Cistercians

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cistercians

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Cistercians built?1098 at Cîteaux Abbey, France
2. What is Cistercians known for?Advanced agricultural techniques, hydraulic engineering, and water-powered machinery
3. What is the official name?Order of Cistercians (Latin: Sacer Ordo Cisterciensis)
4. What is the key reformer?Bernard of Clairvaux (joined early 1110s)
5. What are Cistercians and why did they wear white robes?They are monks who followed the Rule of Saint Benedict very strictly, and they wore white habits to show their simple, pure life.
6. Why did the Cistercians start in 1098 and what was their main goal?They began when a group of monks left a more comfortable monastery to return to the original rules of poverty, work, and prayer.

Observance: The practice and adherence to a set of religious rules or customs.
Lay Brothers: Monks who take vows but focus on manual labor rather than scholarly or clerical duties.
Monasticism: A religious way of life characterized by devotion to God, communal living, and asceticism.
Diffusion of Technology: The spread of new inventions and techniques from one place or group to another.