Merton Priory and Thomas Becket
Another famous Augustinian house was Merton in Surrey, where the brotherhood devoted itself to educational work.…
Kirkham Priory Founded by Walter Lespec
At the other end of England, Walter Lespec, described as the noblest lay baron of his time, found comfort for the loss of his only son by “making Christ his heir”—devoting the her…
Austin Canons Raised to the Episcopate
Before the close of Henry’s reign, the Austin canons had grown so important that two of their number were raised to the episcopate, one even to the primacy of all Britain.…
Carlisle Bishopric and Eadwulf
Henry I’s own spiritual adviser was Eadwulf, prior of the Augustinian house at Nostell in Yorkshire—whose name marks him of English birth, even amid the king’s general preference…
Origins of the Cistercian Order
Meanwhile a mightier influence than the Augustinians’ was regenerating the Western Churches—England among them.…
Stephen Harding and the Founding of Citeaux
After long and anxious chapter debates the abbot of Molêmes appointed two learned and pious brethren to examine the original rule and declare its content.…
Spread of the White Monks to England
From Burgundy and Champagne the “White Monks,” as the Cistercians were called from the color of their habit, soon spread over France and Normandy.…
The Foundation of Fountains Abbey
The story of Fountains, another famous Yorkshire house, repeats that of Citeaux itself. Thirteen monks of the Benedictine convent of S.…
The Character of Cistercian Influence
The influence of the Cistercians differed in kind from that of the earlier monasticism. The Benedictine life, “in the world though not of it,” sought tranquillity and accessibilit…
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