Europe: monasteries by century and region 500-1500| ��ƽ��

Estimated total number of monasteries in various regions of Western Europe in each century between 500 and 1500 CE

Century	France	Italy	Germany, Austria & Switzerland*	Spain & Portugal	Britain & Ireland	Low Countries*	Central Europe*
15th	7,554	3,333	3,457	2,876	1,333	1,014	803
14th	8,189	3,416	3,717	3,003	1,447	697	802
13th	8,564	3,405	3,837	3,223	1,530	553	837
12th	8,104	2,990	3,464	3,290	1,325	381	571
11th	5,051	2,072	1,982	2,549	526	195	111
10th	2,091	995	1,346	1,340	437	101	33
9th	1,636	704	994	537	437	77	0
8th	1,240	495	729	170	463	72	0
7th	988	306	168	117	460	55	0
6th	586	291	22	58	236	0	0

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Release date

2009

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Region

Europe

Survey time period

500 to 1500 CE

Supplementary notes

*The source originally gave separate figures for each country or region.

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After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5^th century, the Catholic Church, centered in Rome, became the largest unifying authority in Southern and Western Europe. However, it was not the Italian peninsula that has the highest number of churches, monasteries, and abbeys during the Middle Ages, but France.

The monastic movement of St. Benedict, formed in the 6^th century, eventually consolidated its power in France and gained widespread influence over the region. By the 12^th century, the Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Burgundy, controlled over 1,000 other abbeys (even as far as Scotland), and was considered the leading center of Christian monasticism. In many ways, the Church was considered a more powerful authority than monarchies in the Middle Ages, and the hierarchical nature of the Church saw cardinals and bishops elevated to positions of significant power. In addition to being places of worship, abbeys and monasteries also became trading and communal centers for local populations before the era of urbanization.