largely minted by the abbey itself - the largest ever find of such coins.

The dating clearly suggests that the hoard was secreted during the abbacy of Peter the Venerable in the years 1122-56. Peter was the last of the truly great abbots of the monastery, a cultured and urbane man, and very much one who typifies much of the international and intellectual Cluniac world of those years. Wikipedia has a somewhat truncated account of his life at Peter the Venerable. There is a much better account in the eminently readable study of Cluny, it’s impact and legacy by Edwin Mullins In Search of Cluny: God’s Lost Empire.

The strong links to Spain and the Cluniac contribution to the development of the Pilgrimage to Santiago, not least in respect of the art and architecture of the churches along the way of the Camino, in this period would doubtless explain the presence of coins from Iberia. That link was created in the reign of King Alfonso VI of Leon, Castile and Galicia 1065 -1109 with his extensive gifts to Cluny and his marriage to Constance of Burgundy, from the comital dynasty and niece of Abbot Hugh the Great. Furthermore there isPeter the Venerable’s commissioning of translations of Islamic texts from Iberian scholars.

The coins and other items are thus a very direct link to the latter part of Cluny’s period of great influence and indeed its enduring impact on the life of the Catholic Church.

 

The interesting, illustrated, article about the discovery can be seen at Medieval treasure unearthed at the Abbey of Cluny.

I have a particular interest in Cluniac history stemming from the fact that my home town had a sizeable Priory belonging to the Order. I was fortunate to be able to visit Cluny in 2014, and it was a very memorable and rewarding experience. I would urge anyone visiting the area to take the time - and time is required - to visit the site and to mourn the destruction of the abbey.