Following the route of Cistercians from Silesia to the General Chapter in Cîteaux in 1768

Anna Galar

doi:10.5277/arc130307

Abstract

Starting from the 12th century the Cistercian abbots had their meetings at General Chapters in Cîteaux – the mother of the Order. In the beginning, the Chapters were held each year but from the 17th century they were organised irregularly, in fact each time they were announced by Cîteaux abbots. A trip of more than 1000 km to Burgundy was also undertaken by abbots from the Cistercian monasteries situated in Silesia. Starting from the 17th century, we know the names and surnames of abbots and monks who were present at the sessions in Cîteaux. Travelling through Bohemia, German countries, Switzerland and France was an important experience. We are fortunate enough to be in possession of a unique account written by Bartłomiej Sedlak the Henryków professed monk who accompanied his abbot Konstanty Haschke as a secretary in the journey to the General Chapter in Cîteaux in 1768. They travelled along with Augustyn Renner, the abbot of the monastery in Rudy. This article constitutes a detailed discussion of the route of this journey indicating its particular places, i.e. towns, monasteries, churches as well as the residences of lay and church dignitaries that the Silesian Cistercians saw and visited on their way to and from Cîteaux. The route was presented on the map and in the itinerary in the form of the table including a detailed list of the visited places. An important question in this context is whether journeys to Cîteaux had any impact on the local monastic culture in the Polish lands and in Silesia. This sort of itinerary may be of some use to historians of architecture and art in their research on the local artistic and material culture of the Silesian Cistercian monasteries indicating some possible sources of inspiration or borrowings.

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