"Cistercian architecture draws together the fundamentals of masonry and geometry to create a harmony of stone and light, of uncluttered interior volumes and modest external masses. The buildings and ruins that remain today are immensely, almost unspeakably refined. Upon entering le Thoronet or Senanque, Fontenay or Silvacane, one is deeply touched by the quality of the silence and the light. Free by design of distracting details, these are places...

"From their arrival in England in 1128 to the end of the twelfth century, the Cistercians established fifty monasteries, including some of the largest and most famous abbeys in the country. The author traces the evolution of Cistercian architecture in England during the this period and explains it as a manifestation both of the order's spiritual aims and of the manifestation of Gothic architecture in France. He shows how the founding houses in France...

The phenomenon of the Cistercian Order occupies a key place in the history of Western culture as it grew to dominate reformed European monasticism in the high middle ages. The transition from the Romanesque to Gothic styles occurred in the twelfth century when the order was expanding most dramatically. With sharp, clean lines, and minimal decor, its architecture was designed to reflect the simplicity and austerity required for this experiment in monastic...