Cistercian
/sɪˈstəːʃ(ə)n
/noun
A monk or nun of an order founded in 1098 as a stricter branch of the Benedictines. The monks are now divided into two observances, the strict observance, whose adherents are known popularly as Trappists, and the common observance, which has certain relaxations.The Cistercian Order follows the reformed Benedictine Rule; Cistercians of the Strict Observance form the largest contemplative order....
- Orders of monks and nuns multiplied over the years: Benedictines, Dominicans, Cistercians, Augustinians, Carmelites and others.
- The reforming Cistercians or ‘white monks’ embraced the Rule of Saint Benedict in the eleventh century and added manual labor to the regular daily requirements.
adjective
Relating to the Cistercians: a Cistercian abbey...
- By the end of our period there were about thirty-five Cistercian abbeys in Ireland, eleven in both Wales and Scotland, and about sixty in England, including Savigniac houses, which the larger order absorbed in 1148.
- That a Benedictine, even a cloistered one, would pen a story about Cistercian life seems inherently risky.
- She divides her selections into twelve brief chapters beginning with considerations of Cistercian anthropology and ending with the ‘perfection of love.’
Origin
From French cistercien, from Cistercium, the Latin name of Cîteaux near Dijon in France, where the order was founded.