The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey in the woods of Tiron. They were popularly called "Grey Monks" because of their grey robes, which their spiritual cousins, the monks of Savigny, also wore.
Adelelmus was a hermit and disciple of St. Bernard of Thiron. Born in Flanders, Belgium, Aldelelmus is best known for founding the.
Tiron Abbey
The foundation of Tiron Abbey by Bernard of Abbeville was part of wider movements of monastic reform in Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. As a pre-Cistercian reformer, Bernard's intention was to restore the asceticism and strict observance of the Rule of St. Benedict in monastic life, insisting on manual labour. He founded his monastery on land in Thiron-Gardais granted to him by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, and placed it under the protection of the cathedral canons of Chartres, instead of a secular overlord. This assured that decisions affecting the Abbey were made by a corporate religious body. Bernard admitted artisans and encourage them to produce goods for sale. During years of famine, Tiron endured great poverty and became a refugee camp and soup kitchen. During the famine of 1109–1111 the Abbey sheltered whole families. Tiron had a school; and after Bernard's death, built houses so that lay women could reside within its walls under the care and protection of the monks. Roger de Port was buried here.
Tironensian Order
Tiron was the first of the new religious orders to spread internationally. Within less than five years of its creation, the Order of Tiron owned 117 priories and abbeys in France, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In 1113 Robert FitzMartin granted the Tironensians land and money to found the order's first house in Wales, St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire, which was established on the site of a clas, which dated back to at least 600 AD. Closed during the Dissolution of the monasteries, much of the stone was quarried for other uses. In Scotland, the Tironensians were the monks and master craftsmen who built and occupied the abbeys of Selkirk , Arbroath, Kilwinning, and Lindores Abbey, Newburgh, Fife. The first two abbots of Selkirk became, in turn, abbots at Tiron. During the tenure of William of Poitiers as abbot, Tiron established abbeys and priories along the north-south trade routes from Chartres to the navigable Seine and Loire rivers. Under him, the abbey owned at least one ship that traded in Scotland and Northumberland. Tiron adopted a system of annual general chapters. In 1120, Abbot William decreed that abbots from overseas need only attend once in every three years. Arnold, Abbot of Kelso, founded the cathedral church at St Andrews. In France, the order was integrated into the new Benedictine Congregation of St Maur in 1627.
