The Cistercians
Ruins of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, England.
Interior of Fossanova Abbey, Italy.
Beautiful but suitably undistracting capital in Fossanova Abbey.
Fontenay Abbey in Burgundy, France. Photo © Paradoxplace.
Side aisle of Fontenay Abbey church.
"You will find among the woods something you cannot find in books."
-- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
The Cistercian movement had modest beginnings in a remote corner of Burgundy in eastern France, but quickly found rapid and extraordinary success throughout Europe. The new form of western monasticism was born as a reaction against the wealth and lack of discipline that characterized many medieval monasteries.
History
In 1098, Abbot Robert of Molesme left his prosperous Benedictine abbey with a group of like-minded monks in search of solitude, austerity, and a return to the strictness of the Rule of St. Benedict (composed 500 years earlier at Monte Cassino). Robert founded his new abbey at Cîteaux (Latin Ciscertium).
One of the monks who had accompanied Robert to Cîteaux was Stephen Harding, who became the monastery's third abbot in 1109. A scholar and able administrator, he is credited with writing the main statements of Cistercian principles and designed the forms of Cistercian architecture.
Harding founded several abbeys, including Clairvaux, at which he called Bernard to be abbot in 1115. St. Bernard’s powerful preaching, widespread fame and connections with popes and kings ensured the order's success.
Way of Life
The Cistercians' basic principles of living were poverty, chastity, obedience, silence, prayer and work. Rejecting the fine black robes of the Benedictines, Cistercian monks wore undyed (white) robes and placed an uncompromising emphasis on poverty, rejecting all sources of luxury and wealth.
They followed a strict rule of silence, and at first survived on a meager vegetarian diet. The services were stripped of all liturgical complexities and even the singing was to be kept at a discreet pitch.
Supervision of these high standards was maintained across the large Cistercian order though a system of regular visitation and communication among "mother" and "daughter" houses, even those in different countries.
Architecture
In keeping with the values of the order, Cistercian architecture was characterized by its simplicity and austerity. In contrast to the richly carved capitals and portals at other monasteries, Cistercian art was minimal, with almost no figurative carvings to distract the monks.
Yet Cistercian abbeys are some of the most beautiful in Europe, famed for their harmonious form of the Romanesque style and unobstrusive relationship with the surrounding natural landscape. And the landscape is a great part of the appeal of Cistercian monasteries - the monks always sought the wildest and most remote locations, seeking communion with God "far from the concouse of men."
Please see our Cistercian Abbeys category for profiles and galleries of some notable Cistercian monasteries throughout Europe.
Article Sources and More Information
- Cistercians - Encyclopaedia Brittanica
- Cistercians - Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Cistercians and Trappists - Dr. Deborah Vess
- Cistercian History and Photo Pages - Paradoxplace.com
