This chapter covers the history of the Cistercian Order from the time of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare up to the present. We begin with a survey of the state of the Order at the beginning of that period.

Cistercians in 1600

It is wise not to give too much credence to generalisations. Cistercian monasteries, although they belong to a centralised Order, are effectively autonomous. Despite protestations of unanimity, there has always been considerable variation among monasteries. Furthermore, monasteries in different regions formed different strategies to respond to different pressures. In the years leading up to 1600 the cohesion and uniformity envisaged by the foundational documents of the Order were no longer possible. There were several hundred Cistercian monasteries of monks and nuns, from Portugal to Scandinavia and from Ireland to Eastern Europe; there were more than 200 abbeys of monks in France alone. The political map of Europe had changed greatly since the twelfth century. With the rise of nation states, and as a result of hostilities and wars, the traditional structures of filiation and visitation were strained, and the practical jurisdiction of the General Chapter was considerably weakened.