Bridlington Priory is founded around 1113 by Walter de Gant, for Augustinian Canons Regular, one of the earliest Augustinian houses in England, with an adjoining convent.

Its foundation is confirmed in charters by King Henry I of England.

The site had formerly been a Saxon church and nunnery.

When complete, the building will be over four hundred feet long (one hundred and twenty meters) and seventy-five feet wide (twenty-three meters), with a transept that is one hundred and fifty long (forty-six meters).

The first prior is though to have been called Guicheman or Wickeman.

The Foundation of the Premonstratensian Order (1120 CE)

In 1120, Saint Norbert of Xanten, a reforming cleric dedicated to restoring strict canonical life, founded the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons (due to their distinctive white habit).

This new Roman Catholic religious order, designated by the post-nominal O.Praem (Ordo Praemonstratensis), was established at Prémontré, near Laon in Picardy, northeastern France, with thirteen companions forming the nucleus of the movement.

Norbert’s Reforming Vision and the Rule of St. Augustine

• Norbert had previously attempted to reform communities of canons in Germany, advocating for a return to a strict, ascetic lifestyle.
• His Premonstratensian order followed the Rule of St. Augustine, but with additional statutes emphasizing austere discipline, communal poverty, and liturgical devotion.
• Their lifestyle drew inspiration from monastic traditions, particularly those of the Cistercians, with whom Norbert shared close ties, especially his friendship with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

The Cistercian Influence and Governance

• Like the Cistercians, the Premonstratensians emphasized simplicity, labor, and withdrawal from worldly affairs.
• Their system of governance mirrored the Cistercian model, featuring a centralized structure under a general chapter and independent houses bound by a common rule.

Legacy and Expansion

• The Premonstratensians quickly expanded throughout Europe, establishing monasteries in France, Germany, the Low Countries, and Britain.
• Their order combined monastic discipline with pastoral ministry, making them distinct from purely contemplative orders.
• In later centuries, they would play an important role in education, missionary work, and hospital care, embodying both spiritual devotion and active service.

By founding the Premonstratensians, Saint Norbert created a unique fusion of monastic and clerical life, establishing a religious order that would endure for centuries as one of the great branches of the Augustinian tradition.

Legend relates that King David I of Scotland, while hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross in 1127, was thrown from his horse after it had been startled by a hart.

According to variations of the story, the king was saved from being gored by the charging animal when it was startled either by the miraculous appearance of a holy cross descending from the skies, or by sunlight reflected from a crucifix which suddenly appeared between the hart's antlers while the king attempted to grasp them in self-defense.

As an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founds Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128.

The abbey is originally served by a community of Augustinian Canons Regular from Merton Priory and the layout of the original church at Holyrood, now known only from excavations, probably came from the 1125 church at the priory.

David constructs numerous castles as centers of royal authority and creates a number of towns.

An Augustinian convent, situated in central Switzerland between Lakes Brienz and Thun in the Bernese Alps (and the nucleus of the future town of Interlaken) is founded in 1130.

Hugh of Saint Victor: A Pillar of Scholastic Thought (c. 1096–1141 CE)

Hugh of Saint Victor, one of the most influential theologians and philosophers of the 12th century, was originally sent to the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris by the Bishop of Halberstadt. At Saint Victor, Hugh became a leading scholar, gaining such renown that his contemporaries referred to him as “the second Augustine.”

A prolific writer and thinker, Hugh played a major role in shaping medieval scholasticism, bridging theological tradition and philosophical inquiry.

His Most Influential Works

1. Didascalicon (c. 1127–1130) – A Guide to Learning

One of Hugh’s most famous works, the Didascalicon, served as an introduction to the study of the liberal arts and the Bible, emphasizing:

• The importance of learning as a path to divine wisdom.
• A systematic approach to education, integrating secular and sacred knowledge.
• A broad curriculum, including philosophy, logic, science, and the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic).

This work became a foundational text for scholastic education, influencing medieval university curricula.

2. De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei (c. 1134) – A Study of Christian Mysteries

Hugh’s other great work, De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei, provided one of the earliest systematic expositions of Christian theology, laying the groundwork for later scholastic thought.

• It offered a comprehensive examination of Christian doctrine, covering creation, redemption, and the sacraments.
• It combined mysticism with rational analysis, making it a precursor to the theological works of Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas.
• The text was highly structured, presenting theology as an organized, logical system, reinforcing the scholastic method.

Legacy and Death

• Hugh’s writings influenced both monastic and scholastic traditions, making Saint Victor one of the leading intellectual centers of 12th-century Paris.
• He was highly respected for his integration of Augustinian thought with emerging scholastic methods.
• He died on February 11, 1141, at about age forty-five, leaving behind a legacy that would shape medieval education, theology, and philosophy for centuries.

Through his philosophical and theological insights, Hugh of Saint Victor helped define the intellectual framework of medieval Christianity, ensuring his place among the great thinkers of the Middle Ages.

The Origins of the Plantagenet Name and the Rise of Angevin Power (1144 CE)

The name Plantagenet, which would later become synonymous with one of the most powerful dynasties in English history, originated as a nickname for Geoffrey V of Anjou, known as Geoffrey the Handsome. The term derives from the common broom plant (Latin: planta genista), and it is widely believed that Geoffrey earned the nickname either because he wore a sprig of the plant in his hat or due to its golden flowers and medieval associations with vitality and growth.

The Plantagenets and the House of Anjou

• The surname Plantagenet was only applied retroactively to the descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou and was not used contemporaneously.
• It was not formally adopted as a family name until Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (father of Edward IV and Richard III) assumed the name in 1448.
• The Plantagenets were also known as the Angevins, as their paternal ancestors were the Counts of Anjou, an autonomous county in northern France.

The dynasty traces its origins to the Counts of Gatinais, whose marriage into the Angevins connected them to Ingelger, a 9th-century nobleman and progenitor of the First House of Anjou.

One of the most prominent Angevins was Fulk V, who became King of Jerusalem, passing the County of Anjou to his son, Geoffrey Plantagenet. It was Geoffrey’s grandson, Henry II, who would be the first of the family to rule England, establishing the Plantagenet dynasty.

Geoffrey Plantagenet's Conquest of Normandy and the Treaty with Louis VII (1144)

As part of the ongoing civil war in England—known as The Anarchy (1135–1153)—Geoffrey Plantagenet had been actively expanding his control over Normandy, in support of his wife, Empress Matilda, the rightful heir to Henry I of England.

• By January 14, 1144, Geoffrey successfully crossed the Seine and entered Rouen, securing all of Normandy west and south of the river.
• In order to be recognized as Duke of Normandy by Louis VII of France, Geoffrey agreed to cede half of the Vexin to the French king.

At the time, this seemed a strategic success for Louis VII, as the Vexin was a crucial buffer zone between Normandy and the Île-de-France. However, in the long run, this concession would only strengthen Angevin power, setting the stage for the future Plantagenet Empire.

Geoffrey Plantagenet Founds the Augustinian Priory at Château-l'Hermitage (Summer 1144)

In the summer of 1144, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, established an Augustinian priory at Château-l’Hermitage, located in Anjou. This foundation reflected Geoffrey’s commitment to religious patronage, a practice common among medieval rulers who sought to enhance their spiritual standing, consolidate local authority, and support monastic reform movements.

Context of Geoffrey’s Religious Patronage

1. Strengthening Angevin Control

   • Geoffrey’s rule over Anjou and Normandy was still being consolidated, and establishing religious institutions helped to solidify his influence among the clergy and local nobility.
   • The priory reinforced Angevin authority in the region by tying religious institutions to Geoffrey’s rule.

2. Connection to the Augustinians

   • The Augustinian Canons were a reforming order dedicated to clerical discipline and pastoral care.
   • Unlike Benedictines, who followed a strictly monastic life, the Augustinians were active in communities, making them valuable spiritual and administrative allies for rulers.

3. Religious Legitimacy and Political Strategy

   • As Geoffrey was in the process of securing Normandy (having entered Rouen in January 1144), his patronage of a priory would have strengthened his pious reputation, reinforcing his right to rule in the eyes of the Church.
   • His father, Fulk V, had become King of Jerusalem, making religious patronage an important aspect of Angevin identity.

Significance of Château-l'Hermitage

• Regional Impact – The priory helped to expand Augustinian influence in Anjou, strengthening the network of monastic centers in the Angevin territories.
• Long-term Religious Influence – Over time, Château-l’Hermitage became a spiritual and cultural landmark, reflecting Geoffrey’s broader vision for a stable and pious domain.
• A Reflection of 12th-Century Monastic Trends – The Augustinian movement was growing in popularityduring the 12th century, with leaders such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux promoting religious reform.

Conclusion

Geoffrey Plantagenet’s foundation of the Augustinian priory at Château-l’Hermitage in 1144 demonstrated his political acumen, religious devotion, and strategic use of monastic patronage. This act was part of a broader pattern of medieval rulers using religious endowments to consolidate power, legitimize their rule, and secure divine favor.

Arnold of Brescia, an Augustinian canon and then prior of a monastery in Brescia, had become very critical of the temporal powers of Catholic Church that had involved it in a land struggle in Brescia against the count-bishop of Brescia.

He had called on the Church to renounce ownership of the property and return it to the city government, so as not to be tainted by possession, one aspect of a renunciation of worldliness that he preaches.

Condemned at the Second Lateran Council, in 1139, and forced from Italy, he had studied in Paris, according to the chronicler Otto of Freising, under the tutelage of the reformer and philosopher Peter Abelard and had taken to Abelard's philosophy of reform ways.

The issue had come before the Synod of Sens in 1141 and both Arnold and Abelard's positions had been overruled by Bernard of Clairvaux.

Arnold, standing alone against the church's decision after Abelard's capitulation, had returned to Paris, where he continued to teach and preach against Bernard.

He was then commanded to silence and exiled by Pope Innocent II as a consequence.

He took refuge first in Zurich then probably in Bavaria.

His writings were also condemned to be burned as a further measure, though the condemnation is the only evidence that he had actually written anything.

Arnold continues to preach his radical ideas concerning apostolic poverty.

Having returned to Italy after 1143, Arnold makes his peace in 1145 with the Pope, who orders him to submit himself to the mercy of the Church in Rome.

When he arrives, finding that Pierleoni's followers had taken control of the city from papal forces and founded a republic, Arnold sides with the people immediately.

Hardly had Eugene left the city to be consecrated in the monastery of Farfa (about forty kilometers north of Rome), when the citizens establish the old Roman constitution, the Commune of Rome.

Upon the deposition of Pierleoni, who had been unable to maintain order in the city.

The power vacuum left by Pierleoni's deposition causes even more anarchy.

Prince David, prior to his ascension to the Scottish throne, had in 1118 established a foundation of canons regular of the order of St. Augustine at, what is now Jedburgh.

The foundation appeared to have the status of 'priory' in the early years and a man by the name of Daniel was in 1139 described as the Prior of Geddwrda.

The church was later raised to the status of monastery before becoming in the years prior to King David's death in 1153, probably in 1147, a fully fledged abbey and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It must be mentioned that over the years, Jedburgh has been described by eighty-three different names or spellings.