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Secondary sourceBook1887

The Teaching of St. Benedict, with Short Life and Rule

Francis Cuthbert Doyle · 1887

An 1887 book combining a short biography of Benedict with his monastic Rule and commentary on its teachings.

A study of the Rule that Benedict wrote for monks, central to his legacy as founder of Western monasticism.

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The Teaching of St. Benedict, with Short Life and Rule
Francis Cuthbert Doyle, The Teaching of St. Benedict, 1887 (scanned book, Internet Archive).

About this source

What it is

Published in 1887 by Francis Cuthbert Doyle, a Benedictine canon, this book combines a short life of Saint Benedict with the text of his Rule for monks, covering topics such as obedience, silence, humility, and the daily order of prayer. It was printed in London.

Why it matters

The Rule of Saint Benedict became the foundation for monastic life across medieval Europe, and this book shows how later Benedictines studied and taught it. It reveals what values, such as obedience and humility, were considered central to monastic discipline.

Look closer

  • What do the chapter titles about silence, humility, and obedience suggest about the daily life Benedict designed for monks?
  • Why might a nineteenth-century Benedictine canon want to publish a commentary on a rule written over a thousand years earlier?
  • What parts of monastic life does the Rule's table of contents emphasize most?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Benedict on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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