monastic wisdom series: number forty-three Thomas Merton Medieval Cistercian History Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 9 Edited with an Introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell Preface by William R. Grimes monastic wisdom series Marsha Dutton, Executive Editor Advisory Board Michael Casey, ocso Terrence Kardong, osb Lawrence S. Cunningham Kathleen Norris Patrick Hart, ocso Miriam Pollard, ocso Robert Heller Bonnie Thurston initiation into the monastic tradition series by thomas merton Cassian and the Fathers: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition (MW 1) Pre-Benedictine Monasticism: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 2 (MW 9) An Introduction to Christian Mysticism: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 3 (MW 13) The Rule of St. Benedict: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 4 (MW 19) Monastic Observances: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 5 (MW 25) The Life of the Vows: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 6 (MW 30) Charter, Customs, and Constitutions of the Cistercians: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 7 (MW 41) The Cistercian Fathers and Their Monastic Theology: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 8 (MW 42) monastic wisdom series: number forty-three Medieval Cistercian History Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 9 by Thomas Merton Edited with an Introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell Preface by William R. Grimes Cistercian Publications www.cistercianpublications.org LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Cistercian Publications title published by Liturgical Press Cistercian Publications Editorial Offices 161 Grosvenor Street Athens, Ohio 45701 www.cistercianpublications.org © 2019 by Merton Legacy Trust. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except brief quota- tions in reviews, without written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Merton, Thomas, 1915-1968, author. Title: Medieval Cistercian history : initiation into the monastic tradition 9 / by Thomas Merton ; edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell ; preface by William R. Grimes. Description: Collegeville : Liturgical Press, 2019. | Series: Monastic wisdom series ; no. 43. Identifiers: LCCN 2018040641 (print) | LCCN 2018051169 (ebook) | ISBN 9780879074821 (eBook) | ISBN 9780879070434 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Cistercians—History—To 1500. Classification: LCC BX3406.3 (ebook) | LCC BX3406.3 .M47 2019 (print) | DDC 271/.12—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018040641 CONTENTS Preface vii Introduction xi 1. Cistercian History 1 2. The Cistercian Order from the Death of Saint Bernard to the Reform of Benedict XII (1153–1335) 139 Appendix A: Textual Notes 253 Appendix B: Table of Correspondences 259 Appendix C: For Further Reading 261 Index 263 Corrigenda for Volume 8 309 v In grateful memory of Patrick Hart, OCSO (1925–2019) final secretary of Thomas Merton founding editor of the Monastic Wisdom Series mentor, guide and friend to Merton scholars and readers throughout the world for the past half-century. PREFACE I was a novice at the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Gethsemani from 1962 to 1964, and Thomas Merton was my novice master. I was present for the conferences published in this book, which were given to me and my fellow novices by Merton, or Father Louis, as we knew him. Though not a monastic histo- rian, scholar or monk, I have a particular perspective on these conferences that I would like to share. As I read these conference notes (and Dr. O’Connell’s ex- cellent Introduction) I began to recall actually being in the con- ference room and listening to Fr. Louis as he animatedly and logically went over the details of the early monastic life in Eng- land and then the wonderful and interesting medieval Cistercian history. In a Preface written for a previous volume in this series, Sidney H. Griffith asked, “One wonders if Gethsemani’s novices in Merton’s day had any inkling of the pioneering character of the journey to the early sources of the monastic heritage which their novice master provided for them.”1 My response to Griffith would be yes and no. Yes, because we were aware that Fr. Louis was an incredi- ble teacher, intellect, mystic, writer, poet, spiritual director, etc., with the most eclectic knowledge base of anyone that we had ever encountered. He was extraordinarily affable and pleasantly 1. Sidney H. Griffith, “Preface,” in Thomas Merton,Pre-Benedictine Mo- nasticism: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 2, ed. Patrick F. O’Connell, Mo- nastic Wisdom [MW] 9 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2006), x. vii viii Medieval Cistercian History gregarious and had a superlative sense of humor. He was a friend, spiritual guide, leader and mentor. No, because in my opinion none of the novices had any concept of how deeply and ontologically Fr. Louis understood and was able to explain to us the many complex issues that con- stituted the early years of monasticism in general and Cistercian monasticism in particular. Nor were we aware at that time how lucky and blessed we were to be his students and members of this fantastic “school of charity.”2 As I read the present material, many things that Merton said came back to me, and in some ways I felt as though I was sitting in that conference room and was enchanted by his logical method of explaining the various aspects of monastic life. I could see him leaning forward in his chair holding onto his small table while he told a story or went off on a tangent and had us totally engrossed in what would otherwise be a boring history lesson (or sometimes telling us a joke or making fun of an old monastic name or silly defunct rule). I can still remember him relating the origins of Cîteaux and the founders who came from the Abbey of Molesme to establish a monastic life that was more in compliance with the original Rule of Saint Benedict. This explanation, of course, led into the many stories about the differences between the “black monks” (Benedictines) and the “white monks” (Cistercians). Fr. Louis was very clear about the differences, citing Cluny as an example of the Benedictine life lived with a certain avoidance of or misin- terpretation of the Rule. I remember him talking about the arrival of Saint Bernard with about thirty friends and relatives, a coming that may have saved the Order and certainly added new life and sanctity to the white monks. Bernard himself became a great force in the renewal 2. For this characteristically Cistercian term, see Thomas Merton, The Cistercian Fathers and Their Monastic Theology: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 8, ed. Patrick F. O’Connell, MW 42 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2016), 68 n. 192. Preface ix of the monastic life and was an intellect, great writer and great leader. He was elected abbot of Clairvaux and founded many other monasteries. I recall when Fr. Louis spoke about the theology of Abelard3 and his at times possibly heretical views. But what I remember most is his story about Abelard and Heloise.4 This story prompted me to read the book by Étienne Gilson,5 which was in the novi- tiate library. His stories about the irregularities committed by some of the early white monks were more than just accounts; he turned them into hilarious stories of antics and peccadilloes and made us understand that even as monks certainly seeking the heights of the spiritual life, they (and we) were also human and made errors. When I started to write this preface, my question was whether or not I could see the relevance of these conferences for non-monastics in today’s world. And my answer is a resound- ing YES. The Christian life is a journey into the very heart and essence of Jesus. We are called to become one with him and in concert with him to love and cherish all those that we come in contact with. We are called to realize the oneness that we have with all people (past, present and to come), as Merton himself stated: “[W]e are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”6 As Christians we need to look back at those who preceded us in whatever vocation they found themselves and ask ourselves what they did wrong and what they did right. How and where 3. For Merton’s discussion of Abelard, see Cistercian Fathers and Their Monastic Theology, xc–xciii, 166–96. 4. For Merton’s discussion of Abelard and Heloise, see Cistercian Fathers and Their Monastic Theology, 166–72, 184–86. 5. Étienne Gilson, Héloise and Abélard, trans. L. K. Shook (London: Hol- lis & Carter, 1953). 6. Thomas Merton, The Asian Journal, ed. Naomi Burton Stone, Br. Patrick Hart and James Laughlin (New York: New Directions, 1973), 308. x Medieval Cistercian History did they find God in their lives? How did the life and words of Jesus affect them, and how did they share his life and his good- ness and mercy with others? William R. Grimes (Brother Alcuin) INTRODUCTION In the latter part of 1962, as part of his duties as master of novices at the Abbey of Gethsemani,1 Thomas Merton was presenting concurrently the two sets of conferences on the early history of the Cistercian Order included in the present volume. On Fridays from September 7 through December 21 he gave fourteen classes to the novices on what was simply called “Cis- tercian History,” which included a lengthy preliminary overview of European monasticism from the time of Saint Benedict in the sixth century until the foundation of the Abbey of Cîteaux in 1098, followed by detailed consideration of the first three abbots of the “New Monastery,” as Cîteaux was originally called, and of some of the key documents of the early period of its history; the written text of this material concludes with at least one and possibly a number of other appendices on related topics.