Die Zisterzienser: Geschichte eines europäischen Ordens (review)

This is the most recent comprehensive history of the Cistercians from the foundation of Cîteaux in 1098 to the present day, comparable with the English-language The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality (1977) by Louis J. Lekai, a landmark work but inevitably somewhat dated, and the not altogether reliable French Les moines blancs (1993) by Marcel Pacaut.

With over six hundred pages it contains a wealth of material, chronologically arranged. The first chapter, surprisingly little more than thirty pages long (pp. 11-46), covers the first half century to the death of Saint Bernard in 1153. New is the claim by Eberl (p. 38) that it is conceivable that Bernard and his companions deliberately spent six months preparing to enter Cîteaux in order to give the abbot, Stephen Harding, the opportunity of arranging the foundation of the first daughter-house, La Ferté. The next chapter deals with the expansion to the papal reform bull Parvus Fons in 1265, covering approximately twice the period of the opening chapter but over two hundred pages long, or about a third of the book's total (pp. 47-255). Much of the space is taken up by a very thorough, almost daunting, catalogue of abbeys and an equally exhaustive overview of the subsequent growth of their estates. This is followed by thematic sections on the leading figures in the Order, its privileges and constitution, its relations to its female members, its spirituality, liturgy, art and architecture, culture and learning, and the economy of the Order. By placing these topics within a chapter terminating in the thirteenth century, the treatment of later developments within these areas is inevitably precluded. For example, although the early leading figures are discussed, there is only a cursory reference later to the important abbot of La Trappe, de Rancé, after whom the later Trappists are named, and no mention at all of Thomas Merton in the last chapter. Also, although early Cistercian architecture is discussed, there is no mention of the later elaborate Baroque churches of Austria and southern Germany or the magnificent classical buildings of many French abbeys.

The next chapter (pp. 257-385) covers the impact of the Hundred Years' War, papal schism, and the Black Death, and the general decline occasioned by the appointment of "commendatory" or absent abbots, often not even monks, whose chief interest was the revenue which went with the office. A chapter of less than one hundred pages follows (pp. 387-477) and takes the story forward three hundred years from the Reformation to the secularization of many abbeys at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Here the dissolution of the monasteries in northern Protestant countries could have been dealt with at greater length. A short chapter (pp. 479-516) covers the last two centuries with the restoration of the Order and its subsequent expansion to America, Africa, and Asia, and completes the history to the present day.

The extensive bibliography (pp. 574-614) reveals the breadth and depth of the author's research. The fact that personal and place names are invariably correctly spelt may in itself not seem an important point, but is nevertheless indicative of the author's reliability and attention to detail. It is a pity that there is no index and that the map shows only the main French and German abbeys and thus belies the text which embraces the Cistercian world as a whole. This is an important book which contains a tremendous amount of material. It is to be hoped that it may appear in an English translation.