In the tenth century the great monastery at Cluny rose as a bulwark of strength and order in the midst of social chaos. Within its protective walls emerged a model of restraint: the "rhinoceros bound." The author show how the instability of everyday life was replaced at Cluny with an interpretation of the Benedictine rule that stressed ritual, order, and lawfulness. Combining traditional historical techniques with contemporary sociological insights, she reevaluates a period crucial to the political development of Europe.