<研究ノート>中世盛期の修道院建立譚 : 一二世紀アフリヘムの歴史記述から

Abstract

In the Benedictine abbey of Affligem, two sorts of historical writing were composed in the middle of twelfth century, and historians have used them to clarify the actual history of the monastery during its early period. However, the reason why and how these sources were produced has hardly been considered. This study discusses the meaning of the historical production itself in twelfth century Affligem. The historical writings of Affligem depicting the foundation and the early history of the institution are full of legends and record the many donations made to the monastery since its foundation. It should be noted that contemporary scholarship is increasingly making it clear that medieval legal documents recording such donations had not only legal effect but also a sacral element and that there was a certain similarity and continuity between the legal documents and medieval chronicles. This study demonstrates, from such a point of view, that the historical writings of Affligem also had the function of preserving liturgical memory of the dead who had participated in the early history of the monastery. We may find here one of the reasons why fundatio(nes), that is, foundation chronicles, were written in Affligem and other medieval monasteries.