In the early 10th century, Western monasticism, which had flourished several centuries earlier with St
Benedict of Nursia, was experiencing a severe decline due to unstable political and social conditions resulting from the nearly continuous
Viking raids, widespread poverty and, especially, the dependence of abbeys on the local nobles who controlled all that belonged to the territories under their jurisdiction. The impetus for the reforms lay in abuses thought to be a result of secular interference in the monasteries and of the Church's tight integration with the
feudal and
manorial systems. Since a Benedictine monastery required land, it needed the patronage of a local
lord. However, the lord would often demand rights and assert prerogatives that interfered with the operation of the monastery. Patrons normally retained a proprietary interest and expected to install their kinsmen as abbots. Local aristocrats often established churches, monasteries, and convents that they then considered as family property, taking revenues from them, and leaving the monks that remained subsisting in poverty. Some monasteries were established by feudal lords with the intention of retiring there at some point. The
Benedictine Rule, in these monasteries, was modified to schedule
matins at a time when it would not interrupt sleep and to expand the vegetarian diet. Monks in these houses wore richer, warmer clothing and were free to disregard the rules pertaining to fasting. The Cluny reform was an attempt to remedy these practices in the hope that a more independent abbot would better enforce the Rule of Saint Benedict. ==Cluny Abbey==