Welsh Journals

270 CORRESPONDENCE. MONACHI TURONENSES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARCH. CAMB. Sir,—In the notes to Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. iv, p. 128, edit. 1849, we read: "Tanner says the order of Tiron was established by St. Bernard, who was born in the territory of Abbeville, in the province of Ponthieu, a.d. 1046, and became a disciple of Robert d'Abrissel (the founder of the order of Fontevrauld), yet set up a dif¬ ferent sort of monks, who took their name of Tiionenses from their first monastery at Tiron, about 1109. They were reformed Benedic¬ tines, whose habit was at first light grey, which was afterwards changed to black." He adds, " I find no house of this order in Eng¬ land, and only one abbey in Wales, viz., St. Dogmael's, with its de¬ pendent priory of Pille, and a cell at Caldey." (Note f, Monast., pref., x.) Rymer, vol. i, p. 160, says that there were four abbeys of this order in Scotland; Kelso, Londross, Aberbrothoc, and Lunewerin. He says they were called in the royal charters Black monks of Tiron (see Stevens, vol. ii, p. 257). Tanner says, "The Monasticon, old edition, torn, i, p. 704, mentions the Monachi Savignienses and Tyro- nenses as of the same order; but others, as Rymer and Stevens, will not admit of it. In the ancient catalogue of religious houses pub¬ lished in Stevens, vol. i, p. 38, the monks of Tyron at St. Dogmaels are called Monachi albi, whereas those of Savigne were called Mona¬ chi grisi. Stevens's information concerning the Tyronenses was prin¬ cipally obtained from the Histoire des Ordres Monastiques." Whether the habit of these monks was white, grey, or black, can¬ not be determined. The manor of Monachlog ddu—the black monas¬ ter!/—comprising part of the parish of St. Dogmaels, and the whole of the parish of Monachlog ddu, belonged to the abbey of St. Dog¬ maels. In several lists of the monastic orders which I have consulted, neither the name of St. Bernard of Abbeville nor the order of Turon occur. If any of your learned correspondents possess some further information on the subject, and will kindly communicate it through the medium of our Journal, I shall be deeply indebted to them for their courtesy. Is there anything known of the order of Turon in Normandy or elsewhere, except what has been already quoted ? Martin, the founder of the abbey of St. Dogmaels, has been variously called Martin de Turribus, Martin de Tores, Martin de la Tore, and Martin de Turnonibus. Did the monks of St. Dogmaels derive the name of their order from the last mentioned title of the founder of the abbey, or did he derive that title from them ? Yours faithfully, Henry J. Vincent. St. Dogmaels, Cardigan, March 26, 1863. [We believe the "Monachi Turonenses" were so called because they came from Tours on the Loire.—Ed. Arch. Camb.~]