The Cistercians. Part Nine.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The Choir of Casamari Abbey, Italy.

Italiano: Il coro dell'Abbazia di Casamari (Veroli, Frosinone, Italia).

Photo: 1 April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Beatrice.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The 12th-Century saw a period of long decline for Casamari Abbey in Italy. Due to severe financial crises, the Region underwent great instability. In the Religious realm, the Church was suffering from the contending Rules of Anti-Pope Anacletus II and Pope Innocent II. During this period, one of the major Religious Figures of the day, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, promoted The Cistercian Reforms of Monasticism as the best way to ensure fidelity of life and obedience to The Church.

He himself arranged the incorporation of Casamari Abbey into the new Order,

officially listing it in The Cistercian Directory as the twenty-ninth Foundation of Citeaux.

Many Cistercian Monasteries produce goods, such as cheese, bread and other foodstuffs. Many Monasteries in Belgium and the Netherlands, such as Orval Abbey, Westvleteren Abbey and Westmalle Abbey, brew beer, both for the Monks and for sale to the general public. Trappist beers contain residual sugars and living yeast, and, unlike conventional beers, will improve with age. These have become quite famous and are considered by many beer critics to be among the finest in the world.

Cistercian College, Roscrea, Ireland.

Photo: 10 February 2005. Taken by Tom Smyth.

Source: Own work.

Author: Legend1981.

The School was built in 1905 from locally-quarried limestone.

Cistercian College, Roscrea, a boys' Boarding Secondary/High School, in Ireland,

is the only Trappist School left in the World, and one of only two

remaining Monastic Secondary Schools in Ireland.

(Wikipedia)

In the United States, many Cistercian Monasteries support themselves through agriculture, forestry and rental of farmland. The Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank, in Sparta, Wisconsin, from 2001 to 2011, supported itself with a group called "Laser Monks", which provided Laser Toner and Ink Jet Cartridges, as well as items such as Gourmet Coffees and all-natural Dog Treats. The Monks of New Melleray Abbey, rural Peosta, Iowa, produce Caskets, for both themselves and sale to the public.

Additionally, the Cistercian Monks of Our Lady of Dallas Monastery, run The Cistercian Preparatory School, a Catholic school for boys in Irving, Texas. Cistercian College, Roscrea, a boys' Boarding Secondary/High School, in Ireland, is the only Trappist School left in the World, and one of only two remaining Monastic Secondary Schools in Ireland.

English: Picture taken by Peter Van Osta of the entrance

of The Trappist Abbey 

of Westmalle (Malle), Belgium.

Nederlands: Barokke toegangspoort van een patriciërshuis uit Antwerpen,

overgebracht naar Westmalle in 1840 en geplaatst in 1907.

Date: 18 February 2007 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia;

Transfer was stated to be made by User:YukioSanjo.

Author: Pvosta at en.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

Westmalle Trappist Beer.

Photo: 12 February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Arnaud 25.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Westmalle Brewery (Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle) is a Belgian Trappist Brewery,

located in The Trappist Abbey of Westmalle. It produces three beers, which are designated

Trappist Beer, because they follow the rules of the International Trappist Association.

The brand "Westmalle Tripel" has been much copied, and is credited with being

the first golden Strong Pale Ale to use the term "Tripel".

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE CISTERCIANS.

The Cistercians. Part Eight.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Garden entrance at The Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemani,

Kentucky, United States of America.

[Editor: Note the wording above the entrance: "God Alone".]

Photo: 14 January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bryan Sherwood.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Monastery near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County, United States of America, a part of The Order of Cistercians of The Strict Observance (Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae), better known as The Trappists.

Founded on 21 December 1848 and raised to an Abbey in 1851, Gethsemani Abbey is considered to be The Mother House of all Trappist and Trappistine Monasteries in the United States of America. Gethsemani is the oldest Monastery in the United States that is still operating.

Following The Rule of Saint Benedict, the Trappist Monks live a Contemplative Life of Faithful Prayer and Work. The Monastery is situated on a working farm of 2,000 acres (810 ha). The Monks support themselves and the Abbey through its Store, "Gethsemani Farms", offering hand-made Trappist cheeses, fruitcake, and bourbon fudge (both on-site and by mail order).

Gethsemani Abbey was the home of Trappist Monk, social activist and author, Thomas Merton, from 1941 until his death in 1968.

English: Heilegenkreuz Abbey (Holy Cross Abbey), Austria.

It is the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian Monastery in the World.

Deutsch: Stift Heiligenkreuz Stiftshof.

Photo: 14 September 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Se90.

(Wikimedia Commons)

By far the most influential of the Early-Cistercians was Bernard of Clairvaux. According to the historian Piers Paul Read, his Vocation to The Order, by deciding "to choose the narrowest gate and steepest path to The Kingdom of Heaven, at Citeaux, demonstrates the purity of his Vocation". His piety and asceticism "qualified him to act as the conscience of Christendom, constantly chastising the rich and powerful and championing the pure and weak."

He rebuked the moderate and conciliatory Abbot, Peter the Venerable, for the pleasant life of The Benedictine Monks of Cluny. Besides his piety, Saint Bernard was an outstanding intellectual, which he demonstrated in his Sermons on Grace, Free Will and The Song of Songs. He perceived the attraction of evil not simply as lying in the obvious lure of wealth and worldly power, but in the "subtler and ultimately more pernicious attraction of false ideas". He was quick to recognise Heretical ideas, and, in 1141 and 1145, respectively, he accused the celebrated Scholastic Theologian, Peter Abelard, and the popular Preacher, Henry of Lausanne, of Heresy. He was also charged with the task of promulgating Pope Eugene's Bull, Quantum praedecessores, and his eloquence in Preaching The Second Crusade had the desired effect. When he finished his Sermon, so many men were ready to take The Cross, that Saint Bernard had to cut his Habit into strips of cloth.

Although Saint Bernard's "De laude novae militiae" was in favour of The Knights Templar, a Cistercian was also one of the few Scholars of The Middle Ages to question the existence of The Military Orders during The Crusades. The English Cistercian Abbot, Isaac of l'Etoile, near Poitiers, France, preached against the "new monstrosity" of the nova militia in the Mid-12th-Century and denounced the use of force to convert members of Islam.

English: The Cistercian Abbey Church at Bebenhausen, Germany.

Deutsch: Klosterkirche Bebenhausen.

Date: 1 June 2013 (original upload date).

Source: Own work.

Author: Thomas Hentrich, www.MomentsInRGB.com

(Wikimedia Commons)

He also rejected the notion that Crusaders could be regarded as Martyrs if they died while despoiling non-Christians. Nevertheless, the Bernardine concept of "Catholic Warrior Asceticism" predominated in Christendom and exerted multiple influences, culturally and otherwise, notably forming the metaphysical background of the other-worldly, pure-hearted, Arthurian Knight, Sir Galahad, Cistercian Spirituality permeating and underlying the Mediaeval "anti-romance" and climactic sublimation of The Grail Quest, the Queste del Saint Graal — indeed, direct Cistercian authorship of the work, is academically considered highly probable. Cistercian-Bernardine chivalrous mysticism is especially exhibited in how the Celibate, Sacred Warrior, Galahad, due to Interior Purity of the Heart ("cardiognosis" in Desert Father terminology), is alone in being granted The Beatific Vision of The Eucharistic Holy Grail (Pauline Matarasso, The Redemption of Chivalry, Geneva, 1979).

One of the most-well-known Cistercian Theologians was Thomas Merton, a prominent author in the mystic tradition and a noted poet and social and literary critic. He entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, United States of America, in 1941, where his writings and letters to World Leaders became some of the most widely-read Spiritual and Social Works of the 20th-Century. Merton's most widely-read work remains his autobiography, "The Seven Storey Mountain", followed by "New Seeds of Contemplation" and "No Man is an Island".

Cistercian Monasteries have continued to spread, with many Founded outside Europe in the 20th-Century. In particular, the number of Trappist Monasteries throughout the World has more than doubled over the past sixty years; from eighty-two Monasteries in 1940, to 127 Monasteries in 1970, and 169 Monasteries at the beginning of the 21st-Century.

Westvleteren Abbey (Saint Sixtus Abbey), Belgium.

Date: 1 May 2008 (original upload date).

Source: Originally uploaded on en.wikipedia.

Author: Westvleteren Abbey.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint-Sixtus Abbey. of Westvleteren, which belongs to The Cistercians of Strict Observance, or Trappists, is a Roman Catholic Abbey located in Westvleteren, in the Belgian Province of West-Flanders. The Abbey is famous for its Spiritual Life, characterised by Prayer, Reading, and Manual Work, the three basic elements of Trappist Life. It has also a reputation for its brewery, one of the several breweries of Trappist beer in Belgium.

In 1940, there were six Trappist Monasteries in Asia and the Pacific, only one Trappist Monastery in Africa, and none in Latin America. Now there are thirteen Monasteries in Central and South America, seventeen Monasteries in Africa, and twenty-three Monasteries in Asia and the Pacific. In general, these Communities are growing faster than those in other parts of the World.

Over the same period, the total number of Monks and Nuns in The Order decreased by about fifteen per cent. There are, approximately, 2,500 Trappist Monks and 1,800 Trappist Nuns in the World, today. There are, on average, twenty-five Members per Community – less than half those in former times. As of 2005, there are 101 Monasteries of Monks and seventy Monasteries of Nuns. Of these, there are twelve Monasteries of Monks and five Monasteries of Nuns in the United States.

The Abbots and Abbesses of each Branch meet every three years at the Mixed General Meeting, Chaired by The Abbot General, to make decisions concerning the welfare of The Order. Between these Meetings, the Abbot General and his Council, who reside in Rome, are in charge of The Order's affairs. The present Abbot General is Dom Eamonn Fitzgerald of Mount Melleray, Waterford, Ireland.

The Cloisters of Celas Monastery, Portugal.

Photo: 1954.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/biblarte/3212572196/.

Author: Novais, Mário

(Wikimedia Commons)

Since 2010, there is also a Branch of Anglican Cistercians in England. This is a dispersed and un-Cloistered Order of single, celibate, and married men, that is officially recognised within The Church of England. The Order enjoys an ecumenical link with The Order of Cistercians of The Strict Observance.

At the time of Monastic Profession, five or six years after entering the Monastery, Candidates promise "conversion" – fidelity to Monastic Life, which includes an atmosphere of silence. Cistercian Monks and Nuns, in particular Trappists, have a reputation of being silent, which has led to the public idea that they take a Vow of Silence. This has actually never been the case, although silence is an implicit part of an outlook shared by Cistercian and Benedictine Monasteries. In a Cistercian Monastery, there are three reasons for speaking:

Functional communication at work or in Community dialogues; 

Spiritual exchange with one’s Superiors or with a particular Member of the Community on different aspects of one’s personal life; 

and spontaneous conversation on special occasions.

These forms of communication are integrated into the discipline of maintaining a general atmosphere of silence, which is an important help to continual Prayer.


PART NINE FOLLOWS.

The Cistercians. Part Seven.

Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Orval Abbey (Trappist), Belgium.

Photo: 7 August 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Etychon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The fortified Maulbronn Abbey in Germany is considered "the most complete and best-preserved Mediaeval Monastic complex North of The Alps". The Transitional Gothic Style of its Church had a major influence in the spread of Gothic architecture over much of Northern and Central Europe, and the Abbey's elaborate network of drains, irrigation canals and reservoirs has since been recognised as having "exceptional" cultural interest.

In Poland, the former Cistercian Monastery of Pelplin Cathedral is an important example of Brick Gothic. Wąchock Abbey is one of the most valuable examples of Polish Romanesque architecture. The largest Cistercian complex, the Abbatia Lubensis (Lubiąż, Poland), is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture and the second-largest Christian architectural complex in the world.

English: Maulbronn Monastery, Germany.

Deutsch: Kloster Maulbronn, Blick auf die Klosterkirche

mit Vorhalle („Paradies“).

Photo: 28 September 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Elke Wetzig (Elya).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Maulbronn Monastery (German: Kloster Maulbronn) is the best-preserved Mediaeval Cistercian Monastery complex in Europe. It is situated on the outskirts of Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and is separated from the Town by fortifications. In 1993, the Monastery was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Mother House of The Order, Cîteaux, in France, had developed the most advanced style of painting in France, at least in Illuminated Manuscripts, during the first decades of the 12th-Century, playing an important part in the development of the image of The Tree of Jesse. However, as Bernard of Clairvaux, who had a personal violent hostility to imagery, increased in influence in The Order, painting and decoration gradually diminished in Cistercian Manuscripts, and they were finally banned altogether in The Order, probably from the Revised Rules approved in 1154. Any Wall Paintings that may have existed were presumably destroyed. Crucifixes were allowed, and, later, some painting and decoration crept back in. Bernard's outburst in a Letter, against the fantastical decorative motifs in Romanesque art, is famous:

. . . But these are small things; I will pass on to matters greater in themselves, yet seeming smaller because they are more usual. I say naught of the vast height of your Churches, their immoderate length, their superfluous breadth, the costly polishings, the curious carvings and paintings which attract the worshipper's gaze and hinder his attention . . . But, in the Cloister, under the eyes of the Brethren who read there, what profit is there in those ridiculous monsters, in the marvellous and deformed comeliness, that comely deformity ? To what purpose are those unclean apes, those fierce lions, those monstrous centaurs, those half-men, those striped tigers, those fighting knights, those hunters winding their horns ? Many bodies are there seen under one head, or, again, many heads to a single body. Here, is a four-footed beast with a serpent's tail; there, a fish with a beast's head. Here, again, the forepart of a horse trails half a goat behind it, or a horned beast bears the hinder quarters of a horse. In short, so many and so marvellous are the varieties of divers shapes on every hand, that we are more tempted to read in the marble than in our books, and to spend the whole day in wondering at these things rather than in meditating The Law of God. For God's sake, if men are not ashamed of these follies, why at least do they not shrink from the expense ?

The ruins of Tintern Abbey, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

This Abbey contained Later-Mediaeval Wall Paintings.

Photo: 14 July 2006.

Source: From geograph.org.uk

Author: Humphrey Bolton

(Wikimedia Commons)

Some Cistercian Abbeys did in fact contain Later-Mediaeval Wall Paintings, such as Tintern Abbey (known from archaeology) and Abbeyknockmoy (traces of which still survive in the Presbytery). The latter murals depict Saint Sebastian, The Crucifixion, The Trinity and The Three Living And Three Dead. The Abbey contains a fine example of a sculptured Royal Head, on a Capital in the Nave, with carefully defined eyes, an elaborate Crown and long curly hair. The East End of Corcomroe Abbey, in County Clare, Ireland, is similarly distinguished by high-quality carvings, several of which "demonstrate precociously naturalistic renderings of plants". By the Baroque Period, decoration could be very elaborate, as at Alcobaça in Portugal, which has carved and gilded Retables and Walls of Azulejo Tiles.

Furthermore, many Cistercian Abbey Churches housed the tombs of Royal or Noble Patrons, and these were often as elaborately carved and painted as in other Churches. Notable dynastic burial places were Alcobaça, for the Kings of Portugal, Cîteaux, for the Dukes of Burgundy, and Poblet, for the Kings of Aragon. Corcomroe, in Ireland, contains one of only two surviving examples of Gaelic Royal Effigies from 13th- and 14th-Century Ireland; the Sarcophagal tomb of Conchobar na Siudaine Ua Briain († 1268).

English: The Cloisters of the 12th-Century Cistercian Monastery of Veruela Abbey, Spain.

Español: Monestir de Santa Maria de Veruela.

Photo: 30 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Emvallmitjana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Veruela Abbey (Spanish: Real Monasterio de Santa María de Veruela, or "The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Veruela") is a Cistercian Abbey dating from the 12th-Century. It is situated near Vera de Moncayo, in Zaragoza Province, Spain. It was Founded in 1146 by Pedro de Atarés.

According to one modern Cistercian, "enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit" have always been a part of The Order's identity, and The Cistercians "were catalysts for development of a market economy" in 12th-Century Europe. It was as agriculturists and horse and cattle breeders that The Cistercians exercised their chief influence on the progress of Civilisation in The Middle Ages. As the great farmers of those days, many of the improvements in the various farming operations were introduced and propagated by them, and this is where the importance of their extension in Northern Europe is to be estimated.

They developed an organised system for selling their farm produce, cattle and horses, and notably contributed to the commercial progress of the Countries of Western Europe. To the wool and cloth trade, which was especially fostered by The Cistercians, England was largely indebted for the beginnings of her commercial prosperity.

Farming operations on so extensive a scale could not be carried out by the Monks alone, whose Choir and Religious duties took up a considerable portion of their time. And so, from the beginning, the system of Lay Brothers was introduced on a large scale. The duties of the Lay Brothers, recruited from the peasantry, consisted in carrying out the various field works and plying all sorts of useful trades. They formed a body of men who lived alongside the Choir Monks, but separate from them, not taking part in The Canonical Office, but having their own fixed round of Prayer and Religious Exercises. They were never Ordained, and never held any Office of Superiority. It was by this system of Lay Brothers that The Cistercians were able to play their distinctive part in the progress of European Civilisation.

Until The Industrial Revolution, most of the technological advances in Europe were made in the Monasteries. According to the Mediaevalist, Jean Gimpel, their high level of industrial technology facilitated the diffusion of new techniques: "Every Monastery had a model factory, often as large as the Church and only several feet away, and water power drove the machinery of the various industries located on its floor."

English: The Nave

of the 12th-Century Cistercian Monastery of Veruela Abbey, Spain.

Español: Nave central de la iglesia abacial de Santa María de Veruela.

Photo: 19 May 2010.

Source: http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-4668988984.

Author: Miguel Ángel García.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Water power was used for crushing wheat, sieving flour, fulling cloth and tanning – a "level of technological achievement [that] could have been observed in practically all" of The Cistercian Monasteries. The English Science Historian James Burke examines the impact of Cistercian water power, derived from Roman water-mill technology such as that of Barbegal aqueduct and mill, near Arles, France, in the fourth of his ten-part series Connections (TV series), called "Faith in Numbers."

The Cistercian Order was innovative in developing techniques of hydraulic engineering for Monasteries established in remote valleys. In Spain, one of the earliest surviving Cistercian Houses, Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda, in Aragon, is a good example of such early hydraulic engineering, using a large Water-Wheel for power and an elaborate water circulation system for central heating.

The Cistercians are known to have been skilled metallurgists, and knowledge of their technological advances was transmitted by The Order. Iron ore deposits were often donated to the Monks, along with Forges to extract the iron, and, within time, surpluses were being offered for sale. The Cistercians became the leading iron producers in Champagne, France, from the Mid-13th-Century to the 17th-Century, also using the phosphate-rich slag from their Furnaces as an agricultural fertiliser. As the historian Alain Erlande-Brandenburg writes:

The quality of Cistercian architecture from the 1120s onwards is related directly to The Order's technological inventiveness. They placed importance on metal, both the extraction of the ore and its subsequent processing. At the Abbey of Fontenay, the Forge is not outside, as one might expect, but inside the Monastic enclosure. Metalworking was thus part of the activity of the Monks and not of the Lay Brothers. This spirit accounted for the progress that appeared in spheres other than building, and particularly in agriculture. It is probable that this experiment spread rapidly. Gothic architecture cannot be understood otherwise.

PART EIGHT FOLLOWS.

The Cistercians. Part Six.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Ruins of the Abbey of Savigny, France.

The Houses affiliated with the Abbey of Savigny merged with The Cistercian Order.

Français: Porche d'accès entre le cloitre et l'extérieur entre le dortoir et le réfectoire.

Vue des ruines de l'abbaye de Savigny le vieux, manche, France.

Photo: 11 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Crochet.david.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1892, The Trappist Observance left The Cistercians and founded a new Order. Today, there are two Cistercian Orders:

The Common Observance, with about thirty Monasteries and 800 Choir Monks, the large majority being in Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Vietnam and Eritrea. They represent the main body of The Order and follow a mitigated Rule of Life. In Asia, they run farms, in other parts of the World they work in Schools and Parishes;

The Strict Observance, or Trappists, with nearly 100 Monasteries, about 1,566 Solemnly Professed Choir Monks and 150 Solemnly Professed Non-Choir Monks (Lay Brothers). Including those in Monastic Formation, and Oblates, there are 2,132.

There has also always been a large number of Cistercian Nuns. The first Community was founded in the Diocese of Langres, France, in 1125. At the period of their widest extension, there are said to have been 900 Monasteries, and the Communities were very large. The Nuns were Devoted to Contemplation and also did field-work.

English: Basilica of Saint Mary, 

Lubiaz Abbey (Leubus Abbey), Poland.

The Abbey, established in 1175, is one of the largest

Christian architectural complexes in the World

and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture.

Polski: Fasada bazyliki wniebowzięcia w Lubiążu.

Photo: 10 August 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tobiii.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lubiąż Abbey (German: Kloster Leubus. Polish: Opactwo cystersów w Lubiążu), also commonly known in English as Leubus Abbey, is a former Cistercian Monastery in Lubiąż, in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of South-Western Poland, located about fifty-four km (34 miles) North-West of Wrocław. The Abbey, established in 1175, is one of the largest Christian architectural complexes in the World and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture.

In Spain and France, certain Cistercian Abbesses had Extraordinary Privileges. Numerous Reforms took place among the Nuns. The best known of all Cistercian Women's Communities was probably the Abbey of Port-Royal, Reformed by Mother Marie Angélique Arnauld, and associated with the story of The Jansenist Controversy.

Lubiaz Abbey (Leubus Abbey), Poland.

The Abbey, established in 1175, is one of the largest

Christian architectural complexes in the World

and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture.

Photo: 2012-09-05.

Source: Own work.

Author: Copyright: Ryszard Michalik (rychem).

Illustration: TREKEARTH

Lubiaz Abbey (Leubus Abbey), Poland.

The Abbey, established in 1175, is one of the largest

Christian architectural complexes in the World

and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture.

Photo: 23 August 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: DocentX.

Illustration: SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM

The Nuns have also followed the split in Observances followed by the Monks. Those who follow the Reform of De Rancé are called Trappistines. As with the men, the Houses of this Branch outnumber those of The Original Observance.

Cistercian architecture has made an important contribution to European civilisation. Architecturally speaking, the Cistercian Monasteries and Churches, owing to their pure style, may be counted among the most beautiful relics of The Middle Ages. Cistercian Foundations were primarily constructed in Romanesque and Gothic architecture during The Middle Ages, although later Abbeys were also constructed in Renaissance and Baroque Styles.

Lubiaz Abbey (Leubus Abbey), Poland.

The Abbey, established in 1175, is one of the largest

Christian architectural complexes in the World

and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque Silesian architecture.

Photo: 23 August 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: DocentX.

Illustration: SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM

In the Mid-12th-Century, one of the leading Churchmen of his day, the Benedictine Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, France, united elements of Norman architecture with elements of Burgundian architecture (Rib Vaults and Pointed Arches, respectively), creating the new Style of Gothic architecture. This new "Architecture of Light" was intended to raise the observer "from the material to the immaterial" – it was, according to the 20th-Century French historian Georges Duby, a "monument of applied theology". Although Saint Bernard saw much of Church decoration as a distraction from Piety, and the builders of the Cistercian Monasteries had to adopt a Style that observed the numerous rules inspired by his austere aesthetics, The Order itself was receptive to the technical improvements of Gothic principles of construction and played an important role in its spread across Europe.

English: The Cistercians helped facilitate the spread of Water-Wheel technology.

Braine-le-Château, Belgium. 12th-Century.

Français: Moulin banal, Braine-le-Château, Belgium.

Walon: Molén banåve do 12inme sieke, a Brinne-Tchestea.

Photo: 14 November 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Pierre79.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This new Cistercian architecture embodied the ideals of The Order, and was, in theory at least, utilitarian and without superfluous ornament. The same "rational, integrated scheme" was used across Europe to meet the largely homogeneous needs of The Order. Various buildings, including The Chapter-House, to the East, and the Dormitories, above, were grouped around a Cloister, and were sometimes linked to The Transept of the Church by Night Stairs. Usually, Cistercian Churches were Cruciform, with a short Presbytery to meet the Liturgical needs of the Brethren, small Chapels in the Transepts for Private Prayer, and an Aisled Nave that was divided, roughly in the middle, by a Screen to separate the Monks from the Lay Brothers.

The building projects of the Church, in The High Middle Ages, showed an ambition for the colossal, with vast amounts of stone being quarried, and the same was true of the Cistercian projects. Foigny Abbey was ninety-eight metres (322 ft) long, and Vaucelles Abbey was 132 metres (433 ft) long. Monastic buildings came to be constructed entirely of stone, right down to the most humble of buildings. In the 12th- and 13th-Centuries, Cistercian barns consisted of a stone exterior, divided into Nave and Aisles, either by Wooden Posts or by Stone Piers.

The Cistercians acquired a reputation in the difficult task of administering the building sites for Abbeys and Cathedrals. Saint Bernard's own brother, Achard, is known to have supervised the construction of many Abbeys, such as Himmerod Abbey in the Rhineland. Others were: Raoul at Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes, who later became Abbot there; Geoffrey d'Aignay, sent to Fountains Abbey in 1133; and Robert, sent to Mellifont Abbey, in 1142. On one occasion, the Abbot of La Trinité, at Vendôme, France, loaned a Monk, named John, to the Bishop of Le Mans, Hildebert de Lavardin, for the building of a Cathedral. After the project was completed, John refused to return to his Monastery.

Liturgical Celebration 

in the Cistercian Abbey of Acey, Jura, France.

[Editor: Note the "starkness" and lack of architectural decoration,

which is a Cistercian hallmark.]

Photo: 17 March 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Arnaud 25.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cistercians "made it a point of honour to recruit the best stone-cutters", and, as early as 1133, Saint Bernard was hiring workers to help the Monks erect new buildings at Clairvaux. It is from the 12th-Century Byland Abbey, in Yorkshire, England, that the oldest recorded example of architectural Tracing is found. Tracings were architectural drawings incised and painted in stone, to a depth of two to three mm, showing architectural detail to scale. The first Tracing in Byland Abbey illustrates a West Rose Window, while the second Tracing depicts the Central Part of that same Rose Window. Later, an illustration from the latter half of the 16th-Century would show Monks working alongside other craftsmen in the construction of Schönau Abbey.

Byland Abbey, in North Yorkshire, England,

was one of the great Mediaeval Abbeys of England

and was dissolved in 1539. The ruins are now in the care of English Heritage.

Photo: 14 August 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Grant Shaw.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cistercian Abbeys of Fontenay in France, Fountains in England, Alcobaça in Portugal, Poblet in Spain, and Maulbronn in Germany, are today recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Abbeys of France and England are fine examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The architecture of Fontenay Abbey has been described as "an excellent illustration of the ideal of self-sufficiency" practised by the earliest Cistercian Communities. The Abbeys of 12th-Century England were stark and undecorated – a dramatic contrast with the elaborate Churches of the wealthier Benedictine Houses – yet, to quote Warren Hollister, "even now, the simple beauty of Cistercian ruins, such as Fountains and Rievaulx, set in the wilderness of Yorkshire, is deeply moving".

In the purity of architectural style, the beauty of materials, and the care with which the Alcobaça Monastery was built, Portugal possesses one of the most outstanding and best preserved examples of the Early Gothic-Style. Poblet Monastery, one of the largest in Spain, is considered similarly impressive for its austerity, majesty, and the fortified Royal Residence within.


PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.

The Cistercians. Part Five.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Rievaulx,

Yorkshire, England.

Confiscated by King Henry VIII.

Photo: Taken by Flaxton.

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.

Author: The original uploader was Flaxton at English Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Ireland, the information on The Cistercian Order, after The Anglo-Norman Invasion, gives a rather gloomy impression. Absentee-ism among Irish Abbots at The General Chapter became a persistent and much criticised problem in the 13th-Century, and escalated into the conspiratio Mellifontis, a "rebellion" by the Abbeys of the Mellifont filiation. Visitors were appointed to reform Mellifont Abbey in its Head and Members, on account of the multa enormia that had arisen there, but, in 1217, the Abbot refused their admission and barred the Abbey Gate with a crowd of Lay Brothers. There was also trouble at Jerpoint, and, alarmingly, the Abbots of Baltinglass, Killenny, Kilbeggan and Bective supported the actions of the "revolt".

In 1228, The General Chapter sent the Abbot of Stanley, in Wiltshire, England, Stephen of Lexington, on a well-documented Visitation to reform the Irish Houses. A graduate of both Oxford and Paris, and a future Abbot of Clairvaux (to be appointed in 1243), Stephen was one of the outstanding figures in 13th-Century Cistercian history. He found his life threatened, his representatives attacked and his party harassed, while the three key Houses, of Mellifont Abbey, Suir Abbey, and Maigue Abbey, had been fortified by their Monks to hold out against him. However, with the help of his assistants, the core of obedient Irish Monks, and the aid of both English and Irish Secular Powers, he was able to envisage the reconstruction of The Cistercian Province in Ireland. Stephen dissolved the Mellifont filiation altogether, and subjected fifteen Monasteries to Houses outside Ireland. In breadth and depth, his instructions constituted a radical Reform programme:

"They were intended to put an end to abuses, restore the full observance of The Cistercian way of life, safeguard Monastic properties, initiate a regime of benign paternalism to train a new generation of Religious, isolate trouble-makers and institute an effective Visitation system".

The arrangement lasted almost half a Century, and, in 1274, the filiation of Mellifont Abbey was re-constituted.

In Germany, The Cistercians were instrumental in the spread of Christianity, East of The Elbe. They developed Grants of Territories of 180,000 acres, where they would drain land, build Monasteries and plan villages. Many towns near Berlin owe their origins to this Order, including Heiligengarbe, Chorin, which was the first brick Monastery in the area. By this time, however, "The Cistercian Order, as a whole, had experienced a gradual decline and its central organisation was noticeably weakened."

English: Portrait of Pope Benedict XII

(Papacy 1334 - 1342),

Avignon, France.

Pope Benedict XII was a former Cistercian Monk.

Български: Портрет на папа Бенедикт XII, Авиньон, Франция.

Français: Portrait du pape Benoît XII, Avignon, France.

Date: 18th-Century.

Source: Own work.

Author: Henri Segur.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1334, the French Cardinal Jacques Fournier, a former Cistercian Monk and the son of a Miller, was Elected and Consecrated Pope Benedict XII. The maxim attributed to him, "the Pope must be like Melchizedech, who had no father, no mother, nor even a family tree", is revealing of his character. Benedict was shy of personal power and was devoted exclusively to restoring the authority of The Church. As a Cistercian, he had a notable Theological background, and, unlike his predecessor, Pope John XXII, he was a stranger to nepotism and scrupulous with his appointments. He promulgated a series of Regulations to restore the primitive spirit of The Cistercian Order.

By the 15th-Century, however, of all The Orders in Ireland, the Cistercians had most comprehensively fallen on evil days. The General Chapter lost virtually all its power to enforce its will in Ireland, and the strength of The Order, which derived from this uniformity, declined. In 1496, there were efforts to establish a strong National Congregation to assume this role in Ireland, but Monks of the English and Irish "nations" found themselves unable to co-operate for the good of The Order.

The General Chapter appointed special Reformatores, but their efforts proved fruitless. One such Reformer, Abbot John Troy of Mellifont Abbey, despaired of finding any solution to the ruin of The Order. According to his detailed report to The General Chapter, the Monks of only two Communities, Dublin and Mellifont, kept The Rule or even wore The Habit. He identified the causes of this decline as: The ceaseless wars and hatred between the two nations; a lack of leadership; and the control of many of the Monasteries by Secular Dynasties, who appointed their own relatives to positions.

English: Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey,

Yvelines, France.

Français: Abbaye des Vaulx de Cernay,

Yvelines, France.

Photo: 23 August 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Fathzer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 15th-Century, various Popes endeavoured to promote Reforms. All these efforts at a Reform of the great body of The Order proved unavailing; but local Reforms, producing various semi-independent offshoots and Congregations, were successfully carried out in many parts in the course of the 15th- and 16th-Centuries.

The English Reformation was disastrous for The Cistercians in England, as King Henry VIII's Dissolution of The Monasteries saw the confiscation of Church land throughout the Country. Laskill, an out-station of Rievaulx Abbey and the only Mediaeval Blast Furnace so far identified in Great Britain, was one of the most efficient Blast Furnaces of its time. Slag from contemporary Furnaces contained a substantial concentration of Iron, whereas the slag of Laskill was low in Iron content, and is believed to have produced Cast Iron with efficiency similar to a modern Blast Furnace. The Monks may have been on the verge of building dedicated Furnaces for the production of Cast Iron, but the Furnace did not survive Henry's Dissolution in the Late-1530s, and the type of Blast Furnace pioneered there did not spread outside Rievaulx. Some historians believe that the Suppression of The English Monasteries may have stamped out an Industrial Revolution.

In the 17th-Century, another great effort at a General Reform was made, promoted by the Pope and the King of France. The General Chapter elected Richelieu (Commendatory) Abbot of Cîteaux, thinking he would protect them from the threatened Reform. In this, they were disappointed, for he threw himself wholly on the side of Reform. So great, however, was the resistance, and so serious the disturbances that ensued, that the attempt to reform Cîteaux, itself, and the General Body of the Houses, had again to be abandoned, and only local projects of Reform could be carried out.

In the 16th-Century, had arisen the Reformed Congregation of The Feuillants, which spread widely in France and Italy, in the latter Country under the name of Improved Bernardines. The French Congregation of Sept-Fontaines (1654) also deserves mention. In 1663, de Rancé Reformed La Trappe (see Trappists).

The 17th- and 18th-Century Baroque Altar

at the Cós Monastery, Alcobaça, Portugal,

is a long way 

from the earlier principles of Saint Bernard.

Photo: 16 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Karstenkascais.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Reformation, the Ecclesiastical policy of Joseph II, The French Revolution, and the Revolutions of the 18th-Century, almost wholly destroyed The Cistercians; but some survived, and, since the beginning of the last half of the 19th-Century, there has been a considerable recovery. Mahatma Gandhi visited a Trappist Abbey, near Durban, South Africa, in 1895, and wrote an extensive description of The Order:

The Settlement is a quiet little model village, owned on the truest Republican principles. The principle of liberty, equality, and fraternity is carried out in its entirety. Every man is a brother, every woman a sister. The Monks number about 120 on the Settlement, and the Nuns, or the Sisters as they are called, number about sixty . . . None may keep any money for private use. All are equally rich or poor . . .

A Protestant Clergyman said to his audience that Roman Catholics were weakly, sickly, and sad. Well, if The Trappists are any criterion of what a Roman Catholic is, they are, on the contrary, healthy and cheerful. Wherever we went, a beaming smile and a lowly bow greeted us, we saw a Brother or a Sister. Even while the guide was decanting on the system he prized so much, he did not at all seem to consider the self-chosen discipline a hard yoke to bear. A better instance of undying Faith and perfect implicit obedience could not well be found anywhere else.

PART SIX FOLLOWS.