Different monastic orders had different criteria for acceptance into the order, although they shared some of the same standards. The Benedictine order welcomed people from many walks of life, not just the elite. Benedict preached that different kinds of people all had something to offer; they could be peasants as well as educated nobles, rich or poor, young or old, priests or laypersons, so long as they had a strong desire to live in a religious community and obey the rules. In the Early Middle Ages, few monks were also priests. However, in 1311, church officials declared at the Council of Vienne that monks would be expected to proceed to take priestly orders, if their abbots told them to do so, "for the increase of divine worship."

Men of different ages became monks. Some were young men...