There were, therefore, two ways to go within the Frankish empire: you were either in the Church proper or under the imperially approved Benedictine rule. This did not instantly tidy up every aspect of Christian religious life across the vast Carolingian lands. But it ensured Benedictine practice became the norm across large swaths of Europe. Every mainstream monastic movement from this point on would build on the Benedictine standard—including the Cluniacs
