the papal sanction in 1119. By the middle of the century (1151) more
than five hundred monasteries were represented at the general chapter,
and despite the resolution to admit no more houses, the number
continued to increase until the whole Order must have contained
upwards of two thousand.

[Sidenote: Mode of life.]

The entire organisation of the Cistercian Order made it a strong
contrast to the Cluniacs, both in the mode of life of its members and
in the method of government. The Cluniacs had become wealthy and
luxurious: their black dress, the symbol of humility, had become
rather a mark of hypocrisy. In order to guard against these snares the
Cistercians, to the wrath of the other monastic Orders, adopted a
white habit indicative of the joy which should attend devotion to
God's service. Their monasteries, all dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, were built in lonely places, where they would have no
opportunity to engage in parochial work. This indeed was strictly
forbidden them as detracting from the contemplative life which should
be the ideal of the Cistercian. For the same reason they were
forbidden to accept gifts of churches or tithes. The monastic
buildings, including the chapel, were to be of the simplest
description, without paintings, sculpture, or stained glass; and the
ritual used at the services was in keeping with this bareness. The
arrangements of the refectory and the dormitory were equally meagre.
Hard manual work, strict silence, and one daily meal gave the inmates
every opportunity of conquering their bodily appetites.

[Sidenote: Organisation.]