Monastic-matter Affidavit in the Reign of King Rama IV

Abstract

This article aims to study the monastic-matter affidavit in the Reign of King Rama IV via an analytical text-based method, examining both the formats and the contexts from four folding-book manuscripts belonging to the section of Chot Mai Het (Historical Dispatches and Archives) from the reign of King Rama IV at the National Library of Thailand. The study reveals that the four manuscripts are generally written in the official form of royal-submitted documents. Some of them have also been recorded under the King’s command. As for their content, there are two categories: 1) allegations against monks, which consist of improper depictions of female figures in Wat Thong Nopphakhun’s mural paintings, monks who committed the gravest sins, and the dismissal of Phra Thammametharot (Iam) due to his inaccurate preaching, and 2) the reply of a monk who was approved to travel out of the kingdom, namely Phra Khru Thepsitthithephathibodi, who visited Cambodia in the late period of King Harirak Rama Itsarathibodi. The content analysis reflects the historical monastic matters in the Reign of King Rama IV, along with the situation with Cambodia at that time.