(de Clara Valle), A.D. 1116. The rigid self-abnegation,
which was the ruling principle of this reformed congregation
of the Benedictine order, extended itself to the churches and
other buildings erected by them. The characteristic of the
Cistercian abbeys was the extremest simplicity and a studied
plainness. Only one tower--a central one --was permitted, and
that was to be very low. Unnecessary pinnacles and turrets
were prohibited. The triforium was omitted. The windows
were to be plain and undivided, and it was forbidden to
decorate them with stained glass. All needless ornament was
proscribed. The crosses must be of wood; the candlesticks of
iron. The renunciation of the world was to be evidenced
in all that met the eye. The same spirit manifested itself
in the choice of the sites of their monasteries. The more
dismal, the more savage, the more hopeless a spot appeared,
the more did it please their rigid mood. But they came
not merely as ascetics, but as improvers. The Cistercian
monasteries are, as a rule, found placed in deep well-watered
valleys. They always stand on the border of a stream; not
rarely, as at Fountains, the buildings extend over it. These
valleys, now so rich and productive, wore a very different
aspect when the brethren first chose them as the place of their
retirement. Wide swamps, deep morasses, tangled thickets,
wild impassable forests, were their prevailing features. The
``bright valley,'' Clara Vallis of St Bernard, was known
as the ``valley of Wormwood,'' infamous as a den of robbers.
``It was a savage dreary solitude, so utterly barren that
at first Bernard and his companions were reduced to live on
beech leaves.''-(Milman's Lat. Christ. vol. iii. p. 335.)
Clairvaux
All Cistercian monasteries, unless the circumstances of the
locality forbade it, were arranged according to one plan. The
general arrangement and distribution of the various
buildings, which went to make up one of these vast
establishments, may be gathered from that of St Bernard's own
abbey of Clairvaux, which is here given. It will be observed
that the abbey precincts are surrounded by a strong wall,
furnished at intervals with watch-towers and other defensive
works. The wall is nearly encircled by a stream of water,
artificially diverted from the small rivulets which flow
through the precincts, furnishing the establishment with
an abundant supply in every part, for the litigation of
the gardens and orchards, the sanitary requirements of the
brotherhood and for the use of the offices and workshops.
The precincts are divided across the centre by a wall,
running from N. to S., into an outer and inner ward,--the
former containing the menial, the latter the monastic
buildings. The precincts are entered by a gateway (P), at
the extreme western extremity, giving admission to the lower
ward. Here the barns, granaries, stables, shambles, workshops
and workmen,s lodgings were placed, without any regard to
symmetry, convenience being the only consideration. Advancing
eastwards, we have before us the wall separating the
FIG. 6.--.Clairvaux, No. 1 (Cistercian), General
A. Cloisters. I. Wine-press and O. Public presse.
B. Ovens, and corn hay-chamber P. Gateway.
oil-mills K. Parlour R. Remains of old monastery
C. St Bernard's cell. L. Workshops and.
D. Chief entrance. workmen's lodgings S. Oratory.
E. Tanks for fish. V. Tile-works.
F. Guest-house. M. Slaughter-house. X. Tile-kiln.
G. Abbot's house. N. Barns and stables. V. Water-courses.
H. Stables.
outer and inner ward, and the gatehouse (D) affording communication
between the two. On passing through the gateway, the outer
court of the inner ward was entered, with the western facade
of the monastic church in front. Immediately on the right
of entrance was the abbot's house (G), in close proximity to
the guest-house (F). On the other side of the court were the
stables, for the accommodation of the horses of the guests
and their attendants (H). The church occupied a central
position. To the south was the great cloister (A),
surrounded by the chief monastic buildings, and farther to
the east the smaller cloister, opening out of which were
the infirmary, novices' lodgings and quarters for the aged
monks. Still farther to the east, divided from the monastic
buildings by a wall, were the vegetable gardens and orchards,
and tank for fish. The large fish-ponds, an indispensable
adjunct to any ecclesiastical foundation, on the formation
of which the monks lavished extreme care and pains, and
which often remain as almost the only visible traces of these
vast establishments, were placed outside the abbey walls.
Plan No. 2 furninshes the ichnography of the distinctly
monastic buildings on a larger scale. The usually unvarying
arrangement of the Cistercian houses allows us to accept
this as a type of the monasteries of this order. The church
(A) is the chief feature. It consists of a vast nave of
eleven bays, entered by a narthex, with a transept and short
apsidal choir. (It may be remarked that the eastern limb in
all unaltered Cistercian churches is remarkably short, and
usually square.) To the east of each limb of the transept
are two square chapels, divided according to Cistercian
rule by solid walls. Nine radiating chapels, similarly
divided, surround the apse. The stalls of the monks,
forming the ritual choir, occupy the four eastern bays of the
nave. There was a second range of stalls in the extreme
western bays of the nave for the fratres conversi, or lay
brothers. To the south of the church, so as to secure as
much sun as possible, the cloister was invariably placed,
except when local reasons forbade it. Round the cloister
(B) were ranged the buildings connected with the monks' daily
life. The chapter-house (C) always opened out of the east
walk of the cloister in a line with the south transept.
FIG. 7.--Clairvaux, No. 2 (Cistercian), Monastic
A. Church. L. Lodgings of novices. S. Cellars and storehouses.
B. Cloister.
C. Chapter-house. M. Old guest-house. T. Water-course.
D. Monks' parlour. N. Old abbot's lodgings. U. Saw-mill and oil mill
E. Calefactory.
F. Kitchen and court. O. Cloister of V. Currier's shop.
G. Refectory. supernumerary monks.
H. Cemetery. X. Sacristy.
I. Little cloister. P. Abbot's hall. Y. Little library.
K. Infirmary. Q. Cell of St Bernard. Z. Undercroft of dormitory.
R. Stables.
In Cistercian houses this was quadrangular, and was divided
by pillars and arches into two or three aisles. Between
it and the transept we find the sacristy (X), and a small
book-room (Y) armariolum, where the brothers deposited the
volumes borrowed from the library. On the other side of the
chapter-house, to the south, is a passage (D) communicating
with the courts and buildings beyond. This was sometimes
known as the parlour, colloquii locus, the monks having the
privilege of conversation here. Here also, when iscipline
became relaxed, traders, who had the liberty of admission,
were allowed to display their goods. Beyond this we often
find the calefactorium or day-room--an apartment warmed
by flues beneath the pavement, where the brethren, half
frozen during the night offices, betook themselves after
the conclusion of lauds, to gain a little warmth, grease
their sandals and get themselves ready for the work of the
day. In the plan before us this apartment (E) opens from the
south cloister walk, adjoining the refectory. The place usually
assigned to it is occupied by the vaulted substructure of the
dormitory (Z). The dormitory, as a rule, was placed on the
east side of the cloister, running over the calethetory and
chapter-house, and joined the south transept, where a flight
of steps admitted the brethren into the church for nocturnal
services. Opening out of the dormitory was always the
necessarium, planned with the greatest regard to health and
cleanliness, a water-course invariably running from end to
end. The refectory opens out of the south cloister at G.
The position of the refectory is usually a marked point of
difference between Benedictine and Cistercian abbeys. In the
former, as at Canterbury, the refectory ran east and west
parallel to the nave of the church, on the side of the cloister
farthest removed from it. In the Cistercian monasturies, to
keep the noise and smell of dinner still farther away from
the sacred building, the refectory was built north and south,
at right angles to the axis of the church. It was often
divided, sometimes into two, sometimes, as here, into three
aisles. Outside the refectory door, in the cloister,
was the lavatory, where the monks washed their hands at
dinner-time. The buildings belonging to the material life of
the monks lay near the refectory, as far as possible from the
church, to the S.W. With a distinct entrance from the outer
court was the kitchen court (F), with its buttery, scullery
and larder, and the important adjunct of a stream of running
water. Farther to the west, projecting beyond the line of
the west front of the church, were vast vaulted apartments
(SS), serving as cellars and storehouses, above which was
the dormitory of the conversi. Detached from these, and
separated entirely from the monastic buildings, were various
workshops, which convenience repuired to be banished to
the outer precincts, a saw-mill and oil-mill (UU) turned
by water, and a currier's shop (V), where the sandals
and leathern girdles of the monks were made and repaired.
Returning to the cloister, a vaulted passage admitted to the small
cloister (l), opening from the north side of which were eight
small cells, assigned to the scribes employed in copying works
for the library, which was placed in the upper story, accessible
by a turret staircase. To the south of the small cloister
a long hall will be noticed. This was a lecture-hall, or
rather a hall for the religious disputations customary among the
Cistercians. From this cloister opened the infirmary (K),
with its hall, chapel, cells, blood-letting house and other
dependencies. At the eastern verge of the vast group of buildings
we find the novices' lodgings (L), with a third cloister
near the novices' quarters and the original guest-house (M).
Detached from the great mass of the monastic edifices was the
original abbot's house (N), with its dining-hall (P). Closely
adjoining to this, so that the eye of the father of the whole
establishment should be constantly over those who stood the
most in need of his watchful care,--those who were training
for the monastic life, and those who had worn themselves
out in its duties,--was a fourth cloister (O), with annexed
buildings, devoted to the aged and infirm members of the
establishment. The cemetery, the last resting-place of the
brethren, lay to the north side of the nave of the church (H).
It will be seen from the above account that the arrangement of
a Cistercian monastery was in accordance with a clearly defined
system, and admirably adapted to its purpose. The base court
nearest to the outer wall contained the buildings belonging to
the functions of the body as agriculturists and employers of
labour. Advancing into the inner court, the buildings`devoted
to hospitality are found close to the entrance; while those
connected with the supply of the material wants of the brethren,
