![]() They soon outnumbered houses for monks in many parts of Europe: there were more monasteries of Augustinian canons in medieval England than of any other single order. Part of the high medieval movement to rediscover the “apostolic life,” monasteries of regular canons were established in large numbers in the later 11th and 12th centuries. ![]() ![]() However, it was this very versatility that made the regular canons attractive to lay and clerical founders. There was also a great deal of diversity among houses of regular canons, for example in their origins, locations, buildings, and observances, and relatively weak connections between monasteries (in sharp contrast to centralized orders like the Cistercians). ![]() In theory, the vocation of the regular canon was more outward-looking than that of the monk, but historians have often found it difficult to discern clear differences in practice between monasteries of canons and monks. The regular canons-clerics living in common and following a monastic rule-are not easy to categorize. ![]()
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