Introduction

The two extracts above are taken from the guide to the monastic life outlined by St. Benedict in his Rule, written in the first half of the sixth century, which became a keystone of monastic practice in the medieval West. Both quotations put accountability at the heart of the roles of the abbot and the cellarer, the two officials endowed with the greatest management responsibilities in the Rule. In the first, the abbot is told to be ever mindful of the need to render to God an account for all his judgements and actions. This is one of the sixteen instances in the Rule where the abbot is reminded of the Last Judgement.3 In the second quotation, the cellarer is admonished to pay the greatest of attention to the needs of the ill, of children, of travellers and of the poor, for which he too will need to render an account to God. Both instructions contain the phrase ‘rationem redditurus’ which may be translated as ‘to render future account’, and employ vocabulary identical to that used in the accounting records of Durham Cathedral Priory, prepared in the administration of the temporalities of the house. The accountability of medieval officials has recently aroused new interest in researchers.4 This study looks at the role of accountability in the management of a major and wealthy monastic house by examining the accounting records and auditing processes of the house and their place in its wider management structure.