Benedict  gradually  replaced  the  stricter  Celtic
rule  established  by  St.  Columban  (q.v.)  and
other  Irish  monks  in  parts  of  France  and
Switzerland.  It  was  carried  to  England  by
St.  Augustine  of  Canterbury  (q.v.),  who  founded
the  first  English  Benedictine  congregation  in
597.  Thence  its  influence  was  extended  during
the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  to  Germany,
through  the  missionary  activity  of  St.  Boniface
(q.v.).  It  was  introduced  into  Spain  probably
about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  In
the  ninth  century  the  Benedictine  Rule  had
extended  to  all  the  monastic  institutions  of
Western  Europe  with  the  exception  of  the
British  Isles,  where  for  a  century  or  two  longer
the  Celtic  rule  was  still  maintained  in  some
monasteries.  By  the  beginning  of  the  four-
teenth century  there  were  as  many  as  37,000
monasteries  extending  as  far  south  as  Sicily
and  as  far  north  as  Iceland,  all  following  the
Rule  of  St.  Benedict  or  some  modification
of  it.
The  reforms  of  the  Benedictine  rule  begin
with  the  attempts  of  Benedict  of  Aniane  in  the
ninth  century  to  bring  all  the  congregations
under  one  authority.  A  similar  attempt  was
made  by  St.  Berno  of  Cluny  in  the  tenth  cen-
tury, and  is  known  as  the  Cluniac  reform.  The
first  reform  which  resulted  in  the  foundation  of
a  separate  order  was  that  of  the  Camaldoli  in
1009.  This  was  followed  by  the  formation  of
the  Cistercians   (1098),   Celestines  (1254),  etc.
