[phrogdriver]

It is even more striking that it's written in the first person, so the error sounds like it's coming from the monk and not the writer. For the HN reader not aware, the Cistercians "broke away" from the Benedictines in the 11th century and are still very much "in" the Catholic Church. My great uncle is a Trappist monk and I have great memories of visiting the monastery to see him as a child.

[8fGTBjZxBcHq]

So I'm obviously not a monk but I've known some and that doesn't surprise me too much.

Outside of some orders that highly value education, I think monastic life generally discourages knowing things for the sake of knowing them.

The political origins of a monastic order are not spiritually or theologically significant to a monk in that order really. Like sure they should know but I can imagine how it would come about that one would not.

[guerrilla]

That's a bit of an ironic take considering medieval science and philosophy...

[8fGTBjZxBcHq]

I don't think their weighing of learning has changed just social needs changed around it.

"Able to read the Bible" was considered important for monks so they were literate. It still is, but now everyone else is literate too so it's not notable anymore.

[guerrilla]

I think you should look into what medieval monks have done for science and philosophy. It wasn't just that they were literate. You're very much underestimating that.