... therefore, just what was the appeal of Cistercian monasticism that caused such an unprecedented growth and interest? Many historians have suggested that the appeal of Cistercian monasticism and the 'extraordinary rapidity and extent of its growth and diffusion... was the work of a single man, St Bernard of Clairvaux'3. He became the abbot of Clairvaux in 1115, and began preaching and writing of the Cistercian order and its beliefs. As his writings (many of which were in Latin allowing a great audience) and teachings spread, (which they did widely as a result of his disciples) he gained a reputation as a great intellect, and people desired to be under his teaching. His great enthusiasm and 'excited spiritual energy'4 attracted people, and he 'absorbed the doctrine of the fathers of the desert; infused it with mystical theology derived from the Latin fathers... and laid it out in immaculate prose to inspire and ...

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