Rules and rituals, saints and sinners

Rules and rituals, saints and sinners. . Idleness is the enemy of the soul. So believed St Benedict, whose rules governed life for the Benedictine monks at Evesham Abbey. When they weren't praying, sleeping or reading spiritual books, they were working., There was plenty to keep the monks busy. They worked in the kitchen, butteries, breweries, laundry, gardens and farm, administered relief to the poor from the Almonry, and cared for the sick. They managed their agricultural estates and churches, ran a school for local boys, produced manuscripts, and employed a significant number of the local community. Life at the abbey depended on their abbot , some were good, whilst others concentrated their efforts on increasing their personal welfare and privileges., The most notorious was Roger Norreys, the 'Bad Abbot of Evesham'. He caused mayhem! During his Abbacy from 1190-1213 he treated his monks so badly they were reduced to begging for food, while he lived in luxury. According to the Chronicles of Evesham, he was "proud, overbearing, pompous in speech and deceitful in action, as well as a friend of women and lover of horses"., Of National Importance , The town of Evesham developed to serve the abbey. As the abbey flourished, it became worthy of royal visitors and a tourist destination. It also played a role in the Battle of Evesham in 1265, which restored royal authority in the country., In the battle the rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort were defeated by the royalist forces of Prince Edward, who was determined to free his captive father, King Henry III. Simon de Montfort was killed in the battle, his body was brutally dismembered and his head was claimed as a gruesome trophy by Roger Mortimer, a supporter of Henry III, who sent it home as a gift to his wife!, A contemporary account of the scene in the abbey church as de Montfort's army took refuge there, records that "...the choir and the cross were sprayed with the blood of the wounded, so that, from the bodies that were around the high altar, a stream of blood ran down in to the crypt”., De Montfort was initially buried near the High Altar of the abbey. Look out for the plaque that marks the site. However, to prevent the site becoming a shrine the King ordered the removal of his body to a secret location , as yet undiscovered.