Sant Benet de Bages a l'època montserratina (segles XVI-XIX)
2006; Societat Catalana d'Estudis Històrics; Issue: 18 Linguagem: Catalão
ISSN
2013-3995
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia
ResumoDurant lepoca montserratina el monestir de Sant Benet experimenta una transformacio del seu conjunt dedificis i entorn mes immediat. Es repararen i modernitzaren els edificis vells (lesglesia, el claustre, el campanar, els cellers, el refectori i la cuina, entre daltres) i sen construiren de nous: el palau abacial barroc, durant la primera meitat del segle XVII, i les celles monacals de migdia, durant els segles XVIII i XIX. Els monjos benedictins del monestir de Sant Benet eren tots monjos professos de Montserrat. Pel que fa a la seva composicio social procedien majoritariament de classes benestants, pero pel que fa a la seva naturalesa geografica eren monjos procedents dels territoris amb presencia de monestirs de la Congregacio de San Benito de Valladolid, de la qual formaven part Sant Benet de Bages i Montserrat. Prop de la meitat dels monjos montserratins eren naturals de Catalunya, mentre que laltra meitat no ho eren, procedien de territoris del nord peninsular: Galicia, Asturies, Castella, La Rioja i Arago, entre daltres. Mes enlla de la dedicacio benedictina a la liturgia de les hores, lespiritualitat del monestir de Sant Benet tenia una particularitat devocional: el culte a Sant Valenti martir. Des dels primers temps dexistencia del monestir es veneraven en la seva esglesia les reliquies i el cristall dun Sant Valenti martir de procedencia desconeguda. A mes de la veneracio per la mateixa comunitat, els vilatans dels termes de les rodalies del monestir tambe veneraven el cos de Sant Valenti, que era considerat el patro de tot el Pla de Bages. El monestir de Sant Benet fou tambe durant la seva etapa montserratina un collegi benedicti. Els monjos montserratins tingueren a Sant Benet de Bages un collegi de Filosofia i Arts regit per un mestre de juniors, un lector i un passant. Fou aquest un dels molts collegis de la Congregacio que es dedicaven a formar culturalment i academicament els monjos. Pel que fa a les possessions territorials del monestir de Sant Benet de Bages, cal dir que a lepoca montserratina posseia importants dominis territorials a la comarca del Bages, en molts casos a les rodalies del mateix monestir, que incloien els termes de Navarcles, Vall dels Horts, Sant Fruitos de Bages, Rocafort, Sant Marti de Torroella, Santpedor, Sant Marti de Serraima i Maians, entre daltres; a la Garrotxa, on posseia els alous de les Preses, el Corb i Santa Margarida de Bianya; a lAnoia, on posseia el priorat de Santa Maria de Castellfollit de Riubregos i les seves possessions de Castellfollit, Malacara, Ferran i Calonge de Segarra; al Valles, on posseia alous a Gallifa i a Terrassa; i a daltres punts de Catalunya. A mes de posseir dominis territorials sobre nombrosos llocs de la Catalunya central i darreu del pais, el monestir tambe posseia la jurisdiccio territorial sobre els termes de la Baronia de Bages. Aquests, a mitjan segle XVIII eren Navarcles, Sant Fruitos de Bages, Les Preses, Rocafort, Sant Marti de Torroella, Maians i Vall dels Horts. El monestir posseia la jurisdiccio civil plena i la criminal baixa en tot aquest territori, es a dir, nadministrava el mixt imperi, amb la qual cosa no podia aplicar ni penes de mort ni mutilacions de membres, que pertocaven a la jurisdiccio del mer imperi, que la posseien els veguers com a representants del Rei. Per tal dadministrar la justicia senyorial, el monestir es dotava de presons i costells als diferents termes de la Baronia. Labat del monestir nomenava batlles i regidors en cadascun daquests termes, els quals es feien carrec del govern i ladministracio directa de la justicia. A mes de la jurisdiccio baronial, el monestir de Sant Benet posseia tambe la jurisdiccio eclesiastica sobre algunes parroquies de les seves rodalies. Labat o vicari general del monestir tenia el dret de presentacio de rectors en aquestes parroquies, sovint compartit amb els bisbes de les diocesis corresponents, i feia visites pastorals per controlar que aquestes parroquies funcionessin correctament. Durant els primers decennis del segle XIX i fins a 1835, Sant Benet de Bages visque la seva etapa final com a monestir. La vida comunitaria sana afeblint i els seus darrers estats de comptes eren negatius. El 29 de juliol de 1835 la comunitat benedictina abandona definitivament el monestir de Sant Benet de Bages i el monestir quedava exclaustrat i les seves possessions passaven a ser desamortitzades. Lexclaustracio i la desamortitzacio marcaven la fi de lepoca montserratina a Sant Benet de Bages, pero tambe representaven la fi definitiva de la vida monastica. _________________________________________________ The PhD thesis at hand seeks a diachronic reconstruction of the life pursued by the community of Benedictine monks in the Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages, starting off from the Montserratin Period till the last hours of its life. During the Montserratin Period (1593-1835), the Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages underwent a brach-and-root transformation of itself. On the one hand, the ancient buildings including the church, the cloister, the bell tower, the wine cellar, the dining-room and the kitchen were refurbished and modernised. On the other hand, a number of new facilities were added to the extant ones: the Barroc Abbot Palace during the first half of the seventeenth century, and the dormitories of the monks during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are the two cases in point. The Benedictine community at the Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages was made up of monks who had been previously ordained, in their entirety, by the Abbey of Monsterrat. From a socioeconomic angle, the Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages exhibited sheer uniformity in that the entire pool of monks was of upper-class ascendancy. Geographically, contrastingly, the composition of the Benedictine community appeared to be of a more fractured nature, with monks coming from a number of different territories, including the San Benito of Valladolid congregation to which the Abbeys of both Sant Benet de Bages and Montserrat pertained. Approximately half of the Montserratin monks were of Catalan origin, whilst the other half came from various regions of North Spain. The spirituality practiced at the Abbey of Sant Benet revolved around the cult of Sant Valentine martyr. From the outset the elements of worship at the church of Sant Benet of Bages were two: the relicts and the crystal of Sant Valentine martyr of unknown origin. The neighbouring villages too organized their worshipping practices around the body of Saint Valentine the patron saint of the Bages Plain. The Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages exerted functions as a Benedictine School during the Benedictine school during the Montserratin period. The Montserratin monks had set up a School of Philosophy and Arts in Sant Benet de Bages one of the most prominent schools of San Benito de Valladolid congregation dedicated to the teaching and schooling of the monks. During the Montserratin Period, the Abbey of Sant Benet de Bages owned extensive domains in the county of Bages, most of them located next to the Abbey including the villages of Navarcles, Valls dels Horts, Sant Fruitos de Bages, Rocafort, Sant Marti de Torroella, Santpedor, Sant Marti de Serraima de Maians. Scattered throughout Catalonia the Abbey also possessed domains in the villages de Les Preses, El Corb, Santa Margarida de Bianya, Castellfollit de Riubregos. Malacara, Ferran, Calonge de Segarra, Gallifa and Terrassa. The Abbey was further in possession of the territorial jurisdiction of some villages within the county of Bages. In the eighteenth century the specific villages under their jurisdiction were Navarcles, Sant Fruitos de Bages, Les Preses, Rocafort, Sant Marti de Torroella, Maians and Vall dels Horts. To be sure, the Abbey was in possession of the civil jurisdiction of these territories. Penitentiary facilities included prisons and a number of torture techniques and technologies. The abbot would appoint mayors and councillors in each village who would, in turn, take charge of the penitentiary facilities at hand and impart justice. The monastery was also in possession of the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of a number of churches in the neighbouring area. The abbot would appoint the priests and would pay visits to the churches for the surveillance of the correct practice. The beginning of the nineteenth century represented the start of the end for the Abbey of Sant Benet, when the daily life conditions worsened as a result of the poverty into which the institution fell. All in all, the monks left the Abbey in summer 1835. The government confiscated their possessions, which were sold to rise revenue. This was the end of the monastic life in Sant Benet de Bages.
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