The Dramatics of Induction Ceremonies

Often summer is the time for induction (or vesting) ceremonies, that is: young men entering the novitiate. The Rule of St. Benedict (RB) is very minimalistic when describing the ceremony, but the Rule of the Master (RM) goes into more detail, even dramatic detail. RM preceded RB.
George Klawitter explains in his 1981 article that after the chapter had been informed and assented to the candidate's wish to begin monastic life, the next day after prime a type of playlet took place in the choir stalls or in the chapter house. The candidate interrupts the exit procession and asks the monks to pray for him and then grabs the abbot's habit and asks to be admitted. Of course, every one knows how the dialogue will end; the candidate receives the habit. The play is the induction ceremony.  
Klawitter shows that early monastic rituals could be very emotional. A melodramatic tone is documented in Gallican prayers. It might seem exaggerated to some. The Rule of St. Benedict, by contrast, is much more austere and discreet. Benedict's version of induction has endured more or less intact to the present day in Benedictine and Cistercian communities.
The RM ceremony is to be found in Adalbert de Vogüé, La Règle du Maitre (Paris 1964) vol. 2, pp. 372-377, qtd. in George Klawitter, Dramatic Elements in Early Monastic Induction Ceremonies. Comparative Drama 15.3 (1981) 213-230.

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