The Cistercian Order

The Cistercian Order was founded in 1098 at the abbey of Cîteaux (Latin Cistercium) in Burgundy, by a group of monks who wished to live according to a stricter observance of the Benedictine Rule. The Cistercians rejected the Cluniac emphasis on elaborate liturgy and artistic display, and they sought a return to the simplicity and austerity of the early Benedictine tradition. Under the leadership of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), the Cistercian Order expanded rapidly across Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, founding hundreds of monasteries and exerting a major influence on the religious, economic, and cultural life of the High Middle Ages. The Cistercians were also major agricultural pioneers, draining marshes, clearing forests, and establishing new farms and villages in the European landscape.

The standard English-language treatment is Louis J. Lekai, “The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality” (Kent State, 1977). The Exordium Parvum and the Exordium Cistercii (the founding documents) are the primary sources, with the English translation in The Cistercian World (ed. P. M. J. L. G. de Jong, 2013).

The Founding of the Order

The Cistercian Order was founded in 1098 at the abbey of Cîteaux in Burgundy, by a group of monks who had left the abbey of Molesme under the leadership of Robert of Molesme. The monks of Cîteaux wished to live according to a stricter observance of the Benedictine Rule, and they sought to free themselves from the interference of the local bishop and the secular authorities. The founding of Cîteaux was the beginning of a major monastic reform movement that would shape the religious life of Europe for centuries.

The early years of the Cistercian Order were difficult. The monastery struggled to attract new members, and the community seemed on the verge of extinction. The arrival of St. Bernard and his companions at Cîteaux in 1112 was a turning point. Bernard, a young nobleman from the Champagne region, brought with him a group of about thirty companions, and his reputation for holiness and his charismatic personality attracted many more. In 1115, Bernard was sent to found a new monastery at Clairvaux (in the Champagne region), and Clairvaux became the most famous of the Cistercian monasteries, and the mother house of the Cistercian filiation in northern Europe.

The Cistercian Life

The Cistercian life was organized around the principles of austerity, simplicity, and manual work. The Cistercians rejected the Cluniac emphasis on elaborate liturgy and artistic display, and they sought a return to the simplicity of the early Benedictine tradition. The Cistercian churches were plain, with no towers, no stained glass, and no elaborate sculptural decoration. The Cistercian monks worked in the fields, ate simple food, and observed a strict silence. The Cistercians emphasized the dignity of manual work and the importance of self-sufficiency.

The Cistercian day was organized around the Divine Office and the manual work of the monastery. The monks attended all the hours of the Divine Office in the church of the monastery, and they worked in the fields, the workshop, the library, the kitchen, and the infirmary of the monastery. The Cistercians were also pioneers of agricultural development, and they played a major role in the transformation of the medieval landscape through the draining of marshes, the clearing of forests, and the establishment of new farms and villages.

The Cistercian diet was particularly austere. The Cistercians avoided meat, except for the sick and the weak, and they subsisted on a diet of bread, vegetables, legumes, and fish. The Cistercian clothing was also austere — a white or undyed wool tunic with a black cowl (the white habit with a black cowl is still the Cistercian habit today). The Cistercian monasteries were typically located in remote areas, away from the towns and the secular authorities, and the Cistercians emphasized the solitude and the contemplation of the monastic life.

The Cistercian Economy

The Cistercian economy was a major feature of the medieval economy, and the Cistercian monasteries were among the largest and most productive agricultural enterprises of the High Middle Ages. The Cistercians pioneered new techniques of agricultural production, including the use of the heavy plow, the three-field system, the horse collar, and the horseshoe. The Cistercians were also major breeders of livestock, especially sheep, and the Cistercian wool was a major commodity in the medieval market.

The Cistercian monasteries were also major centers of innovation in technology and management. The Cistercians developed sophisticated systems of water management, including the construction of dams, canals, and irrigation systems. The Cistercians also developed sophisticated systems of bookkeeping and record-keeping, and the Cistercian account rolls are major sources for the medieval economy. The Cistercians were also major patrons of architecture, and the Cistercian churches — with their plain interiors, their pointed arches, and their ribbed vaults — were major influences on the development of the Gothic style.

The Cistercian granges — outlying farms managed by lay brothers — were major agricultural enterprises, and the wool and the grain of the Cistercian estates were major commodities in the period. The Cistercians were also major landowners, and the Cistercian estates covered hundreds of thousands of acres across Europe. The Cistercian monasteries were also major employers, and the Cistercian estates provided work for thousands of peasants and artisans.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was the most famous of the Cistercians, and he was one of the most influential figures of the twelfth century. Bernard was a mystic, a theologian, a preacher, and a political advisor, and he played a major role in the religious and political life of the period. Bernard was a major preacher of the Second Crusade (1147–1149), and his letters and sermons were widely read and admired. Bernard was also a major theologian, and his Sermons on the Song of Songs was one of the most influential works of medieval theology.

Bernard was a major political advisor to popes and kings, and he played a major role in the resolution of the papal schism of 1130 and in the promotion of the Second Crusade. Bernard was also a major defender of the papacy against the criticisms of the reformers, and he defended the papacy in his treatise De Consideratione (c. 1152), addressed to Pope Eugene III. Bernard’s influence on the papacy and the Crusades was enormous, and he is one of the most important figures of the twelfth century.

The Spread of the Order

The Cistercian Order expanded rapidly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and by the end of the Middle Ages there were over 500 Cistercian monasteries for men and over 900 Cistercian monasteries for women across Europe. The Cistercians were particularly strong in France, Germany, England, Spain, and Italy, but they also had monasteries in Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, and the Holy Land.

The Cistercian filiation — the network of monasteries dependent on the parent house — was a major feature of the Cistercian Order. The parent house — Cîteaux, Clairvaux, Pontigny, Morimond, and La Ferté — was responsible for the foundation and the visitation of the dependent monasteries, and the network of dependencies ensured a certain uniformity of practice across the Order. The Cistercian General Chapter — the annual meeting of the abbots of the Order — was the supreme authority of the Order, and it made decisions affecting the whole Order.

The Cistercians and the Crusades

The Cistercians played a major role in the promotion and direction of the Crusades. St. Bernard of Clairvaux was a major preacher of the Second Crusade (1147–1149), and the Cistercians played a major role in the promotion of the Third Crusade (1189–1192) and the later Crusades. The Cistercians were also major participants in the Crusades themselves, and Cistercian monasteries were founded in the Holy Land to support the Crusader States.

The Cistercians were also major critics of the violence of the medieval period, and the Cistercian theologian St. Bernard was a major voice for the peaceful conversion of the Muslims and the Jews. The Cistercian emphasis on evangelical poverty and peaceful conversion was a major influence on the later Franciscan and Dominican movements of the thirteenth century.

The Legacy of the Cistercians

The legacy of the Cistercians is immense. The Cistercians were major contributors to the agricultural revolution of the medieval period, and they played a major role in the transformation of the European landscape. The Cistercians were also major patrons of architecture and art, and the Cistercian churches were major influences on the development of the Gothic style. The Cistercians were also major theologians and mystics, and the Cistercian tradition of devotional reading of the scriptures and affective prayer was a major influence on the later Devotio Moderna and the Reformation.

The Cistercian Order continues to exist in the modern world, and the Cistercian monasteries of Europe, America, and other parts of the world continue to follow the Cistercian observance of the Benedictine Rule. The Cistercians are also a major subject of academic study, and the scholarship on the Cistercians is a major field of medieval studies.

Sources

Principal sources used in this article:

C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (Longman, 1984).

Further reading:

André Vauchez, La Spiritualité du Moyen Âge occidental (1975).

For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).