Monastic developments in 11th to 13th century religious Western Europe

The onset of the Cistercian and Templar Orders was defined to a great extent by the changing historical context of  in 11th to 13th century religious Western Europe. What were the main aspects?

"From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, medieval Europe and the development of the Church saw rapid and radical change. After centuries of a move away from the archaic values of the desert fathers, the Church became embroiled in the political structure of Europe and became more and more intertwined with the secular world as the secular and spiritual worlds fought for power. 

The Church did not rule itself; the highest papal offices were filled with nobility, or chosen by the nobility, to fulfil their own desires. The Church owned many lands in central Europe at this point, and control over it led to these struggles over authority. 

However, by the end of the thirteenth century the control of the Church had changed hands, with the majority of it being ruled by spiritual leaders, rather than kings’ men. The Church had much more control over its own practices and lands, and was allowed to develop its systems and practices at an unbelievable rate. By the end of the thirteenth century the Church’s authority was unquestionable, with secular king and nobility striving to gain the approval of the religious power, namely the pope.

Monastic orders themselves were a considerable part of the Roman Catholic Church, but by the end of the thirteenth century monasteries had surged in popularity, bringing with it a phenomenal change to the landscape of Europe. (...)

It cannot be denied that the Gregorian Reforms, issued at the end of the eleventh century, were the single, biggest reason that the change began. The Gregorian Reforms, which take their name from the reigning pope at the time, Pope Gregory VII (1015 – 25 May 1085), who instigated the reforms, sought a breaking away of the church from the secular society. (...)

It seems that many different aspects in medieval society were all leading to the same conclusion; that there was discontentment with the existing situation, and that the social, intellectual, religious and economical aspects of society needed to transform. (...)

This reformist attitude began to spread to other areas of the Church, namely monasticism. (...) The importance of the Cluniacs in this innovative period cannot be understated; ‘At the end of the eleventh century, at the height of its magnificence, Cluny was the head of a huge monastic empire containing many hundreds of dependencies and associated houses spread throughout western Europe. (...) 

The Cistercian Order finds its origins in a Cluniac monastery. It was from the abbey of Molesme, that Robert of Molesme with other monks, including Stephen Harding, left in search of a monastic life of stricter poverty than had been seen hitherto by the Cluniacs. (...) The early Cistercians sought an isolated place, rejecting the world, to pursue this vocation. This small band of monks were the first members of what was to become the Cistercian Order. (...)

The history of the Cistercian Order is integral to the history of western monasticism. The Order, with it originating within an era of ecclesiastical reform, epitomised the change that transformed Christendom, and the influence of Christianity over the subsequent history of the world cannot be understated."

This blog quotes from pp 4-8 of the thesis by Lori Firth entitled A Comparison of the Cistercian and Knights Templar Orders, And the Personal Influence of Bernard of Clairvaux, University of Hull, 2012. The illustration shows the wax funeral effigy of Gregory VII under glass in the Salerno cathedral, source Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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