Under the Rule of St Benedict an abbot's power is absolute. Decision-making lies with him and the monks must obey his commands, however unreasonable, without question and with humility. Nevertheless, the Rule has general injunctions for the abbot's good behaviour: he must always be mindful of the words of St Paul: ‘you have received the spirit of the adoption of sons by which we cry Abba, father’. And the abbot should not harass the flock committed to him, nor exercise his power in an arbitrary, unjust way; he should always remember that he must render account to God for all his decisions and acts. Moreover, the Rule states that when an important decision has to be taken, the abbot should call all the monks together, explain the situation and listen to their advice, even to the views of young monks, before deciding what to do. He was also to consult ‘God fearing monks’ when appointing a prior, and senior monks should be consulted over small matters: the Rule cites the Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus): ‘Do all things with counsel and you will not afterwards repent.’ These stipulations in the Rule were advices to the abbot and did not imply rights enjoyed by the monks.

However, in the course of time monks came to claim certain rights which had evolved as customs and received tacit or formal recognition by their abbots. The proliferation of such rights was greatly accelerated by the division of property between abbot and convent in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. As a result, disputes between an abbot and his monks over their respective rights were a constant threat. If an abbot grossly abused his power and violated rights claimed by his monks, the latter could appeal to the local bishop, provided that the monastery in question was not exempt from diocesan authority. St Edmunds, having the privilege of full exemption, could only be visited by the pope himself by a legate a latere, that is, one with plenary powers. Jocelin, a novice at the time, realized the danger to the monks of full exemption: