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Cistercian Life

Cistercian life was a strict one. In about 540, St. Benedict of Nursia had laid down rules for his monks. Monks of this order became known as Benedictines. As benedictine life evolved, there were some who thought the order had strayed too far from the simple, deprived life envisioned by Benedict, so they formed the Cistercian Order.

Known as the 'White Monks', owing to their cassocks of undyed wool, prayer was the centre of everything. Services were held regularly, at alloted times throughout the day, and monks were expected to attend. Between this, periods of silence and study would be observed.

Canonical Hours

A Cistercian day was planned around the 'Canonical Hours' which equated to eight seperate services a day:

• Lauds - Celebrated at Daybreak
• Prime - Celebrated at the first hour of the day
• Terce - Celebrated at the third hour of the day
• Sext - Celebrated at the sixth hour of the day
• None - Celebrated at the ninth hour of the day
• Vespers - Celebrated in the evening
• Compline - Celebrated at the end of the day
• Vigils - Celebrated during the night

There was also the day to day business of farming and trade to be kept up. The Cistercians became reknowned for their expertise in these areas, especially in grain and wool. Fish would need to be caught to provide food.

Later on in monastic times, Cistercian's lifestyles became rather more relaxed, moving away from the strictly ascetic way, partly owing to the huge growth, in size and power, of the order.