Cistercian Studies

O breve tratado escrito pelo abade cisterciense de Rievaulx (1110-1167), nascido em Hexham (Inglaterra, perto da Escócia), é um dos maiores clássicos sobre o tema da amizade. De nobre família e quase contemporâneo de São Bernardo de Claraval, é igualmente
reconhecido por seu temperamento manso (p. 10), recorre também com
frequência ao tema do amor, além de ter formado, como o seu confrade, uma abadia-mãe da qual nasceram diversas
“filhas” (p. 11). Mesmo sem receber educação escolástica, “atingiu um nível de cultura superior à daqueles que tiveram acesso à instrução completa da ciência escolar” (p. 13). Aelredo (ou Elredo, forma que parece preferível) também está inscrito no Catálogo dos Santos, sendo comemorado no dia 12 de janeiro, data de sua morte.

The present article aims to introduce new approaches to the work of the Zbraslav Cistercians, involving two interrelated levels: (1) it characterizes the Zbraslav Chronicle (Chronica Aulae regiae) as the result of efforts to create a place of memory for the last Přemyslid kings, especially Wenceslas II (1283–1305), and focuses on forms of fixation of collective memory used by the Zbraslav chroniclers; (2) it attempts to find out if these efforts of the Zbraslav chroniclers were successful. Methodologically, the analysis is based on the concept of collective memory expounded by Maurice Halbwachs. Other methodological impulses are drawn from the theories of Otto Gerhard Oexle, Jan Assmann and Pierre Nora; especially the latter’s concept of ‘realms of memory’ is developed. As ‘realms of memory’ one can consider also books or texts that—as great moments—stabilize historical (i.e. non-viable) memory. In the present study, the Zbraslav Chronicle is perceived as a work created with the ambition to establish an authoritative interpretation of Central European history at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

This 292-pages book is the synthesis of a history thesis defended in the Sorbonne in 2008 and a planned excavation site that has continued on the site since without stopping. Abundantly illustrated, it presents the numerous hydraulic installations necessary for the definitive implantation of the buildings, and the heavy work of hydraulic engineering carried out by the white monks in the 1130s. It studies because of the archeology of the building show the remaining vestiges of the church, delivers to the sagacity of the readers what was the vast quarter of the guesthouse, main area of the excavation. Finally, it presents the remaining traces of the great construction site in the 18th century. Finally, he illustrates these pages with the artefacts delivered by the excavation, everyday objects of the monks, the lay brother or their staff.

In 1848, over 40 monks from the French Trappist monastery of Melleray voyaged to America to establish the first Trappist Abbey in North America, Gethsemani Abbey.  The attractiveness of rigorous Trappist life resulted in overcrowding at Melleray that ultimately led them to send monks to the New World after helping to establish Staouëli Abbey in Algeria.  This paper examines that factors that led to the unexpected and phenomenal growth of Melleray Abbey following the destruction of monastic life in France during the Revolution and the continued suppression of Trappists by Napoleon.

A obra Requinte e Paladar. A gastronomia monástica alcobacense publicada pelo Instituto Universitário da Maia integra a série Cadernos de Turismo.
Neste trabalho pretendemos, como se pode ler na introdução, responder a um inventário de questões e problemáticas, nomeadamente esclarecer “o que comiam e bebiam os monges de Alcobaça no século XVIII, que produtos provenientes do seu domínio senhorial, importados de outras regiões nacionais ou do estrangeiro chegavam à sua mesa, como eram confecionados e apresentados”. Mais concretamente, o presente estudo estabelece a relação entre a dieta alimentar dos cistercienses de Alcobaça e o agrossistema produtivo do território coutado, considerando a lógica de mudança das estruturas agrárias seiscentistas e setecentistas no sentido da inovação hidrotécnica, da especialização cultural e da adesão à cultura de plantas do novo mundo. Pretende-se ainda enquadrar os avanços em matéria de agronomia com a ampla produção de excedentes, progresso que se repercute no termo da vinculação autárcica e na promoção do desígnio comercial. A modernidade nos métodos e técnicas de trabalho da terra e na expansão da tela cultural contribui para a abastança e opulência do mosteiro alcobacense e, naturalmente, traduz-se na mesa entendida como fonte de poder social, prestígio e influência.

Le déchirement du voile du Temple (Luc 23, 44-46), signifiant la rupture de tout ce qui était factice dans la loi des Juifs, est la plus grande manifestation de la visualité du messie lors de la Crucifixion, « cette sanglante vérité qui fournira à l’art chrétien son motif le plus fondamental ». À partir de ce précèdent, le voile est convoqué dans tous les moments clés de la vie chrétienne. Outre le voile de la Vierge, le voile accompagne tous les sacrements, le mariage ou le deuil. L’épouse est promesse de dévoilement. De même que la nuée voile le soleil, le voile nuptial couvre la jeune fille lors des noces. Historiquement, le voile est donc associé à la notion d’alliance, de noces, ainsi qu’à la profession des vœux et à la consécration des moniales. La prise de voile signifie devenir épouse du Christ : la velatio fait de la moniale une ancilla Dei.
Par « voile », on entend ici un étoffe fine et légère qui, bien que couvrant ou cachant une chose ou un être vivant, laisse entrevoir ce qui est au-dessous. Le voile est destiné à isoler du regard indiscret sans pour autant nier la lumière. Partant, le voile-tissu et le voile-vêtement ont la même fonction : rendre ce qui a été voilé mystérieux et inaccessible. Mais le voile ne cache pas complètement. Il peut même accentuer le profil et les formes de l'objet, les révélant d'une manière différente, comme on l’a formulé pour les sculptures grecques classiques.

This paper considers how the union of sun, landscape, and architecture contributed to the siting of Welsh Cistercian abbeys. From August 2014 to March 2016 the authors surveyed and measured the orientation of all Cistercian churches with extant foundations in Wales, as well as the elevations of their surrounding landscapes. Using methodologies drawn from cultural astronomy, analysis of this data revealed that through the intentional orientating of the abbey within the local topography, each church formed a relationship to the sun’s light on theologically significant days. Other notable observations include the emphasis on sunsets and the west, the focus on the astronomical equinox rather than the Julian calendar equinox, and the solar position on Michaelmas and/or Saint David’s Day. The implications of these  results for wider debates in the field of Cistercian studies are then discussed.

This article concerns four liturgical codices copied in the scriptorium of the Monastery of Alcobaça between the mid-fifteenth and the seventeenth centuries. The late textual additions that concern rituals specific to Cistercian nunneries will be examined with the aim of understanding the uses of such additions in their context, and of determining their impact on our knowledge of female Cistercian monasteries and on Alcobaça’s jurisdiction over the women under its wing during this period.