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The Church Fathers · c. 500–530
The Rule of the Master
Regula Magistri
Anonymous
Read elsewhere
What it is
An enormously detailed and controlling rule for an Italian monastery, prescribing everything from the abbot's absolute authority to who inspects the loaves.
Why it lasted
Almost certainly Benedict's principal source. Comparing the two shows exactly what Benedict cut, and why his rule proved liveable where this one did not.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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