As Wulf was urged by the prior to come over
whenever time hung on his hands, his visits to the monastery were
naturally very much more frequent than those of the prior to Steyning.
Sometimes he would sit in the private apartment of the prior, but
more often he spent his time studying the rare manuscripts, or
watching the monks at their work of copying and illuminating. If
he went in the evening he generally sat in the refectory, where the
monks for the most part spent their evening in talk and harmless
amusement, for the strict rules and discipline that prevailed in
monastic establishments on the Continent had been unknown up to
that time in England, although some of the Norman bishops were doing
their best to introduce them into the establishments in their
dioceses,--a proceeding that caused great discontent, and was
strongly opposed by the English monks. These had, hitherto, regarded
monastic life as one of work for the good of the poor, and as
affording for those who wished it a tranquil retirement from the
trials of the world. Moreover, it offered special attractions to
those of quiet and studious tastes, since the monasteries provided
the architects and the painters, the teachers and the writers, and
it was here alone that learning was maintained and fostered.
Consequently, at Bramber there was none of that monastic asceticism
that prevailed abroad, and later became the rule in England also.
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