ABSTRACT
Following precedents laid out in the Rule of Saint Basil, and the Rule of the Master, the 59th chapter of the Rule of Saint Benedict provides for children to be offered to the monastery by their parents. In providing for these ‘oblates’ Benedict legislates that the offer made by the children’s parents is binding. The binding character of oblation was contested during the early Middle Ages, and by the 12th century the practice was being challenged. It gradually fell into disuse. Up until that time oblates reared in the monastery had a very distinct background, and administrative positions were often entrusted to others who came to the monastery as adults with experience of the secular world, but there were obvious exceptions, such as Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179).
