Cis (Kic y. r. Ref'c), tiie Gnecized form (Acts xiii, 21) of the name of Kish (q. v.), the father of king Saul.
Ci'sai (rather Cisceus, Kioqioq), another Graecized form (Esth. xi, 2) of the name of Kish (q. v.), the great-grandfather of Mordecai (Esth. ii, 5).
CialetL See Chislbu.
ClaneroB. See Xocenes.
Cistercians (or CisTBRTiAirs), an order of monks founded in the year 1098 by Robert, a Benedictine, and abbot of Molftme, in Burgundy. Finding it im- possible to preserve discipline in his convent, he re- tired, with twenty of his best monks, to Gteauz, in the diocese of Chalons, where he laid the foundations of the fkmous order named from the place. Robert, being ordered by the pope to resume the government of the abbey of Molftme, was succeeded in that of Ci- teaux by Alberic ; and pope Paschal II, by a bull ot the year 1100, took Citeaux under his protection. Al- beric drew up the first statutes for the monks of Ci- teaux, or Cistercians, in which he enjoined a strict observance of the rules of St. Benedict. The habit of the order was a white robe in the form of a cassock : it was at first black ; but they pretend that the holy Virgin, appearing to Alberic, gave him a white habit, and from this time they changed the black for white, retaining the black scapular wad hood : their garment was girt with a black girdle of wool : in the choir they had a white cowl, and over it a hood, with a rochet hanging down before to the waist, and in a point be- hind to the calf of the leg. In memory of the change of habit, a festival was observed on the 5th of August, called **The descent of the blessed Virgin at Citeaux, and the miraculous changing fh>m black to white/' The order made surprising progress. ** From the very first, the Cistercians were the spoiled children of tho apostolic see, and every conceivable privilege and ex- emption was heaped upon them" (Christian Bemem' brameer, July, 1867, p. 4). About 1128 the first Cister- cian abbey in England was founded by Giffiiu'd, bishop of Winchester, at Waverley, Surrey. The order spread in England rapidly, and accumulated vast estates. Eighty-five abbeys in various parts of England owned the maternity either of Citeaux or Clairvaux. Fifty years after its institution the order had five hundred abbeys ; and one hundred years after it boasted of one thousand eight hundred abbejrs, most of which had been founded before the year 1200.
CISTERCIAN NUNS
354
CISTERN
The government of the order was in the hands of twent j-five definiUorUy the first of whom was the abbot of Citeaux, who, as. abbot general, was the head of the whole order. Next to him in dignity were Um abbots La Fert^ Pontignj, Clairvanx, and Morimond, the fonr oldest convents after Citeanx. The abbot of Ci- teaox appohited foar other defimUores, The abbots of La Fert6, Pontigny, Clairvanx, and Morimond nom- inated together twenty (five each), four of whom, L e. one of each nomination, were rejected by tlie abbot general. The legislative assembly, called the Gen- eral Chapter, met originally annually. They did not settle in any diocese before the bishop had accepted the Charta Charitatis, the ftindamental law of the or- der, which had been given in 1119 by abbot Stephen of Citeaux. In 1148 the king of Portugal imposed upon his whole kingdom the duties of vassalage to- wards the abbey of Clairvaux, so that (in 1578) claims were laid by the latter to all Portupd. The decay of the Cistercians began with the rise of the mendicant orders. Theur history consists mostly in efforts of popes and some abbots to stay the flood of ooiTuption which early overflowed the whole order. These efforts were usually nnsuccessftil, but led to the establishment of a number of reformed congregations, which received from the popes the privilege of an in- dependent organization. The most important are those founded in Spain in 1469, in Tuscany in 1497, and that founded by pope Urban VIII in 1680. The present number of abbeys is very limited. There were in 1848 16 abbeys, with 499 members, in Austria ; 9 in Italy, several of which have since been suppressed by the Sardinian government; 8 in Switzerland, of which one has since been suppressed ; 1 in Belgium ; and 1 in Poland. Since then they have re-established themselves also in England, at St Susan's, Lullworth, and Mount St. Bernard, in Leicestershire. Several other monastic organizations owe their origin directly or indirectly to the Cistercians. The Templars re- ceived their rule from St. Bernard of Clairvanx. The Spanish knights ot Calatrava, Alcantara, and Monte- sa, and the Portuguese of Avis and Christ, were a£Sli- ated to the Cistercians. The Feuillants took their or- igin in 1574 in the reformed Cistercian abbey of Feuil- lans, near Toulouse. The austerest congregation that sprung from them are the Trappists, founded in 1662. See Fehr, Geschickte der Mdnchiorden^ i, 90 sq. ; ^ con- cite History of (he CiMterdan Order (London, 1852, sm. 8to) ; MaUlard, Dark Aget, p. 858 ; Luard, AnnaUt MoMUtici, vols. 1, U (Lond. 1864, 1865); Chrigtian Re^ membrancer^ July, 1867, art. i. See Trappists.
CISTERCIAN NUNS {BemardiMt), a religions
Cistercian Mouk and S\xu.
order founded in 1120 by abbot Stephen of Citeanx for the convent of Tarb. They, followed the rule of O- teaux under the superintendence of the abbot gencnl of the Cistercians. Later, they were freqnently sab- jected to the jurisdiction of the bishops. Their hafail was white, with a black veil, scapular, and girdlei. They gradually amassed immense richea, and Dum- bered as many as 6000 convents. In Germany some of the abbesses were raised to the dignity of prineeaeei of the empire, and remained so until 1803. Ame^ all their convents, that of Port Royal (q. v.>, in France, became the most celebrated. Only a few convents are left, viz. in Svritzerland (which has now by far the largest number), in Italy, Bavaria, Saxony, and France. See Trappists.