As the fifth century wore on, monasticism became an increasingly familiar fixture in Western society, though there were considerable divergences in the types of monastic life to be found within any one area of Western Europe. In Gaul, for instance, not all communities could afford or wished to embrace the aristocratic and learned lifestyle of Lérins. The earliest monastic rules frequently attempted to capture the essence of the spirit inspiring the groups from which they originated. Benedict's Rule is mentioned in two works traditionally attributed to Gregory, but neither text can be taken as evidence of the early diffusion of the Benedictine Rule. For that, one needs to turn to the history of the monasteries founded by Columbanus. Columbanus' forging of links with an aspirant Frankish aristocracy led many families to realise that the foundation of monasteries could be a valuable weapon in their struggle to establish themselves as a permanent elite in the early seventh century.