Oblates

Definition: Oblates were children who were given to Cluniac monasteries. They usually entered the monasteries between the ages of three and fourteen and they could be male or female. Proponents of oblation would argue that these children were “like angels whose simplicity and innocence preserved them from any impurity of the exterior world” (Cochelin 65). Parents gave their children to monasteries for a variety of reasons, some more honorable than others. Children who were mentally or physically handicapped or otherwise unfit to be an heir or warrior could be sent to a monastery in exchange for a more desirable future. On the other hand, some parents saw the sacrifice of their children to be like Abraham giving up Isaac to God and were proud of their decisions to give their children a future closer to the Lord (Cochelin 64).

Importance: It is interesting to note that most monks and nuns until the 11^th century entered into religious life as oblates. By living a religious life form a young age, many oblates avoided exposure to earthly affliction like corruption and sex. The Cistercians, a reform order of monks, did not accept children in their monasteries. They raised the minimum age of admittance to 15 and later 18 years old. The Cistercians saw the unhappy oblates in the Cluniac monasteries and did not want their candidates for monastic life to be dejected because they were forced into religious life. Instead, they wanted their monks to actively live a monastic life (Lynch 200-201).

source: http://www.aedificium.org/MonasticLife/CluniacOrder.html