Cluniacs

Cluniacs were Benedictine monks from the monastery of Cluny (Burgundy) founded by William, duke of Aquitaine, in 909. Under the leadership of its early abbots, especially Odo (927-42), Odilo (994-1048), and Hugh (1049-1109), Cluny enjoyed considerable prosperity, and exercised a wide influence on monastic reform elsewhere in Europe. The first English Cluniac priory was founded by William de Warenne in 1077 at Lewes. His, the largest community, was joined by some 30 more. Though initially subject to Cluny's authority and hence regarded as ‘alien priories’, most purchased national identity as ‘denizens’.