Cistercian Life
The Cistercian order was established in Cisteaux in the South France in 1098. By the time it reached its peak of its influence, 8,000 of its Abbeys had been built. The one at Newbattle was the 152nd. It was to the woodland seclusion of the Vale of the South Esk that Ralph of Melrose and a small party of Cistercians came to plant Newbattle Abbey.
The monks’ dress of a white cassock, black hood, black leather girdle and shoes (not the traditional sandals), earned them the name of the White Monks. The daily routine was long and arduous and silent:
3.15 am |
Rise |
12 noon |
Lunch |
3.30 am |
Vigils |
1.45 am |
Meditation |
4.15 am |
Meditation |
2.00 pm |
Work |
4.45 am |
Mass |
4.30 pm |
Prayers |
5.30 am |
Breakfast |
5.20 pm |
Supper |
6.45 am |
Lauds |
5.45 pm |
Meditation |
7.30 am |
Farm work |
6.00 pm |
Vespers |
8.00 am |
Office work |
6.30 pm |
Meditation |
8.45 am |
Terce |
7.15 pm |
Examine personal conscience |
9.00 am |
Housework and gardening |
8.00 pm |
Bed |
11.45 am |
Examine personal conscience |
Click image to see an enlargement
Click here to see a powerpoint
presentation of a Monks daily routine - press
escape to exit