EXORDIUM PARVUM

Here begin the customs of the Cistercians

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[Prologue] On the Origins of the Monastery of Cteaux

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We Cistercians, the first founders of this church, by the present document are notifying our successors how canonically, with what great authority, and also by whom and by what stages their monastery and tenor of life took their beginning, so that, with the sincere truth of this matter made public, they may the more tenaciously lo!e both the place and the obser!ance of the "oly #ule there initiated somehow or other by oursel!es, through the grace of $od% &and that they may pray for us who ha!e tirelessly borne the burden of the day and the heat% 'and may sweat and toil e!en to the last gasp in the strait and narrow way which the #ule points out% (till at last, ha!ing laid aside the burden of flesh, they happily repose in e!erlasting rest) Here Begin the Chapters) *) +he ,rigin of the -onastery of C.teau/ **) +he 0etter of the 0egate "ugh ***) ,f the 1eparture of the -onks of C.teau/ from -olesme, and of their Coming to C.teau/, and of the -onastery which they 2egan *3) "ow that Place #ose to 2ecome an 4bbey 3) +hat the -onks of -olesme 1is5uieted the 6ar of the 0ord Pope for the #eturn of 4bbot #obert 3*) +he 0etter of the 0ord Pope for the 4bbot7s #eturn 3**) +he 1ecree of the 0egate on the Whole 4ffair of the -onks of -olesme and the Cistercians 3***) +he Commendatory 0etter of 4bbot #obert *8) ,f the 6lection of 4lberic as 9irst 4bbot of the Church of C.teau/ 8) ,f the #oman Pri!ilege) 8*) +he 0etter of Cardinals :ohn and 2enedict) 8**) +he 0etter of "ugh of 0yon) 8***) +he 0etter of the bishop of Chalon) 8*3) +he #oman Pri!ilege) 83) +he *nstitutes of the -onks of C.teau/ who Came from -olesme) 83*) ,f their ;orrow) 83**) ,f the 1eath of the 9irst 4bbot and the Promotion of the ;econd, and of their *nstitutes and :oy) 83***) ,f the 4bbeys)

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Chapter One

The Origin of the Monastery of Cteaux

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*n the year of the incarnation of the 0ord 1<=>, #obert of blessed memory, first abbot of the church of -olesme, founded in the episcopate of 0angres, and certain brethren of that monastery came to the !enerable "ugh, who was then legate of the "oly ;ee and archbishop of the church of 0yon, declaring their intention to order their life under the custody of the "oly #ule of our 9ather 2enedict, and therefore, to carry this out more freely, steadfastly soliciting him to e/tend to them e!en the firm support of his help and apostolic authority)& $ladly gi!ing his fa!our to their re5uest, the legate laid the foundation of their origin with the following letter)

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Chapter Two
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The Letter of Hugh

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"ugh, archbishop of 0yon and legate of the 4postolic ;ee, to #obert, abbot of -olesme, and to the brethren with him desirous of ser!ing $od according to the #ule of ;aint 2enedict)
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2e it known to all who re?oice at the progress of holy -other Church, that you and certain sons of yours, brethren of the monastery of -olesme, stood in our presence at 0yon and professed that you wished from then on to adhere more strictly and perfectly to the #ule of the most blessed 2enedict, which till then you had obser!ed lukewarmly and negligently in that monastery) 2ecause it is clear that this cannot be fulfilled in the aforesaid place for a number of impeding causes, we concluded, making pro!ision for the welfare of both parties those, namely, who withdraw from there and those who remain there that it would be useful for you to turn elsewhere, to some other place which the di!ine bounty will designate, and to ser!e the 0ord there more ad!antageously and in greater 5uiet) &6!en at that time we ad!ised you who were then present of you, 4bbot #obert, and also 2rothers 4lberic, ,do, :ohn, ;tephen, 0etald, and Peter, but all those, too, whom you would decide in keeping with the #ule and after consultation in common to add to your company to keep this holy resol!e) and we command you to perse!ere in this% and we confirm it in perpetuity by apostolic authority through the impression of our seal)
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+hat profession which * made in your presence in the monastery of -olesme * confirm before $od and his saints, and in your hands, that * shall keep that same profession and stability in this place which is called the @ew -onastery, in obedience to you and your successors who will take your place in conformity with the #ule)

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Chapter Three

Of the Departure of the Monks of Cteaux from Molesme, an of their Coming to Cteaux, an of the Monastery which they !egan

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4fter these things, supported by so distinguished and so important an authority, the aforesaid abbot and his own returned to -olesme, and from that fraternity of monks selected for their company de!otees of the #ule, so that between those who had spoken to the legate in 0yon and the other called from the monastery, there were twentyAone monks% and thus escorted by so goodly a company they eagerly headed for the desertA place called C.teau/) 3+his place, situated in the episcopate of Chalon, and rarely approached by men back in those days because of the thickness of gro!e and thornbush, was inhabited only by wild beasts) Bnderstanding upon arri!al that the more despicable and unapproachable the place was to seculars, the more suited it was for the monastic obser!ance they had already concei!ed in mind, and for which sake they had come there, the men of $od, &after cutting down and remo!ing the dense gro!e and thornbushes, began to construct a monastery there with the appro!al of the bishop of Chalon and the consent of the owner of the place)
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9or while still at -olesme, these men, breathed on by the grace of $od, among themsel!es often used to speak of, complain about, grie!e o!er the transgression of the #ule of the most blessed 2enedict, 9ather of monks, seeing that they and other monks had promised by solemn profession to obey this #ule, yet had by no means kept it, and on that account had knowingly incurred the reproach of per?ury% and this is why they were coming to this solitude under as we ha!e touched on earlier the authority of the 4postolic ;ee, to carry out their profession by obser!ing the "oly #ule)
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2& +hen the 1uke of 2urgundy, 0ord ,do, delighted by their holy fer!our, and being asked by letter from the aforesaid legate of the holy #oman Church, completed from his own resources the wooden monastery they had begun, and for a long time pro!ided them there with all things necessary, and abundantly helped them out with land and li!estock)

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Chapter "our
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How that Place Rose to Become an Abbey

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*t was also at that time that the abbot who had come there recei!ed from the bishop of that diocese, at the order of the aforesaid legate, the pastoral staff together with the care of monks% and he had the brethren who had come there with him make their stability in the same place according to the #ule% and thus that church grew up to become an abbey canonically and by apostolic authority)

Chapter "i#e
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That the monks of Molesme

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Dis$uiete the ear of the Lor %ope for the return of &bbot 'obert
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@ot much time had elapsed before the monks of -olesme, with the appro!al of 1om $eoffrey the abbot who had succeeded #obert went to the 0ord Pope Brban in #ome, and began petitioning that the oft mentioned #obert be restored to his former place) 3 -o!ed by their importuning, the Pope seat word to his legate, the !enerable "ugh, that if it were possible the same abbot should return, and that the monks who lo!ed the desert should stay there in peace)

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Chapter Six
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The Letter of the Lor %ope for the &bbot(s 'eturn

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Brban, bishop, ser!ant of the ser!ants of $od, to his !enerable brother and fellow bishop "ugh, representati!e of the "oly ;eeC health and apostolic blessing)
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We ha!e recei!ed in council a mighty outcry from the brethren of -olesme, who so !ehemently petition the return of their abbot) 9or they ha!e been saying that monastic obser!ance has been o!erthrown in their place, and that, because of that abbot7s absence, they themsel!es are held in hatred by the lords and other neighbours) Compelled at last by ,ur brethren, We are sending word to your $race through the present writing, signifying that We should be pleased to ha!e that abbot brought back from the desert to the monastery, if that can be done) & *f you are unable to carry this out, take care that both those who lo!e the desert li!e together there in 5uiet, and that 'those in the monastery obser!e the practices of the #ule)
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+he legate read the apostolic letter, con!oked ecclesiastics of high authority, and issued the definition drawn up below about the present affair)

Chapter )e#en
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The Decree of the Legate on the *hole &ffair of the Monks of Molesme an the Cistercians

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"ugh, ser!ant of the church of 0yon, to his most dear brother, #obert, bishop of the faithful of 0angresC greeting)
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We ha!e deemed it necessary to notify your 9raternity of what we ha!e defined about the affair of the church of -olesme at the collo5uy held recently at Port dD4nselle) -onks from -olesme came before us there with your letter, drawing attention to the destruction and desolation of their place incurred by them through the remo!al of 4bbot #obert, petitioning earnestly that he be gi!en back to them as father% &for not otherwise

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had they any hope of peace and 5uiet being restored to the church of -olesme, or of the !igour of monastic order being recalled there to its former condition) '2rother $eoffrey, whom you ordained as abbot of the same church, was also there in our presence, saying that he would willingly gi!e up his place to #obert, as to his father, should it please us to send him back to the church of -olesme)
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"a!ing therefore listened to your re5uest and that of the brethren of -olesme, and ha!ing reread the letter about this affair addressed to us by the 0ord Pope, who commits the whole to our disposition and ?udgment, and, firmly, upon the ad!ice of numerous ecclesiastics bishops as well as others who were present with us, ac5uiescing to your pleas and theirs, we decreed to restore him to the church of -olesmeC in such wise, namely, >that before he returns he is to go to Chalon and gi!e back the staff and care of the abbey into the hand of our brother, the bishop of Chalon, to whom, in keeping with the usage of other abbots, he had made his profession and promised obedience% and that he is to release the monks of the @ew -onastery, free and absol!ed, from their profession and obedience the profession they had made, the obedience they had promised him as their abbot% and thus he is to be released by the bishop himself from the profession made to him and to the church of Chalon) =We ha!e also gi!en lea!e to go back with him to -olesme to all those brethren of the @ew -onastery who would follow him when he lea!es the @ew -onastery but on the following conditionC that thenceforth neither of the two presume to solicit or recei!e the other e/cept in accordance with what the blessed 2enedict lays down for the reception of monks from a known monastery) 1<4fter he has done all the abo!e, we are sending him back to your $race, for you to restore him as abbot to the church of -olesme% in such wise, howe!er, that if afterwards he e!er desert that church with his usual inconstancy, no one may be substituted for him during the lifetime of the aforesaid abbot $eoffrey) 4ll this we command as ha!ing the force of law by apostolic authority)
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Concerning the church furnishings of the aforesaid abbot #obert, and all the other ob?ects he took with him when he left the church of -olesme, and with which he ?ourneyed to the bishop of Chalon and to the @ew -onastery, we establish that e!erything is to remain intact for the brethren of the @ew -onastery, with the e/ception of a certain bre!iarium, which they shall retain until the feast of ;aint :ohn the 2aptist for copying, with the consent of the brethren of -olesme)
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3& Present at the making of this definition were the bishops @orgaud of 4utun, Walter of Chalon, 2Eraud of -acon, Pons of 2elley% and the abbots Peter of +ournus, :arente of 1i?on, $aucerand of 4inay, as well as the papal chamberlain Peter, and many other honourable men of good testimony) <
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4ll these things that abbot agreed to and performed, absol!ing the brethren of C.teau/ from the obedience they had promised either in that place or at -olesme% and 0ord Walter, bishop of Chalon, released and freed the abbot from the care of that church% and thus he returned, and with him certain monks who did not lo!e the desert) &
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2y this arrangement and apostolic enactment, therefore, those two abbeys ha!e remained in peace and so!ereign liberty)

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Bpon returning, howe!er, the abbot took along this letter to his bishop as the shield of his defence)

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Chapter +ight The commendatory letter of Abbot Robert

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+o his most dearly belo!ed brother and fellowAbishop, #obert, bishop of 0angres, Walter, ser!ant of the church of ChalonC greeting)
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2e it known to you that brother #obert, to whom we had committed that abbey located in our episcopate, and called the @ew -onastery, has been released by us, in accordance with the definition by the 0ord 4rchbishop "ugh, from the obedience promised to us) "e himself has released and freed those monks who ha!e decided to remain in the aforesaid @ew -onastery from the obedience they had promised him and from their profession)
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1o not be afraid, therefore, as of now to welcome him and treat him with honour) 9arewell)

Chapter ,ine
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On the +lection of &lberic as "irst &bbot of the Church of Cteaux

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Widowed, therefore, of its shepherd, the church of C.teau/ assembled and through an election according to the #ule promoted a certain brother, 4lberic by name, to be its abbotC a learned man, that is to say, well !ersed in things di!ine and human, a lo!er of the #ule and of the brethren, who had for a long time been carrying out the office of prior in the church of -olesme as well as in this one, and who had stri!en and laboured much and long so that the brethren could pass from -olesme to this place% and who, for the sake of this affair, had to endure many insults, imprisonment, and stripes)

Chapter Ten
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&bout the 'oman %ri#ilege-

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"a!ing accepted the pastoral charge, albeit with much resistance, the aforesaid 4lberic, as a man of admirable foresight, began thinking of what storms of tribulations might sometime shake and afflict the house entrusted to him% and taking precaution for the future, and after consultation with the brethren, he dispatched two monks, :ohn and *lbodus, to #ome, entreating the 0ord Pope Paschal through them that their church '

might sit beneath the wings of apostolic protection, 5uiet and safe from the pressure of all persons, ecclesiastical or lay, in perpetuity)
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#elying on sealed letters from the aforesaid 4rchbishop "ugh, from :ohn and 2enedict, cardinals of the #oman church, and also from Walter, bishop of Chalon, these brethren prosperously went to #ome and returned this was before Pope Paschal, imprisoned by the 6mperor, had committed his sin bringing back an apostolic pri!ilege from him, drawn up in e!ery detail in keeping with the wishes of the abbot and his companions) We ha!e deemed it appropriate in this little work to lea!e to our posterity these letters as well as the #oman Pri!ilege, so that they may understand with what great counsel and authority their church was founded)

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Chapter +le#en The Letter of Car inals .ohn an !ene ict

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+o their 0ord and father Pope Paschal, e!erywhere indeed to be e/tolled with highest praise, :ohn and 2enedictC their !ery sel!es in e!erything)
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;ince Fours is the go!erning office to pro!ide for all the churches, and to e/tend a hand to the ?ust wishes of petitioners, and since Fours is the ?ustice through whose supporting help the Christian religion should take its increase, we insistently plead with Four "oliness to deign to incline the ears of your piety to the bearers of this letter, who, upon our ad!ice, ha!e been sent to your Paternity by certain religious) +hey are re5uesting that the precept which they recei!ed from your predecessor, our 0ord Pope Brban of blessed memory, concerning 5uiet and stability of their monastic obser!ance, and which, in keeping with the tenor of that same precept, the archbishop of 0yon, who at that time was legate, and other fellowAbishops and abbots, defined between them and the abbey of -olesme from which they had withdrawn in the interests of monastic obser!anceGthat this precept may through the pri!ilege of your authority remain in!iolate in perpetuity) &9or we ha!e seen and do bear witness to their true monastic obser!ance)

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Chapter Twel#e
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The Letter of Hugh of Lyon

+o his most re!ered father and 0ord Pope Paschal, "ugh, ser!ant of the church of 0yon, his !ery self in e!erything) &
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+hese brethren, carriers of the present letter, passed by here on the way to the 0oftiness of your Paternity% and because they ha!e their residence within our pro!ince, namely, in the episcopate of Chalon, they ha!e re5uested to be recommended to your "oliness by a letter from our lowliness) (

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Hnow then that they are from a certain place which is called the @ew -onastery% and that they left the church of -olesme with their abbot and went to li!e there for the sake of a stricter, more secluded life according to the #ule of the 2lessed 2enedict, which they had resol!ed to obser!e, ha!ing set aside the customs of certain monasteries ?udging their frailty no match to bear with so great a burden) '4s a result, the brethren of the church of -olesme and certain other neighbouring monks will not stop troubling and dis5uieting them, reckoning that, in the eyes of the world, they themsel!es will be held the more commonplace and despicable if these monks so singular, as it were, and no!el are seen dwelling in their midst)
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9or this reason we humbly and confidently beseech your Paternity, for whom we so yearn, to recei!e kindly, as is your wont, these brethren who put all their hope, after the 0ord, in Fou, and who are therefore fleeing for refuge to the authority of your apostolic office% and that Fou protect them with a pri!ilege from your authority by freeing both them and their place from this trouble and dis5uiet) >9or, as the poor of Christ, they can prepare no defence against their ri!al by means of riches or power, but ha!e their hope solely in $odDs clemency and Fours)

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Chapter Thirteen
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The Letter of the !ishop of Chalon

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+o his !enerable father, Pope Paschal, Walter, bishop of ChalonC greeting and due submission)
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4s your "oliness ardently desires that the faithful make progress in true religion, so also is it not e/pedient for them to lack the shelter of your protection and the warmth of your consolation) We humbly therefore re5uest Fou to appro!e what was done in keeping with the precept of your predecessor, and with the definition and rescript of the archbishop of 0yon, then legate of the 4postolic ;ee, and of his fellowAbishops and abbots we oursel!es were present for this, and ratified it with the others concerning those brethren who, in their desire for a stricter life, upon the ad!ice of holy men withdrew from the church of -olesme) $ods lo!ing kindness has placed them in our episcopate% and it is from them that the bearers of the present letter were dispatched and are standing in your presence) &We also re5uest that Fou deign to corroborate this by a pri!ilege from your authority, so that that place may remain a free abbey in perpetuity sa!ing, howe!er, the canonical re!erence due to our person and to our successors) +he abbot, too, whom we ordained for that same place, and the rest of the brethren, solicit this confirmation from your lo!ing kindness with all earnestness as a safeguard of their 5uiet)

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Chapter "ourteen
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The 'oman %ri#ilege

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Paschal, bishop and ser!ant of the ser!ants of $od, to the !enerable 4lberic, abbot of the @ew -onastery in the diocese of Chalon, and to his successors who according to the #ule, will be substituted for himC in perpetuity) &
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4 desire shown to pertain to a religious resol!e and the sal!ation of souls should, with $od as its author, be fulfilled without any delay) ;o it is, , sons most belo!ed in the 0ord, that We admit without difficulty e!ery petition in your re5uest, for We congratulate you on your monastic obser!ance with fatherly affection) 1<
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We decree, therefore, that the place where you ha!e chosen to dwell for monastic 5uiet is to be safe and free from all mortal molestation, that it shall e/ist there as an abbey in perpetuity, and that it shall be specially protected under the guardianship of the 4postolic ;ee sa!ing the canonical re!erence due to the church of Chalon) ' 2y writ of the present decree, then, we forbid anyone whomsoe!er to change the state of your way of life, or to recei!e monks of your monastery by any ruse or act of !iolence whatsoe!er) (*ndeed, we confirm as reasonable and praiseworthy the decision in the contro!ersy between you and the monks of the cloister of -olesme, which ,ur brother, the archbishop of 0yon, at that time representati!e of the 4postolic ;ee, enacted together with bishops and other ecclesiastics in accord with the precept of ,ur predecessor of apostolic memory, Brban **)
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Fou ought therefore to be mindful, , sons most belo!ed and longed for in Christ, that for some of you, it was the broad ways of the world that you left, while for others, it was the less austere narrow ways of a la/er monastery) =;o that you may be considered e!er more worthy of this grace, then, endea!our always to ha!e the fear and lo!e of $od in your hearts, so that the more free you are from the tumults and delights of the world, so much the more you may yearn to please $od with all the powers of mind and soul)
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4ccordingly, if later on any archbishop or bishop, emperor or king, prince or duke, count or !iscount, ?udge or any other person, ecclesiastical or lay, ha!ing knowledge of this present constitutional writ, attempt to contra!ene it, and ha!ing been warned two or three times, should he not amend by appropriate satisfactionC 0et him be depri!ed of the dignity of his power and honour% let him know himself liable to di!ine ?udgement for the ini5uity perpetrated% 0et him be e/cluded from the sacred 2ody and 2lood of $od and our 0ord :esus Christ, and let him be sub?ect to strict !engeance at the 0ast :udgement) 112ut as for all who deal ?ustly with that same place, may the peace of our 0ord :esus Christ be upon them, so that, recei!ing e!en here the fruit of these good deeds, they may find, in the presence of the stern :udge, the recompense of eternal peace)

Chapter "ifteen
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The /nstitutes of the Monks of Cteaux who Came from Molesme

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+hereupon that abbot and his brethren, not unmindful of their engagement, unanimously enacted a statute to establish and keep the #ule of the 2lessed 2enedict in that place, re?ecting whate!er offended against that #uleC namely, coats, fur garments, linen shirts, hoods, too, and drawers, combs and co!erlets, mattresses, and a !ariety of dishes in the refectory, as well as lard and all else that was contrary to the #ule in all its purity) 3;o that, directing the whole course of their life by the #ule o!er the entire tenor of their life, in ecclesiastical as well as in the rest of the obser!ances, they matched or conformed their steps to the footprints traced by the #ule) "a!ing therefore put off the old man, they were re?oicing to ha!e put on the new)
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1< 4nd because neither in the #ule nor in the Life of ;aint 2enedict did they read that this same teacher had e!er possessed churches and altars, or offerings or burial dues, tithes of other men, o!ens and mills, or manors and serfs, or again, that women had e!er gone inside his monastery, or that he had gi!en anyone burial there, e/cept his sister, they accordingly renounced all these things, sayingC 'Where the blessed father 2enedict teaches that a monk should estrange himself from secular conduct, there he clearly testifies that these things should ha!e no place at all in the conduct or in the heats of monks, who ought to pursue the etymology of their name by fleeing these things)
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+hey also said that the holy fathers, who were instruments of the "oly ;pirit, and whose statutes it is a sacrilege to transgress, had di!ided tithes into four partsC namely, one for the bishop% another for the parish priest% a third for guests coming to that church, and for widows or the poor without other source of sustenance% a fourth for the repair of the church) >4nd because they found in this accounting no mention of the monk, who possesses his own lands and li!es off them by his own work and that of his farm animals, they accordingly declined all these things as an un?ust usurpation of the rights of others)
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"a!ing spurned this worldDs riches, beholdI the new soldiers of Christ, poor with the poor Christ, began discussing by what planning, by what de!ice, by what management they would be able to support themsel!es in this life, as well as the guests who came, both rich and poor, whom the #ule commands to welcome as Christ) 1<*t was then that they enacted a definition to recei!e, with their bishopDs permission, bearded laybrothers, and to treat them as themsel!es in life and death e/cept that they may not become monks and also hired hands% for without the assistance of these they did not understand how they could fully obser!e the precepts of the #ule day and night% 11likewise to recei!e landed properties far from the haunts of men, and !ineyards and meadows and woods and streams for operating mills Jfor their own use onlyK and for fishing, and horses and !arious kinds of li!estock useful far menDs needs) 124nd since they had set up farmsteads for agricultural de!elopment in a number of different places, they decreed that the aforesaid laybrothers, and not monks, should be in charge of those dwellings, because, according to the #ule, monks should reside in their own cloister) 134lso, because those holy men knew that the blessed 2enedict had built his monasteries not in cities, nor in walled settlements or !illages, but in places remo!ed from populated areas, they promised to follow his e/ample in this) 1 4nd as he used to set up the monasteries he constructed with twel!e monks apiece and a father in addition, they resol!ed to do likewise)

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Chapter )ixteen
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Of Their )orrow

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*t caused some little de?ection to the aforesaid man of $od, the abbot, and to his own, that only rarely did anyone come there in those days to imitate them) 39or the holy men, ha!ing by hea!enly inspiration come upon this treasury of !irtues, eagerly longed to pass it on to the successors, so that it would be of profit for the sal!ation of many) 2ut almost all who saw and heard about their unusual and, as it were, unheard of harshness of life, hastened less to approach them than to distance themsel!es in heart and body, and ceased not to be perple/ed that they were perse!ering) &2ut the mercy of the $od who inspired his own to this spiritual warfare ceased not to de!elop it remarkably and to bring it to perfection for the profit of many, as what follows will show)

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Chapter )e#enteen
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Of the Death of the "irst &bbot an the %romotion of the )econ an of their /nstitutes an their .oy
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@ow the man of the 0ord, 4lberic, happily and well e/ercised by the discipline of the #ule in the school of Christ for nine and a half years, went forth to the 0ord glorious in faith and !irtues, and therefore deser!edly to be rendered blessed by $od in eternal life)
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"e was succeeded by a certain brother, ;tephen by name, 6nglish by birth% he too had come there from -olesme with the others, and was a lo!er of the #ule and of the place) *t was in his time that the brethren, together with that same abbot, forbade the duke of that region or any other 0ord to hold court in that church at any time, as had formerly been their practice on solemnities)
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@e/t, lest there remain in the house of $od, where they wished to ser!e $od de!otedly day and night, anything smacking of pride or superfluity, or anything that might at any time corrupt the po!erty A guardian of the !irtues A which they had !oluntarily chosen, they resol!ed to retain no crosses of gold or sil!er, but only painted wooden ones% no candelabra e/cept a single one of iron% no thuribles e/cept of copper or iron% no chasuble e/cept of plain cloth or linen, and without silk, gold, and sil!er% no albs or amices e/cept of linen, and likewise without silk, gold, and sil!er) (4s for all mantles and copes and dalmatics and tunics, these they re?ected entirely) +hey did, howe!er, retain chalices, not of gold, but of sil!er, and, if possible, gilded% and a communionAtube of sil!er, and only gilded, if that could be so% only stoles and maniples could be of silk, without gold or sil!er) >4s for altar cloths, they e/plicitly decreed that they be of linen, without pictorial ornamentation, and that the wine cruets be without gold or sil!er)
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& *n those days that same church increased in lands and !ineyards and meadows and farmsteads, nor did it decrease in monastic obser!ance) 1<$od therefore !isited that 11

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place in those times, pouring out the bowels of his mercy upon those who were petitioning him, crying out to him, weeping before him hea!ing sighs long and deep by day, by night, and well nigh approaching the gateway to despair in that they were almost entirely lacking successors) 119or the grace of $od seat to that church at a single time so many clerics, learned and noble, so many laymen, powerful in the world and likewise noble, that thirty simultaneously and with alacrity entered the no!itiate, and by battling well against their own !ices and the enticements of malign spirits, were able to finish their course) 126ncouraged by their e/ample, the old and the young, men of e!ery age in e!ery part of the world, seeing in these that what they had once dreaded as impossible in the obser!ance of the #ule was, in fact, 5uite possible, began running thither to bow their proud necks under the sweet yoke of Christ, to lo!e ardently the hard and harsh precepts of the #ule, and wondrously to gladden and in!igorate that church)

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Chapter +ighteen
1

Of the &bbeys

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4fter that they established abbeys in !arious episcopates, which under the bounteous and powerful blessing of the 0ord so grew as days went by that within eight years, between those which had issued directly from the monastery of C.teau/, and the others which had originated from these, the monasteries that had been constructed numbered twel!e)

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