Twelfth‐ and Thirteenth‐Century Cistercian Exempla Collections: Role, Diffusion, and Evolution

Abstract

The second half of the 12th century witnessed the creation of a number of collections of exempla. The collectors were Cistercian monks, and the most productive of them were either in the monastery of Clairvaux in Burgundy or in one of the monasteries in Clairvaux’s filiation. This article discusses the origin, diffusion and evolution of the early collections (ca. 1160–1225), and analyzes the role of the exemplum inside the Cistercian Order, but also its place in the tradition of short narrative texts. The Cistercian exempla were meant for internal consumption, in order to create a common and shared memory for the members of the order. The success of the exempla was such that the preaching orders saw their potential and created their own collections as tools for preachers in the 13th century.