[German Version]

William I, the Pious, duke of Aquitaine, founded Cluny near Mâcon in Burgundy (Département Saône-et-Loire) in 910 as a monastery following the Rule of Benedict under the patronage of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The founding document guaranteed the right of free choice of abbot and subjected Cluny solely to the protection of the Holy See. The founder named the abbot of Baume, Berno, as the first abbot; the monks themselves were to choose his successor. This initial situation, often described as a “specia…