Robert of Molesme

Robert of Molesme (1027–1110), abbot, founder of Cíteaux. Born of a noble family in Champagne, Robert became a monk, and soon afterwards prior, at Moûtier-la-Celle. Later he became abbot of Tonnerre, but soon hermits of Collan asked him to teach them and eventually become their abbot. This was achieved through Roman intervention; Robert and his new community moved to Molesme c.1075. This reforming venture was, however, soon compromised by the access of wealth and the acceptance of unsuitable novices; so Alberic and Stephen Harding, both monks of Molesme, asked their abbot to lead them in yet another reform. Robert accordingly resigned his abbacy and joined these monks and their companions at Cíteaux (near Dijon) in 1098. The aim was to live strictly according to the letter of the Rule of St. Benedict, in poverty and seclusion. But in the absence of Robert, Molesme had deteriorated; so the monks petitioned the Holy See to restore their abbot. This request was granted; Robert left Cíteaux, not altogether reluctantly, and remained abbot of Molesme for the rest of his life. He died there on 21 March at the age of eighty-three. Not long after, Bernard transformed the Cistercians into a monastic mass-movement. The traditional account of Cistercian origins including the role of Robert, has been rightly criticized in recent years: a number of documents seem to be about forty years later than their supposed date. Robert was canonized in 1222. Feast: 29 April.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• AA.SS. Apr. III (1675), 668–78 and P.L., clvii. 1269–94; M. Lef èvre, ‘Que savons-nous du Cíteaux primitif ’, R.H.E., li (1956) 5–41; id., ‘Saint Robert de Molesme dans l'opinion monastique du XII et du XIII siecle’, Anal. Boll., lxxiv (1956), 50–83; J. Winandy, ‘Les origines de Cíteaux et les travaux de M. Lefèvre’, Rev. Bén., lxvii (1957), 49–76; see also M.O., pp. 208–26 and Additional Note C