File:The greater abbeys of England (1908) (14804921763).jpg

Title: The greater abbeys of England
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Gasquet, Francis Aidan, 1846-1929
Subjects: Abbeys
Publisher: New York, Dodd, Mead and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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to send out colonies to begin new houses. In1137 a nobleman named Ralph de Merlay, after spend-ing by chance a day at Fountains, determined to build asimilar abbey near his own property at Morpeth. Theresult was the establishment of Newminster with its firstabbot from Fountains. In time the house became thefruitful mother of three Cistercian daughters at Pipe-well, Sawley, and Roche. The next year, 1138, Kirk-stead Abbey on the river Witham and Louth Park wasalso founded, the two colonies leaving Fountains on thesame day. Again in 1145, at the prayer of Hugh deBolebec, the monks of Fountains made a foundation atWoburn. And in 1146 thirteen of the brethren, at theinvitation of the bishop of Bergen, who had visited Foun-tains and was charmed with it, went over into Norwayand established the monastery at Lisakloster. Theirleader in this expedition far afield was Ralph, one of theoriginal community which had gone out from St. Marys,York. In his old age Abbot Ralph returned to Foun- [122]
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FOUNTAINS tains to die, and it is pleasantly said in the chronicle thatthere by Gods providence an angel was speciallydeputed to visit and console him, w^ho was also wont toawaken him when he slept too long at night. In the following year 1147, three colonies were de-spatched from the prolific house of Fountains; namely,Kirkstall, Meaux, and Vaudey; and thus in the space ofless than twenty years St. Mary of Fountains had estab-lished eight daughter houses. A few years later theCistercian General Chapter discouraged this multiplica-tion of houses, and it was feared that the Order had beengrowing too quickly to maintain the spiritual vigour ofthe individual monasteries. The first necessary buildings were erected at Fountainsduring the administration of the first two abbots (1132-1139). The monk Geoffrey, who it will be rememberedwas sent over from Clairvaulx by St. Bernard, showedthem what buildings were needed by Cistercians: thegreat cloister with the church on the north, the ChapterH

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