Table of Contents

Introduction: withdrawal and engagement Mette Birkedal Bruun and Emilia Jamroziak; Part I. History: 1. Foundation and twelfth century Martha G. Newman; 2. The Cistercian Order, 1200–1600 Peter King; 3. The Cistercian Order since 1600 Michael Casey; Part II. Structure and Materiality: 4. Cistercian centres and peripheries Emilia Jamroziak; 5. The Cistercian community James France; 6. Cistercian constitutions and the General Chapter Brian Patrick McGuire; 7. Cistercian nuns Elizabeth Freeman; 8. Cistercian agriculture and economies Constance Hoffman Berman; 9. Cistercian art Diane J. Reilly; 10. Cistercian libraries and scriptoria David N. Bell; 11. Cistercian architecture or architecture of the Cistercians? Thomas Coomans; Part III. Religious Mentality: 12. Bernard of Clairvaux: his first and greatest miracle was himself Christopher Holdsworth; 13. Bernard of Clairvaux: work and self M. B. Pranger; 14. Early Cistercian writers E. Rozanne Elder; 15. The spiritual teaching of the early Cistercians Bernard McGinn; 16. Cistercians in dialogue: bringing the world into the monastery Wim Verbaal; 17. Cistercian preaching Beverly Mayne Kienzle; 18. Cistercian liturgy Nicolas Bell.

Promotional Information

Presents the Order's figureheads, practical life and spiritual horizon, and its contribution to medieval Europe's religious, cultural and political climate.

About the Author

Mette Birkedal Bruun is Professor of Church History at the University of Copenhagen. She is the author of Parables: Bernard of Clairvaux's Mapping of Spiritual Topography (2007) and the co-editor of Negotiating Heritage: Memories of the Middle Ages (with Stephanie Glaser, 2008) and Commonplace Culture in Western Europe in the Early Modern Period I (with David Cowling, 2011).