The Bridge-Building Brotherhood

The Bridge-Building Brotherhood
The Bridge-Building Brotherhood
    The Bridge-Building Brotherhood
     Catholic_Encyclopedia The Bridge-Building Brotherhood
    During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, we hear of the existence of various religious associations founded for the purpose of building bridges. This work, which tended greatly to the relief of travelers and particularly of pilgrims, was regarded as a work of piety quite as much as of public utility. Even where no religious organization was formed it was customary for the bishops to grant indulgences to those who, by money or labor, contributed to the construction of a bridge. Of this the register of Archbishop Grey of York, for instance, in the thirteenth century, affords many examples. But in the South of France, regular associations were commonly formed for the purpose, and these it has been the custom to regard as religious orders living under vows. Upon more accurate investigation, however, this idea has proved to be erroneous. The brotherhoods in question seem rather to have been of the nature of guilds or confraternities, or, at most, to have been organized in something the same way as a "third Order", wearing a habit with a distinctive badge, but not being bound by perpetual vows.
    In many cases, these associations were constituted of three branches: knights, who contributed most of the funds and were sometimes called donati; clergy who might be in the strict sense monks, and artisans who performed the actual work of building. We also hear sometimes of "sisters" belonging to the same association. Besides the construction of bridges, the lodging and entertainment of travelers, as well as the quête, or collection of alms commonly entered into the scope of the brotherhoods. The origin of these institutions is wrapped in much obscurity. The brotherhood known in particular as the Fratres Pontifices (Ponti-fices = bridge-builders) or Frères Pontifes, is commonly said to have been founded by St. Bénézet (a Provençal variant of the name Benedict), a youth who, according to the legend, was Divinely inspired to build the bridge across the Rhone at Avignon. Although the Bull supposed to have been addressed to the Fratres Pontifices, in 1191, by Clement III may not be authentic, it is certain that a number of bridges were built about this time in that part of France; also that the old bridge at Avignon, some arches of which still remain, dates from the end of the twelfth century, and it is certain that St. Bénézet was a historical personage. The Fratres Pontifices were certainly very active, and if they did not construct the Avignon bridge they built others at Bonpas, Lourmarin, Mallemort, Mirabeau, etc.. On the other hand, the famous bridge over the Rhone at Saint-esprit was certainly constructed by a separate association. Many of the official documents connected with it are still preserved.
    FALK in Historisch-Politische Blatter (1881), LXXXVII; IDEM in Kirchenlex, II, 1331. These contributions of Dr. Falk must be read with some caution. LENTHERIC in Memoires de l'Academie de Nimes (1889-90), 72-91; HELYOT-BADICHE, Dictionnaire des ordres religieux., III, 237-245; BRUGUIER-ROURE, Les constructeurs de ponts au moyen age (Paris, 1875); GREGOIRE, Recherches historiques sur les congregations de freres pontifes (Paris, 1806); LEFORT in Travaux de l'Academie de Reims, LXXI, 372-399 and LXXVI, 206-227; JUSSERAND, English Wayfaring Life, tr. (London, 1889), 33-89; ENLART, Manuel d'archeologie francaise (Paris, 1904), II, 264-272.
    HERBERT THURSTON
    Transcribed by Joseph E. O'Connor

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bridge-Building Brotherhood, The — • During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, various religious associations were founded for the purpose of building bridges Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Bridge-Building Brotherhood — A Bridge Building Brotherhood is a religious association whose purpose is building bridges. Bridge Building Brotherhoods reportedly existed during the 12th and 13th centuries. Not much is known about their origins.A Work of PietyBuilding bridges… …   Wikipedia

  • The Red Green Show — From left to right, Harold (Patrick McKenna), Red (Steve Smith) and Bill (Rick Green). Format Sitcom Sketch comedy …   Wikipedia

  • The Blues Brothers (film) — Infobox Film name = The Blues Brothers caption = IMDb 7.9/10 (49,015 votes) director = John Landis producer = Bernie Brillstein George Folsey Jr. David Sosna Robert K. Weiss writer = Dan Aykroyd John Landis starring = John Belushi Dan Aykroyd… …   Wikipedia

  • The Troubles — Troubles redirects here. For other uses, see Troubles (disambiguation). The Troubles Political map of Ireland …   Wikipedia

  • The Art of War — (zh cp|c=|p=Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is a Chinese military treatise that was written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on… …   Wikipedia

  • List of historical sites related to the Illinois labor movement — The following are historic points of labor history in the state of Illinois: Downstate Labor History Sites Beckemeyer Coal Miners MonumentMonument dedicated to Joseph Koch, who along with eight other local miners died in the 1947 Centralia mine… …   Wikipedia

  • Culture of the United Kingdom — The Proms is an eight week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts, on the last night with some traditional patriotic music of the United Kingdom.[1][2] …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1928–1938) — The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1928 1938) dicusses the History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from the Brotherhood s inception to its development into a viable political force.Early developmentIn 1928, six Egyptian workers… …   Wikipedia

  • Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System — The construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System was a massive undertaking involving tens of thousands of people often in extreme temperatures and conditions. Specialized construction techniques were pioneered to build the pipeline, most of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”