What was the largest group of monks in Europe in the early Middle Ages?

Answer 1

For many hundreds of years the only group of monks across Europe were the Benedictines, who followed the Rule of St Benedict (written in the 6th century AD). They were always the most numerous group.

Other Orders of monks were established with different views of what the Rule meant and how it should be interpreted - the Cistercians were formed in 1098, the Cluniacs in the early 10th century, the Carthusians (or Charterhouse order) in 1084. In most parts of Europe, the Benedictines remained the major monastic order throughout medieval times.

The Benedictines were generally much more easy-going, considerate, rational and reasonable in their interpretation of the Rule of St Benedict: there was no mention in the Rule of monks wearing beards, for example, so the Benedictines took the view that beards were not banned. The Cistercian view was that if a certain thing was not mentioned, it was automatically banned.