The Order of Cistercians was one of the most important and influential religious orders of the Middle Ages. It gained recruits from all levels of society and was supported by rich and poor alike.
The Origins of the Cistercian Order or the White Monks
The Cistercian order came about through the actions of a group of break-away monks who left their monastery of Molesme in Burgundy, in order to try to adhere more strictly to the Rule of St Benedict. In 1098, they acquired a portion of land at Citeaux and founded what was to be the motherhouse of the Cistercian Order. By 1118, the monastery at Citeaux was well enough established to send out monks to create other Cistercian monasteries, and what was to be a Europe-wide spread began. Eventually, the Cistercians would have more than 700 religious houses throughout Europe.
The Cistercians followed the Rule of St Benedict and were known as the White Monks, because of the undyed wool habits they wore. It was impossible for them to live entirely free from the influence of the outside world and lay brothers were engaged in most monasteries; secular men who worked the lands belonging to the abbey and dealt with buying and selling the goods necessary to keep the monastery running.
Bernard of Clairvaux, Founder Member of the Cistercian Order
Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the order’s most successful and talented leaders. He joined the monastery of Citeaux in 1112 and three years later, founded Clairvaux monastery. In Bernard’s lifetime, Clairvaux would become the mother house of 68 monasteries.
The Cistercian Order met with particular success in the North of England, where remote and beautiful sites were easy to find. Houses such as Fountains and Bylands were established, with a good number of recruits to house them.
Bernard died in 1153, at the age of 63, having spent forty years in the cloister and having seen the Cistercian Order become one of the greatest monastic orders in Europe. He had arguably lived through the Order’s ‘golden age’ and critics would attack the Order in later years, accusing its monks of having too great an involvement with secular society and business transactions. Bernard was the first Cistercian monk to be named on the Catholic Church’s Calendar of Saints.
The Location of Cistercian Monasteries in Medieval Europe
The Cistercian order sought to make their buildings far from the habitation of men, so that the monks could concentrate solely on the religious life. The style was simple and graceful, with statues and pictures banned.
Most Cistercian abbeys were built in valleys with water power from a stream or river on site. This access to water allowed most of these monasteries to utilise the technology for farming or milling and so bring in extra income.
No Cistercian monastery could survive without one or more patrons. A patron was necessary to provide both financial and physical support. Cistercian monks were barred from owning any personal property and were expected to work on the land to support themselves. A patron could pay for a monastery and its upkeep and also supply physical protection from attack.
There would eventually be around 1,500 Cistercian monasteries, each of which was visited by the motherhouse annually and each of whom sent a representative to the General Chapter of Abbots which took place each year at Citeaux. Each house was expected to run independently, with guidance, where necessary, from the motherhouse.
The Cistercian Order After the Reformation
The English Reformation of the sixteenth century destroyed many medieval monastic buildings and put an end to centuries of monasticism in Britain. European revolutions of the next few centuries were to result in almost completely destroying the Cistercian Order. However, a few houses continued to operate and take in new monks. The order is now enjoying something of a renaissance and has more than 100 monasteries worldwide.
Sources
Lawrence, CH Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages [Longman, 2000]
Burton, Janet Monastic and Religious Orders in Britain 1000-1300 [Cambridge University Press, 1994]
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