Le monde cistercien danois du XIIe au XIVe siècle à la lumière des textes narratifs en comparaison avec le monde cistercien "belge"

The PhD study aims at putting Denmark on the Cistercian map of medieval Europe, and investigates thereby the spiritual and cultural network generated by the Cistercians. The monks of this religious Order are experts in reporting stories, and they left a number of interesting documents testifying about monastic life. A comparative analysis of the productions from the Danish scriptoria, the great narratives from the milieu of Clairvaux (which tell about Denmark), and the narrative sources of the “Belgian” Cistercians abbeys (an area of dense Cistercian implantation between Burgundy and Scandinavia) reveals points of accordance and disaccordance within the Cistercian world, depending on their geographic position. The narratives of the XII, XIII, and XIV centuries deal with variable topics depending on where they originate from. The Danish sources show a real interest for material issues, at the expense of those directly related to spirituality. In contrast, spirituality is the prevailing issue in the accounts from the Clairvaux milieu dealing about Denmark, as well as in the “Belgian” sources. Several factors may explain the existence of differences amongst the narratives. The Danish scriptoria especially aim at reporting the history of the abbeys – notably the origin of the properties – in an effort to provide protection in case of dispute. In contrast, the accounts originating from the Clairvaux milieu and from the “Belgian” monasteries aim at promoting the spirituality. A cultural factor must also have contributed: the importance of the hagiographic phenomenon in the Liege diocese speaks for itself. The big interest of the Danish monks for material issues can also be explained by the struggle some monasteries had to take for surviving. Interestingly the same held true in Brabant in periods of crisis, as the Cistercians of Villers then turned their mind to material issues. The PhD study establishes that the Danish Cistercians had to adapt themselves to the local environment with respect with politics, economy, and cultur, but that even so, they remained truly committed to the Cistercian ideal, and the corresponding unique Cistercian way of living could successfully settle and develop in the country.