<P> Some monasteries were established by feudal lords with the intention of retiring there at some point . The Benedictine Rule, in these monasteries, was modified to schedule matins when it would not interrupt sleep, and expanded the vegetarian diet . Monks in these houses wore richer, warmer clothing and were free to disregard the rules pertaining to fasting . The Cluny reform was an attempt to remedy these practices in the hope that a more independent abbot would better enforce the Rule of Saint Benedict . </P> <P> William I, Duke of Aquitaine (935--963) had acquired a piece of land in Burgundy . In 910 he founded Cluny Abbey and asked Abbot Berno of Baume Abbey to preside . The Abbot of Cluny retained authority over the daughter houses his order founded . By the twelfth century the Congregation of Cluny included more than a thousand monasteries . </P> <P> Berno had established St. Peter's monastery at Gigny and Baume Abbey on the rule as interpreted by Benedict of Aniane, who had sought to restore the primitive strictness of the monastic observance wherever it had been relaxed . The rule focused on prayer, silence, and solitude . </P> <P> Among the most notable supporters of the Cluniac reforms were Pope Urban II, Lambert of Hersfeld, and Richard of Verdun . The reforms encouraged the Church in the West to be more attentive to business and led the papacy to attempt to assert control over the Eastern Church . </P>

The cluniac movement helped to reform churches because it