The Cistercian Reform and the Art of the Book in Twelfth-Century France

Communal singing and reading of Latin texts formed the core of Christian ritual and occupied hours of the Benedictine monk’s day. These monks also illustrated the texts, and the full meaning of these images is often only revealed when analyzed in concert with the oral and written word that originally accompanied them. The earliest manuscripts of the Cîteaux, copied and illustrated during a period of intense reform at the monastery, demonstrate the interdependence between art, liturgy, and reform.