Cistercian Abbeys: History and Architecture - Hardcover

Leroux-Dhuys, Jean-Francois

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3833120770 ISBN 13: 9783833120770

Publisher: Konemann, 2006

Synopsis

Nine centuries ago, at a time when Benedictines from the Order of Cluny glorified God in splendid divine offices and magnificent churches, an unknown monk called Robert de Molesme sugested that they revert to the strict rule of Benoit de Nurcie: in prayer, seclusion and living by manual labor. The "New Monastery" in Citeaux thus became a model for a cohort of "Cistercians," choir monks and lay brothers from some seven hundred abbeys across Europe, not to mention the nunneries linked to them.

Thanks to Bernard de Clairvaux, the most famous of the "White Monks," the new Order soon evolved into the leading conscience of Christendom by both controlling political power and by rallying the en- feudal system in pursuit of the greatest glory of God.

About this title

Synopsis

Thanks to their spirituality, asceticism, technical skills and craftsmanship, the Cistercians became one of the most influential monastic orders of the high Middle Ages. Nine centuries ago, when the dynamic energy of the Benedictine order was threatening to ossify into mere grandeur and formalism, the Cistercians, returned to the original "holy rules" of Benedict of Nursia and working with their hands. The stone witnesses of this era include majestic monastic buildings. With their austere dignity and sublime absence of decoration, Cistercian ecclesiastical buildings came to stand for awe-inspiring spiritual clarity and purity. This volume presents masterpieces of Cistercian architecture in France, Great Britain, the German-speaking lands, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The text describes the development of the order and the life of Bernhard of Clairvaux. A selection of original texts, pictures and chronological tables offers information on the artistic and cultural-historical characteristics of the individual monasteries and their inhabitants. It is an impressive and inspiring oeuvre!

About this edition

• Publisher: Konemann
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 3833120770
• ISBN 13: 9783833120770
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400