The cult of saints in Cistercian monasteries in the late middle ages: regionalism and pan-European trends

The Cistercian order's development in the twelfth century has been seen as one of the oldest and most effective international networks across Latin Christendom. It is credited with a very significant influence on church and society not only in the core of Western Europe, but also on its expanding frontiers in Central-Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula. However, our knowledge of the Cistercian order in the later middle ages (14-15th c.) is very fragmentary. It is generally assumed that the international structures of the order became weakened or even broken and that the character and outlook of the Cistercian communities in different parts of Europe became inward looking, focused on their own region and no longer part of the networks centred on the General Chapter (an annual meeting of all abbots from across the order). It is further presumed that vitality and religious innovation were no longer Cistercian characteristics and that the buoyant lay religiosity of the late middle ages had little to do with the white monks. My project tests these assumptions using completely neglected evidence. Although there is very little current research on late medieval monastic culture, the new work of James Clarke and Martin Heale on Benedictines shows that the perspectives on the late monasticism are beginning to be fundamentally changes.
I examine the cult of saints in Cistercian monasteries (dedication of altars; relic collections; pilgrimage; references to the saints in charters; chronicles and other textual and material evidence of the cults) to show how Cistercian communities took up new religious trends and became rooted in their regions, while at the same time remaining part of trans-border networks. The project uses the six case studies (Esrum, Soro and Om in Denmarks and Ebrach, Aldersbach and Fürstenzell in Bavaria) to show degrees of regionalisation and the importance of international religious 'fashions' among Cistercians in two distinct areas of northern and southern Europe. By studying the cult of saints in Cistercian abbeys in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, I am able to explain how local saints' cults became incorporated into the culture of Cistercian houses and indicate important links with their surrounding lay communities and responses to the needs of patrons and benefactors. Devotion to St Bernard of Clairvaux was an important manifestation of belonging to the Cistercian family. Its development - visual and textual - occurred not during his life-time and not even in the century following it, but only in the later middle ages. Equally, the new, especially visual forms of the cult of Virgin Mary had their roots in the oldest, theological and textual traditions of the white monks but were also a reflection of highly popular Marian cults among the late-medieval laity. The cult of the Eucharist/Holy Blood relics in the Cistercian monasteries was clearly influenced by wider late-medieval religiosity and was incorporated in the Christo-centric tradition of the Cistercians. By studying the cult of saints in late medieval Cistercian communities I will be able to make a significant contribution to the debate on the nature of late medieval monasticism.

The recent British Museum's success of the 'Treasures of Heaven' exhibition shows growing interest in the medieval phenomenon of saints, relics and their cults. Although 'The cult of saints in Cistercian monasteries' project covers in details other parts of Europe than the British Isles, chapter 1, which gives a framework to the case study sections, will also use English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh evidence, so it can be easily utilised for UK-based public engagement efforts.

My project provides an opportunity to further and enhance the interest in medieval religious culture both abroad and in the UK. In particular, I would like to engage with the Yorkshire Archaeological Society and expand the cooperation the local history groups. Moreover, in cooperation with another of my current projects - the CDA on the hospitality in the late medieval Kirkstall Abbey I can deliver a public-engagement event using evidence relevant to the local community in Leeds. As explained in the 'Pathways to Impact', I have existing academic connections in the regions of my case studies (Denmark and Bavaria) and I have already undertaken planning for engagement with local history groups and a workshop in Leeds.