In 1098 a small group of benedictine monks left with their abbot to settle in the wilderness. There, at a place called Cîteaux, they built a 'New Monastery' where they hoped to follow the Rule of Saint Benedict to the letter. 

Selections from twelfth-century documents trace the steps these monks took in founding the New Monastery and, after a few years, in founding other monasteries on the same pattern. From small, uncertain beginnings, their success was stunning. Within fifty years, more than three hundred cistercian monasteries existed in Europe. Today the cistercian tradition is continued by monks and nuns around the world. 

Along with selected medieval documents this volume includes reflections by Cistercians and scholars on the motives and the ideals of the first founders of Cîteaux.