Research On The Cistercians Economy In The High Late Middle Ages

The Cistercians is not only a purely religious organization,but also an economic entity with a variety of performances in the late middle ages.This paper regards the middle and later medieval Cistercians economic activities as the research object,using the available historical data to analyze its economic development,the economic characteristics of the economic development in different periods as well as its influence on Western political,economic and social life.Considering the Cistercian economy as independent variables and the social transformation of Western Europe as the dependent variable,it aims to explore the relationship between the two with a new Religion-Economy perspective.The main body of this article consists of five parts,the main contents are as follows:The first part mainly describes the background of monastery economic development in the late middle ages,it argues that the revival of the city and the Western business as well as the secularization of cluny monastery are the essential conditions of the generation and development of Cistercian monastery.The second part emphatically analyzes the great reclamation of Cistercian monastery,the acquisition and integration of land resources,the development of agricultural technology and management of the manor,as well as their contribution to the progress of agricultural productivity.The third part briefly analyzes the reasons why Cistercian manual workshops set up and the specific performance of handicraft industrial professional,supporting the prosperity of Western business from the development of Cistercian handcraft industry.The fourth part summarizes the participation of Cistercian in specific activities to improve economic conditions,which studies the causes of the establishment of market and fair as well as its influence on western local small trade development.in addition,it also analyses that the Cistercians obtained privileges,and secular performance relative to currency advantage,intended to demonstrate its contribution to the western remote commodities from the angle of commercial capital and currency immunity.The fifth part reveals the relationship between Cistercian economy and social transformation of Western Europe from three aspects incorporating economic structure,social relations and economic thought through the general analysis and comparison of the characteristics of Cistercian economy in different periods.