St Leonard's Priory was a Benedictine nunnery in what is now east London, which gave its name to Bromley St Leonard (today known as Bromley-by-Bow or simply Bromley).
86-650: Stratford Langthorne Abbey , or the Abbey of St Mary's, Stratford Langthorne was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1135 at Stratford Langthorne — then Essex but now Stratford in the London Borough of Newham . The Abbey, also known as West Ham Abbey due to its location in the parish of West Ham , was one of the largest Cistercian abbeys in England , possessing 1,500 acres (6.07 km) of local land, controlling over 20 manors throughout Essex. The head of
172-405: A bridge was built at Bow , to replace a ford at Old Ford . Initially, local land and Abbey Mill were given to Barking Abbey for the maintenance of the bridge, but these properties and the responsibility eventually passed to this Abbey. The Abbess of Barking and Abbot of West Ham argued about the obligation, a dispute that was settled in 1315. West Ham was to maintain the bridge and highway, but
258-630: A disaster not only for the Cistercians. Some historians believe that the suppression of the English monasteries may have stamped out an industrial revolution. The reformed Congregation of the Feuillants spread widely in France and Italy in the 16th century. The French congregation of Sept-Fontaines (1654) also deserves mention. In 1663 Jean de Rancé reformed La Trappe (see Trappists ). In
344-554: 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. However, the order itself was receptive to the technical improvements of Gothic principles of construction and played an important role in its spread across Europe. Cistercian architecture embodied the ideals of the order, and was in theory at least utilitarian and without ornamentation. The same "rational, integrated scheme"
430-604: A future Abbot of Clairvaux (to be appointed in 1243), Stephen was one of the outstanding figures in 13th-century Cistercian history, having founded the College of St. Bernard in Paris in 1244. He found his life threatened as a result of the Irish visitations: his representatives were attacked and his party harassed, while the three key houses of Mellifont, Suir and Maigue had been fortified by monks to hold out against him. However, with
516-731: A large number of men from knightly families, and when King Alfonso VII began looking for a military order to defend the Calatrava , which had been recovered from the Moors a decade before, the Cistercian Abbot Raymond of Fitero offered his help. Lay brothers were to be employed as "soldiers of the Cross" to defend Calatrava. The initial successes of the new order in the Spanish Reconquista were convincing, and
602-775: A new order called the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , abbreviated as OCSO. The Cistercians who remained within the Order of Cistercians are called the Cistercians of the Common Observance (OCist). In 1098, a Benedictine abbot , Robert of Molesme , left Molesme Abbey in Burgundy with around 20 supporters, who felt that the Cluniac communities had abandoned the rigours and simplicity of
688-500: A notable form of medieval architecture , and the Cistercians were the main force of technological diffusion in fields such as agriculture and hydraulic engineering . Over the centuries, education and scholarship came to dominate the life of many monasteries. A reform movement seeking a simpler lifestyle began in 17th-century France at La Trappe Abbey , and became known as the Trappists . They were eventually consolidated in 1892 into
774-639: A tract of wild, afforested land known as a refuge for robbers, forty miles east of Troyes , to the order. Bernard, 25 years old at the time, led twelve other monks there, and they founded the Abbey of Clairvaux . The abbey soon attracted zealous young men. At this point, Cîteaux had four daughter houses: Pontigny , Morimond , La Ferté and Clairvaux. In the 1130s and 1140s, the Cistercians expanded into "an order of immense size" by incorporating independent religious communities. The most foundations made by any Cistercian monastery came from Clairvaux. Rein Abbey
860-556: Is now protected from further development by Scheduled Ancient Monument status and a major community garden designed by artists Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope of the artists' collective Somewhere has been created on the site by the "Friends of Abbey Gardens ". The coat of arms of the Abbey can be seen over the doorway to the Old Court House, in Tramway Avenue (Stratford). The chevrons from this device, originally from
946-630: The Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict , as well as the contributions of the highly-influential Bernard of Clairvaux , known as the Latin Rule . They are also known as Bernardines , after Saint Bernard, or as White Monks , in reference to the colour of their cowl , as opposed to the black cowl worn by Benedictines. The term Cistercian derives from Cistercium, the Latin name for
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#17327766142641032-462: The Black Monks . Cistercian influence more than kept pace with the material expansion. St. Bernard had become mentor to popes and kings, and in 1145, King Louis VII 's brother, Henry of France , entered Clairvaux. That same year, Bernard saw one of his monks elected pope as Pope Eugene III . Eugene was an Italian of humble background, who had first been drawn to monasticism at Clairvaux by
1118-506: The Cârța Monastery . By the end of the 13th century, the Cistercian houses numbered 500. In this period, the monks performed pastoral tasks in and outside of the monastery and began preaching and teaching, even though their movement originally forbade schools and parishes. At the order's height in the 15th century, it would have nearly 750 houses. It often happened that the number of lay brothers became excessive and out of proportion to
1204-519: The Dukes of Burgundy , working out a deal with Duke Odo I of Burgundy concerning the donation of a vineyard ( Meursault ) as well as materials for building the abbey church, which was consecrated on 16 November 1106 by the Bishop of Chalon sur Saône . On 26 January 1108, Alberic died and was succeeded by Stephen Harding, the man responsible for carrying the order into its crucial phase. Harding framed
1290-622: The Rule of St. Benedict . Chief among Robert's followers included Alberic , a former hermit from the nearby forest of Colan, and Stephen Harding , a young monk from England. Stephen had experienced the monastic traditions of the Camaldolese and Vallombrosians before joining Molesme Abbey. On 21 March 1098, Robert's small group acquired a plot of marshland just south of Dijon called Cîteaux ( Latin: "Cistercium". Cisteaux means reeds in Old French ), given to them expressly for
1376-565: The Zbraslav abbey (Latin: Aula Regia , "Royal Hall"), founded in 1292 by the King of Bohemia and Poland , Wenceslas II . The order also played the main role in the early Gothic art of Bohemia; one of the outstanding pieces of Cistercian architecture is the Alt-neu Shul , Prague. The first abbey in the present day Romania was founded on 1179, at Igris (Egres) , and the second on 1204,
1462-546: 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 that the era encourage colossal architecture, with vast amounts of stone being quarried; the same was true of the Cistercian projects. Foigny Abbey was 98 metres (322 ft) long, and Vaucelles Abbey
1548-460: The 16th century shows monks working alongside other craftsmen at Schönau Abbey . St Leonard%27s Priory, London It was first recorded in 1122 as an institution for nine nuns and a prioress - around the time of its Dissolution the priory's own tradition was that it had been founded by Maurice or Richard de Belmeis I , though the antiquarian John Leland believed it had been a co-foundation by William of London and William Roscelin . It
1634-437: 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 to be (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. A formidable battle ensued, making it clear that Italian and Central European abbeys did not want to go
1720-589: The 18th–19th centuries. The first Cistercian abbey in Bohemia was founded in Sedlec near Kutná Hora in 1142. In the late 13th century and early 14th century, the Cistercian order played an essential role in the politics and diplomacy of the late Přemyslid and early Luxembourg state, as reflected in the Chronicon Aulae Regiae . This chronicle was written by Otto and Peter of Zittau , abbots of
1806-482: The Abbess would pay £200 annually in recompense. The Abbey's subsequent dissolution caused further lengthy litigation over maintenance of the bridge at Bow – with the successor landowners found responsible in 1691. The matter was not finally resolved until 1834, with the formation of a Turnpike Trust. The Abbey was also responsible for maintenance of the sea wall around West Ham marsh; this led to further disputes with
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#17327766142641892-587: The Anglo-Norman invasion gives a rather gloomy impression. Absenteeism 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 on account of the multa enormia that had arisen there, but in 1217
1978-529: The Cistercian cemetery and reburied at Mount St. Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire. Excavation continues on the site as the remaining former factories are redeveloped. The latest, at Bakers Row, was in early 2008 and identified the former gatehouse of the Abbey - to the north east of the Abbey Church and defining the eastern edge of the precinct. This area, where former council stables were situated,
2064-515: The Cistercian white mantle with the scarlet cross fleurdelisée . Calatrava was not subject to Cîteaux, but to Fitero's mother-house, the Abbey of Morimond in Burgundy. By the end of the 13th century, the knights had become a major autonomous power within the Castilian state, subject only to Morimond and the pope. They had abundant resources of men and wealth, lands and castles scattered along
2150-702: The Cistercians and founded a new order, named the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. The Cistercians that remained within the original order thus came to be known as the "Common Observance". Cistercian architecture has made an important contribution to European civilisation. Cistercian foundations were primarily constructed in Romanesque and Gothic architecture during the Middle Ages; although later abbeys were also constructed in Renaissance and Baroque . St. Bernard saw church decoration as
2236-464: 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 Heiligengrabe and Chorin ; its Chorin Abbey was the first brick-built monastery in the area. By this time, however, "the Cistercian order as a whole had experienced a gradual decline and its central organisation
2322-586: The English improved the standing of the Cistercian Order in Ireland with nine foundations: Dunbrody Abbey , Inch Abbey , Grey Abbey , Comber Abbey , Duiske Abbey , Abington, Abbeylara and Tracton . This last abbey was founded in 1225 from Whitland Abbey in Wales, and at least in its earliest years, its monks were Welsh-speaking . By this time, another ten abbeys had been founded by Irishmen since
2408-808: The Irish-establishment of Abbeyknockmoy in County Galway was founded by King of Connacht , Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair , who died a Cistercian monk and was buried there in 1224. By 1152, there were 54 Cistercian monasteries in England, few of which had been founded directly from the Continent. Overall, there were 333 Cistercian abbeys in Europe, so many that a halt was put to this expansion. Nearly half of these houses had been founded, directly or indirectly, from Clairvaux, so great
2494-639: The Prioress had learned French from the Benedictine nuns in a distinct Anglo-Norman dialect. By this time the dialect had lost prestige and was being ridiculed as sub-standard French. The priory was destroyed during the first phase of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, along with many other smaller religious house. Its books were moved to Westminster Abbey to join the library for
2580-493: The Rhineland. On one occasion the abbot of La Trinité at Vendôme 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. However, the monks did not construct their edifices alone. As early as 1133, St. Bernard was hiring workers to help the monks erect new buildings at Clairvaux. An illustration from
2666-484: The Rule of St. Benedict and never required a vow of silence . In the year of 1113, a charismatic young Burgundinian nobleman named Bernard arrived at Cîteaux with 35 of his relatives and friends to join the monastery. As Bernard's fame grew, the Cistercian movement grew with it. A supremely eloquent, strong-willed mystic, Bernard was to become the most admired churchman of his age. In 1115, Count Hugh of Champagne gave
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2752-623: The Welsh stock-rearing economy. In Yorkshire , Rievaulx Abbey was founded from Clairvaux in 1131, on a small, isolated property donated by Walter Espec , with the support of Thurstan , Archbishop of York . By 1143, three hundred monks had entered Rievaulx, including the famous St Ælred . It was from Rievaulx that a foundation was made at Melrose , which became the earliest Cistercian monastery in Scotland . Located in Roxburghshire , it
2838-461: The abbey included: 51°32′00″N 00°00′00″W / 51.53333°N -0.00000°E / 51.53333; -0.00000 Cistercian The Cistercians ( / s ɪ ˈ s t ɜːr ʃ ən z / ), officially the Order of Cistercians ( Latin : (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis , abbreviated as OCist or SOCist ), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from
2924-410: The abbey would find its grounding. Robert had been the idealist of the order, and Alberic was their builder. Upon assuming the role of abbot, Alberic moved the site of the fledgling community near a brook a short distance away from the original site. Alberic discontinued the use of Benedictine black garments in the abbey and clothed the monks in white habits of undyed wool. Alberic forged an alliance with
3010-412: The abbey's influence in the area. The excavations recovered 647 burials from the church and the external cemetery to the north and north-east. Analysis of the skeletons indicated an overwhelmingly male cemetery population, as might be expected of a Cistercian monastery, but a few infants, children and women were present in all areas used for burial. Documented burials at the abbey include: Manors held by
3096-538: The abbot refused their admission and had lay brothers bar the abbey gates. 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 , Stephen of Lexington , on a well-documented visitation to reform the Irish houses. A graduate of both Oxford and Paris , and
3182-520: The arms of the Mountfitchet family, together with an abbot's crozier were incorporated into the arms of the former County Borough of West Ham in 1887. The same arms were adopted by the new London Borough of Newham in 1965. The Abbey is commemorated by two roads in the district, Abbey Lane and Abbey Road. In addition, Langthorne Street was formerly situated a little north of the Abbey site, running between Chapel Street and West Ham Lane. The street
3268-512: The arrangement was approved by the General Chapter at Cîteaux and successive popes; the Knights of Calatrava were given a definitive rule in 1187, modeled upon the Cistercian rule for lay brothers, which included the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience ; specific rules of silence; abstinence on four days a week; the recitation of a fixed number of Pater Nosters daily; to sleep in their armour ; and to wear, as their full dress,
3354-495: The borders of Castile, and feudal lordship over thousands of peasants and vassals. On more than one occasion, the Order of Calatrava brought to the field a force of 1200 to 2000 knights – considerable in medieval terms. Over time, as the Reconquista neared completion, the canonical bond between Calatrava and Morimond relaxed more and more, and the knights of the order became virtually secularized, finally undergoing dissolution in
3440-597: The building's contents (such as its cattle and corn) were sold by the king's commissioners to Sir Ralph Sadleir , who lived at Sutton House in Homerton and was privy councillor to Henry VIII . Some were also sold to Mr More, steward to the Lord Chancellor . In February 1539 the crown also granted Sadleir the priory's site, buildings and most of its lands, including the manor of Bromley, though initially these had all been sold to William Rolte. All that remains of
3526-648: The community was known as the Abbot of West Ham. The Abbey was self-sufficient for its needs and wealthy besides; some of this wealth came from the ecclesiastic mills grinding wheat for local bakers to supply bread to the City of London . This later led to competition with the Guild of Bakers , who sought powers to levy a toll on loaves entering the City at Whitechapel . In a charter dated 25 July 1135, William de Montfichet granted
Stratford Langthorne Abbey - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-643: The door to the charnel house – remain in All Saints West Ham Parish Church (dating from about 1180). The Great Gate of the abbey survived in Baker's Row until 1825. None of the abbey's buildings remain, but in the early 1990s archaeological investigations were carried out between 1993–94 on land cleared for the new Stratford Market Depot , part of the Jubilee Line Extension . 647 burials were excavated from
3698-445: The end they prospered. Already by 1152, Fountains had many offshoots, including Newminster Abbey (1137) and Meaux Abbey (1151). In the spring of 1140, Saint Malachy , the archbishop of Armagh, visited Clairvaux, becoming a personal friend of Abbot Bernard and an admirer of Cistercian life. He left four of his companions to be trained as Cistercians, and returned to Ireland to introduce Cistercian monasticism there. Mellifont Abbey
3784-590: The extensive holdings and mills on the Bow Back Rivers . Some of these were tidal mills , like those at Three Mills . These were owned by the Abbey, but the surviving mill was built much later. During the 13th century, the abbey acquired further grants of land in Essex and beyond, including the manor of Biggin in Chadwell St Mary . In 1267, for a time, the Abbey became the court of Henry III for
3870-423: 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 was reconstituted. In Germany the Cistercians were instrumental in the spread of Christianity east of
3956-431: The future course of western monachism . From one point of view, it may be regarded as a compromise between the primitive Benedictine system, in which each abbey was autonomous and isolated, and the centralization of Cluny . The Cistercians maintained the independence of individual houses: each abbey had its own abbot, elected by its own monks, and its own property and finances administered without outside interference. On
4042-440: 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 15 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
4128-410: The initiative passed to the mendicant orders , in Ireland, Wales and elsewhere. Relaxations were gradually introduced into Cistercian life with regard to diet and simplicity of life. Also, they began accepting the traditional sources of income that monks in comparable orders used: like rents, tolls, and benefices. The agricultural operations were blessed by success. Wealth and splendour characterized
4214-529: The invasion, bringing the total number of Cistercian houses in Ireland to 31. This was almost half the number of those in England, but it was about thrice the number in each of Scotland and Wales. Most of these monasteries enjoyed either noble, episcopal or royal patronage. In 1269, the Archbishop of Cashel joined the order and established a Cistercian house at the foot of the Rock of Cashel in 1272. Similarly,
4300-472: The locale of Cîteaux, near Dijon in eastern France. It was here that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098. The first three abbots were Robert of Molesme , Alberic of Cîteaux and Stephen Harding . Bernard helped launch a new era when he entered the monastery in the early 1110s with 30 companions. By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout most of Europe. The keynote of Cistercian life
4386-459: The magnetism of Bernard. At the time of his election, he was Abbot of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio outside Rome. A considerable reinforcement to the Order was the merger of the Savigniac houses with the Cistercians, at the insistence of Eugene III . Thirteen English abbeys, of which the most famous were Furness Abbey and Jervaulx Abbey , thus adopted the Cistercian formula. In Dublin ,
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#17327766142644472-401: The monasteries, so that by 1300, the standard of living in most abbeys was comparable, if not higher, than the standards middling nobles enjoyed. Two important papal bulls tried to introduce reforms: Clement IV's Parvus fons and Benedict XII's Fulgens sicut stella matutina . The General Chapter continued to battle against abuses. In Ireland, the information on the Cistercian Order after
4558-423: The monks all his lordship of (West) Ham , 11 acres (44,515 m) of meadow, two mills by the causeway of Stratford, his wood of Buckhurst and the tithe of his pannage . The abbey was dedicated in honour of St Mary. The Abbey was a daughter house of Savigny Abbey , and in 1218 the General Chapter ruled that visiting members of the order could only spend three days at the Abbey's hospitality. The following year,
4644-592: The monks were all pensioned. The Abbey lay between the Channelsea River and Marsh Lane (Manor Road). Nothing visible remains on the site, as local landowners took away much of the stone for their own buildings, and by 1840, the North Woolwich Railway was built through the site, and factories and Stratford Wholesale Market were established on the remaining land. A stone window and a carving featuring skulls – thought to have been over
4730-667: The nearby Priory of St Leonards at Bow , when, in 1339 the Abbot attempted to put the expense on the Prioress The Abbey existed until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538. It was the fifth largest in England – as important as its sister Abbeys at Jervaulx , Rievaulx and Fountains , all in North Yorkshire . At the Dissolution the land was granted to Sir Peter Meautas and Johanna his wife "for their true and faithful service" and
4816-458: The needs of West Ham Abbey and the mills at Stratford. There is similar evidence in later centuries with specialist wharves for brick and timber, but by 1920 the dock was filled in and factories built on the site. From 1613, extraction of water for canals and the artificial New River , supplying fresh water to the city from Hertfordshire , had caused water levels to fall in the non-navigable channels, and traditional water milling to cease. In 1177,
4902-401: The new Diocese of Westminster and the church retained to form a new parish church . Sybil Kirke was the last prioress – she was granted an annual pension of £15 and allowed to retain 35 shillings 2 pence worth of Priory goods. Initially she was also granted the retention of some of the priory's demesne lands to cover her household expenses. She lived until at least 1553. Most of the rest of
4988-468: The order accepted developed land and relocated the serfs elsewhere. The outlines of the Cistercian reform were adumbrated by Alberic, but it received its final form in the Carta caritatis ( Charter of Charity ), which was the defining guide on how the reform was to be lived. This document governed the relations between the various houses of the Cistercian order, and exercised a great influence also upon
5074-488: The original version of the Cistercian constitution, soon to be called the Carta Caritatis ( Charter of Charity ). Although it was revised on several occasions to meet contemporary needs, from the outset it emphasised a simple life of work, love, prayer and self-denial. The Cistercians soon came to distinguish themselves from Benedictines by wearing white or grey tunics instead of black; white habits are common for reform movements. Much of Cistercian reform took place against
5160-597: The original vertical descent of authority produced "a system of centralized national control" much closer to that of the Premonstratensians or mendicants . The first Cistercian house to be established in Britain, a monastery at Waverley Abbey , Surrey, was founded by William Gifford, Bishop of Winchester in 1128. It was founded with 12 monks and an abbot from L'Aumône Abbey , in the South of France. By 1187 there were 70 monks and 120 lay brothers in residence. Thirteen Cistercian monasteries, all in remote locations, were founded in Wales between 1131 and 1226. The first of these
5246-402: The other hand, all the abbeys were subjected to the General Chapter , the constitutional body which exercised vigilance over the order. Made up of all the abbots, the General Chapter met annually in mid-September at Cîteaux . Attendance was compulsory, with the abbot of Cîteaux presiding. He was to enforce conformity to Cîteaux in all details of monastic observance, liturgy, and customs. Cîteaux
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#17327766142645332-431: The purpose of founding their Novum Monasterium . During the first year, the monks set about constructing malodging areas and farming the lands of Cîteaux, making use of a nearby chapel for Mass . In Robert's absence from Molesme, however, the abbey had gone into decline, and Pope Urban II , a former Cluniac monk, ordered him to return. The remaining monks of Cîteaux elected Alberic as their abbot, under whose leadership
5418-417: The resources of the monasteries, there being sometimes as many as 200, or even 300, in a single abbey. On the other hand, in some countries, the system of lay brothers in course of time worked itself out; thus in England by the close of the 14th century it had shrunk to relatively small proportions, and in the 15th century the regimen of the English Cistercian houses tended to approximate more and more to that of
5504-440: The rivalry with the famous Benedictine abbey of Cluny, where wealth and excess were said to have set in. Harding acquired land for the abbey to develop to ensure its survival and ethic. As to grants of land, the order would normally accept only undeveloped land, which the monks then developed by their own labour. For this they developed over time a very large component of uneducated lay brothers known as conversi . In some cases,
5590-486: The rule was relaxed and monks and lay brothers could remain longer, as long as they provided their own ale and wine; and oats and hay for their horses. The Abbey church expanded from a simple cruciform building, to one with an aisled presbytery , ambulatory and side chapels by the 13th century. The religious house was surrounded by buildings for lay brothers and hospitality. There were also workshops for brewing, shearing, weaving and tannery with farm buildings to service
5676-436: The scene of violence and destabilization following Martin Luther 's efforts to gain independence from the Vatican. Many abbeys lost scores of monks, as these left religious life in order to marry. Monastic property was confiscated by nobles who saw an opportunity to proift from the chaos. During the English Reformation , Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the confiscation of evey single monastery in that country,
5762-432: The strength of the order which derived from this uniformity declined. Wars, amon them the Hundred Years' War , and a lack of leadership did damage. Many of the monasteries were controlled by dynasties who appointed their relatives to leadership positions, and pocketed the abbeys' profits. The system of placing abbeys in commendam was widespread and led to the spiritual and material decline of many abbeys. Germany became
5848-481: The two Savigniac houses of Erenagh and St Mary's became Cistercian. It was in the latter case that medieval Dublin acquired a Cistercian monastery in the very unusual suburban location of Oxmantown , with its own private harbour called The Pill. For a hundred years, until the first quarter of the 13th century, the Cistercians supplanted Cluny as the most powerful order and the chief religious influence in western Europe. But then in turn their influence began to wane, as
5934-400: The visitation of the Papal legates , and it was here that he made peace with the barons under the terms of the Dictum of Kenilworth . Subsequent monarchs visited, and the Abbey came to be both a popular retreat for the nobility and their final resting place. Severe flooding of the Thames in 1338 saw the monks decamp to their landholdings at Great Burstead in Essex , and in 1381, the Abbey
6020-410: The way of the Trappists. Civic politics also played a role in the conflict. The Protestant Reformation , the ecclesiastical policy of Emperor Joseph II , the French Revolution , and the revolutions of the 18th century almost wholly destroyed the Cistercians. But some survived, and from the beginning of the last half of the 19th century there was a considerable recovery. In 1892, the Trappists left
6106-430: The world. In 1133, Heiligenkreuz Abbey was founded near Vienna by Morimond monks; it is (as of 2024) the largest men's abbey in Europe. The order entrusted the oversight of the English, Welsh and (intermittently) Irish abbeys to two or more abbots-commissary, thereby abrogating the famous Cistercian system of filiation: not the mother abbeys, but the abbots-commisary had full powers of visitation. This variation on
6192-483: Was Tintern Abbey , which was sited in a remote river valley, and depended largely on its agricultural and pastoral activities for survival. Other abbeys, such as at Neath , Strata Florida , Conwy and Valle Crucis became among the most hallowed names in the history of religion in medieval Wales. Their austere discipline seemed to echo the ideals of the Celtic saints , and the emphasis on pastoral farming fit well into
6278-454: 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, even Cistercian barns consisted had stone exteriors. The Cistercians acquired a reputation as masters in administering ecclesial construction projects. St. Bernard's own brother, Achard , is known to have supervised the construction of many abbeys, such as Himmerod Abbey in
6364-411: Was St Bernard's influence and prestige. He later came popularly to be regarded as the founder of the Cistercians, who have often been called Bernardines. Bernard died in 1153, one month after his pupil Eugene III. In 1153, the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques (Afonso, I), founded Alcobaça Monastery . The original church was replaced by the present construction from 1178. The abbey's church
6450-528: Was a return to literal observance of the Benedictine Rule. The reform-minded monks tried to live monastic life as they thought it had been in Benedict 's time; at various points they went beyond it in austerity. They returned to manual labour, especially agricultural work in the fields. The Cistercians made major contributions to culture and technology: Cistercian architecture has been recognized as
6536-414: Was also a nonne, a prioresse, That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy; Hire gretteste ooth was but by seinte loy; And she was cleped madame eglentyne. Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne, Entuned in hir nose ful semely, And frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly, After the scole of stratford atte bowe , For frenssh of parys was to hire unknowe. This was a barbed reference as it implied
6622-404: Was always to be the model to which all the other houses had to conform. Cistercian monks and nuns have a reputation of cultivating solitude and silence; the great monastics have explained silence as "the language of liberation, enlightenment, or union with God." Some observers deduced, incorrectly, that Cistercians take a vow of silence. Watching over one's tongue is, however, a general theme in
6708-503: Was built in 1136 by King David I of Scotland , and completed in less than ten years. Another important offshoot of Rievaulx was Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire . Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by discontented Benedictine monks from St. Mary's Abbey, York , who desired a return to the austere Rule of St Benedict. After many struggles and great hardships, St Bernard agreed to send a monk from Clairvaux to instruct them, and in
6794-597: Was consecrated in 1223. Two further building phases followed in order to complete the nave, leading to the final consecration of the medieval church building in 1252. As a consequence of the wars between the Christians and Moors on the Iberian Peninsula , the Cistercians established a military branch of the order in Castile in 1157: the Order of Calatrava . Membership of the Cistercian Order had included
6880-566: Was devastated by enemy action during the Second World War, and the site subsequently disappeared beneath new development in the late 1960s. The Langthorne chevrons were also incorporated into the arms of the former Municipal Borough of Leyton , now part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest , because the abbey held considerable demesne lands there. Langthorne Road and the former Langthorne Hospital in Leytonstone commemorated
6966-911: Was founded in County Louth in 1142 and from it daughter houses of Bective Abbey in County Meath (1147), Inislounaght Abbey in County Tipperary (1147–1148), Baltinglass in County Wicklow (1148), Monasteranenagh in County Limerick (1148), Kilbeggan in County Westmeath (1150) and Boyle Abbey in County Roscommon (1161). Following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 1170s,
7052-575: Was founded in 1129 from Ebrach Abbey in Bavaria, which had been founded from Morimond Abbey in France. In 1129 Margrave Leopold the Strong of Styria granted the Bavarian monks an area of land just north of what is today the provincial capital Graz , where they founded Rein Abbey . At the time, it was the 38th Cistercian monastery founded; as of 2024, it is the oldest surviving Cistercian house in
7138-470: Was invaded by the Peasants' Revolt and its goods removed and charters burned. It also suffered flooding at the end of the 14th century, after which the Abbey was restored by Richard II . King Edward IV was entertained in 1467, and began an annual endowment of two casks of wine for the celebration of masses, in his honour. A small river port developed at Stratford, mentioned in the 15th century, to serve
7224-567: Was noticeably weakened." In 1335, the French cardinal Jacques Fournier, a Cistercian monk, was elected and consecrated Pope Benedict XII . He was devoted to reducing the culture of nepotism at the Vatican. He promulgated a series of regulations to restore the spirit of reform in the Cistercian Order. By the 15th century, however, the Cistercians had fallen on dark days. The General Chapter lost virtually all its power to enforce its decrees, and
7310-674: Was the burial place of some of the Earls of Hereford and of Essex as well as of a daughter of William, Earl of Henault . Initially held by Geoffrey, Earl of Essex, the lands on which the priory stood had shifted to the prior and canons of Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate by 1292. It achieved notoriety in the Geoffrey Chaucer 's description of the Nun Prioress in the General Prologue to his Canterbury Tales : Ther
7396-410: 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 itself by a night stair. Usually Cistercian churches were cruciform, with a short presbytery to meet the liturgical needs of the brethren, small chapels in
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