I. Early History – II. Character – III. Growth – IV. Development and Influence in the Middle Ages – V. The 15th Century and Afterwards
I. Early History
The first religious order in the history of Christian monasticism (III, 3) came into being when the Benedictine (Benedictines) abbey Novum Monasterium (from 1119: Cistercium, Fr. Cîteaux, hence the self-designation Cistercienses) in Burgundy established…